Mary Kathleen Harris (22 September 1905 – 2 June 1966) was a British children's writer who was commended twice for the Carnegie Medal, for The Bus Girls and Seraphina. Harris was notable for trying to revive girls' school stories by introducing new realism and restraint into the writing.
Biography Harris was born in Harrow, Middlesex in 1905, to Roland Edward Harris and Mary Mackey Harris. The family was artistic and she considered becoming a painter before turning to writing. She was educated at Harrow County School for Girls. She was a Catholic. She died in Watford in 1966.
Her first children's book, Gretel at St. Bride's, a story about a refugee from Nazi Germany at a British boarding school, was published in 1941. Several of her books were school stories and some were religious in nature. Her final book was published posthumously.
Bibliography Gretel at St. Bride's, 1941 The Wolf, 1946 The Niche over the Door, 1948 Fear at My Heart, 1951 Henrietta of St. Hilary's, 1953 Thomas, 1956 My Darling from the Lion's Mouth, 1956 (US title I Am Julie) A Safe Lodging, 1957 Emily and the Headmistress, 1958 Lucia Wilmot, 1959 Elizabeth, 1961 Penny's Way, 1963 Helena: A Patron Saint Book, 1964 The Bus Girls, 1964 Seraphina, 1965 Jessica on Her Own, 1967
References
External links Goodreads biography About the Author in The Bus Girls, W. W. Norton & Company edition at the Open Library, page 207 Mary K. Harris at WorldCat