Robert Arthur Leeson is a British author, mainly known for his children's books.
Before becoming a writer, he worked as Literary Editor of the left-wing British newspaper the Morning Star. He is a prolific writer, having had over 70 books for young people published between 1973 and 2003. His books include several historical novel

Historical novel

According to Encyclopædia Britannica, a historical novel is-Development:An early example of historical prose fiction is Luó Guànzhōng's 14th century Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which covers one of the most important periods of Chinese history and left a lasting impact on Chinese culture.The...

s, such as
Maroon Boy (1974), The Third Class Genie (1975) (a humorous fantasy novel) and the science-fiction
Time Rope (1986) and Zania Experiment (1993) series.
Leeson also wrote social realist novels such as It's My Life (1980) about
a teenage girl who has to look after her family after her mother walks out on them.
Silver's Revenge is a humorous sequel to Treasure Island

Treasure Island

Treasure Island is an adventure novel by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, narrating a tale of "pirates and buried gold". First published as a book on May 23, 1883, it was originally serialized in the children's magazine Young Folks between 1881–82 under the title Treasure Island; or, the...

, and Candy for the King
is a fairytale about a giant

Giant

Giant or Giants may refer to:*Giants *Giant *Giant people; see gigantism, a medical condition*Giants -Arts and entertainment:*Giant , a 1952 novel by Edna Ferber...

 influenced by Voltaire's

Voltaire

François-Marie Arouet , better known by the pen name Voltaire , was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit and for his advocacy of civil liberties, including freedom of religion, free trade and separation of church and state...

 Candide

Candide

Candide, ou l'Optimisme is a French satire first published in 1759 by Voltaire, a philosopher of the Age of Enlightenment. The novella has been widely translated, with English versions titled Candide: or, All for the Best ; Candide: or, The Optimist ; and Candide: or, Optimism...

.
Leeson's Reading and Righting: the past,present and future of Fiction for the young (1985) is a history of children's literature

Children's literature

Children's literature is for readers and listeners up to about age twelve; it is often defined in four different ways: books written by children, books written for children, books chosen by children, or books chosen for children. It is often illustrated. The term is used in senses which sometimes...

.
He has also written for radio, television and the theatre.

Leeson cites the fiction of Geoffrey Trease

Geoffrey Trease

Geoffrey Trease was a prolific writer, publishing 113 books between 1934 and 1997 . His work has been translated into 20 languages...

 as an influence on his work.

TV Tie-Ins

• Grange Hill
  Grange Hill
  Grange Hill is a British television drama series originally made by the BBC. The show began in 1978 on BBC1 and was one of the longest running programmes on British television...
  
   Rules OK? (1980).
• Grange Hill Goes Wild (1980).
• Grange Hill for Sale (1981). Novel
• Grange Hill Home and Away (1982).
• Forty Days of Tucker J.
  Tucker's Luck
  Tucker's Luck was a British television series made by the BBC between 1983 and 1985.The series is a spin-off from the school drama Grange Hill and capitalised on the popularity of one of the series' original characters — Peter "Tucker" Jenkins, played by Todd Carty.Tucker's Luck followed the...
  
  ,1983.

External links

• Profile at Walker Books