The story of Sara Crewe is more or less branded into my braincells, but since it had been at least two decades - possibly even closer to three - since I'd last followed her story from riches to rags and gloriously back again, I decided to reread it, in a spirit of stern inquiry to see how McKay's work would compare. When I heard the startling news that Hilary McKay, one of my very favorite contemporary authors had written a sequel to The Little Princess, such an iconic girls' book, and one which I read to pieces as a child, I was curious but distinctly uneasy - what potential for disappointment!

When not writing Hilary loves walking, reading, and having friends to stay. Hilary now lives in a small village in Derbyshire with her family. She wishes that she had written to authors as a child, but it never occurred to her to contact them One of the best things about being a writer, says Hilary, is receiving letters from children. After the birth of her two children, Hilary wanted to devote more time to bringing up her children and writing so decided to leave her job. Hilary enjoyed the work but at the same time had a burning desire to write. Andrew's University Hilary then went on to work as a biochemist in an Analysis Department. The local library was as familiar to me as my own home.'Īfter reading Botany and Zoology at St.

Hilary says of herself as a child 'I anaesthetised myself against the big bad world with large doses of literature. From a very early age she read voraciously and grew up in a household of readers. Hilary McKay was born in Boston, Lincolnshire and is the eldest of four girls.

Wishing for tomorrow by hilary mckay