BBC7

Joan was brought up in a family of writers. Her father was a poet and her stepfather was a novelist and both of them encouraged her to write.

Her mum wrote books too, and used to read lots of Charles Dickens' stories aloud to her. Joan's sister, Jane, became an author as well, and wrote books for grown-ups.

It's said that Joan was born in a haunted house - maybe that's why some of her books are so spooky!

Some of Joan's stories, including Arabel's Raven, were written especially for the children's TV show, Jackanory.

Joan lived in Sussex and died in 2004 at the age of 79.

Her many books include:

• The Wolves Of Willoughby Chase
• The Whispering Mountain
• Black Hearts In Battersea
• Arabel's Raven
• Mortimer's Bread Bin
• The Spiral Stair
• Cold Shoulder Road
• Midwinter Nightingale
• The Witch of Clatteringshaws
• The Youngest Miss Ward
• Lady Catherine's Necklace
  
  

Her many short stories include:

• Baba Yaga’s Daughter
• The Elves in the Shelves
• A Necklace of Raindrops
• The Queen of the Moon
• The Baker’s Cat
• The Cat Sat on the Mat
• The Lions
• The Patchwork Quilt
• There’s Some Sky in this Pie