The
Pullein-Thompson sisters —
Josephine Pullein-Thompson MBE (3 April 1924-),
Diana Pullein-Thompson (1 October 1925 -)
[, The Times, (London), December 19, 2005)] and
Christine Pullein-Thompson (1 October 1925–2 December 2005
— are British writers of several horse and pony books (mostly fictional) aimed at
children and mostly popular with girls. They started at a very young age (initially writing collectively) and they were at their peak in the 1950s and 1960s, but their popularity has endured. They have written a collective autobiography
Fair Girls and Grey Horses.
All 3 sisters have written at least 1 book under a different name; Josephine wrote 1 under the pseudonym of
Josephine Mann, Diana 3 books under her married name of
Diana Farr and Christine wrote 2 books under the name of
Christine Keir. Further details of the titles are given in the relevant section.
Their mother,
Joanna Cannan (1898–1961), sister of the poet
May Cannan, wrote similar equestrian stories, but is better known for detective mysteries. Their father was Captain Harold J "Cappy" Pullein-Thompson, who was badly injured during the first world war. Consequently he made his money by selling refrigerators, and did not publish any works. They also have a brother
Denis Cannan who is an author in his own right, though has published nowhere near as many works when compared to his sisters. His work tends to be mainly plays.
They are also related to the British novelist and dramatist
Gilbert Cannan and the academic
Charles Cannan.
Joanna Cannan and
May Cannan were daughters of Charles Cannan making
Gilbert Cannan their cousin. Diana later wrote an autobiography of
Gilbert Cannan's life. Their father was brother of Emily Muriel Pullein Thompson who was the mother of the composer
John Gardener who is therefore also their cousin.
Christine had four children as a result of marriage; two sons and two daughters. Her marriage was to Julian Popescu in 1954. One of her daughters
Charlotte Popescu is an author in her own right, publishing children's pony books. However they are not as widely known as her mother's or her aunts'. Her other children were called Phillip, Mark and Lucy. In addition she had 8 grandchildren (Oliver, Daniel, Anna, Benjamin, Thomas and Hamish, Edwina and Maxwell). Diana married art historian Dennis Farr, and had 2 children (one son, one daughter).
Like their mother, the
National Portrait Gallery in London also holds a picture of them.
The sisters' books are strongly oriented towards ponies and for almost 60 years they have been much loved by young girls with a strong enthusiasm for horses and ponies. Diana has often written books aimed at a slightly older audience, including some set in
London. Christine was the most prolific and also wrote a number of stories which are not specifically concerned with horses or ponies; these are mostly aimed at younger children. Apart from the books listed below, all three sisters have also edited and contributed to various anthologies of horse and pony stories. Their titles include:
Josephine
- The Radney Riding Club (1951)
- Prince Among Ponies (1952)
- Show Jumping Secret (1955)
- All Change (later republished as The Hidden Horse) (1961)
- How Horses Are Trained (non fiction) (1961)
- Ponies In Colour (non fiction) (1962)
- Learn To Ride Well (later republished as How To Ride Well) (non fiction) (1966)
- Horses and Their Owners (non fiction) (1970)
- Race Horse Holiday (also published as Racehorse Holiday) (1971)
- Proud Riders (chosen by) (1973)
- Star Riders Of The Moor (later republished as Star Riders) (1976)
- Ride Better And Better (Non-fiction) (1977)
- Fear Treks The Moor (1978)
- Ride To The Rescue (1979)
- Ghost Horse On The Moor (1980)
- Treasure On The Moor (1982)
- Mystery On The Moor (1984)
- Pony Club Challenge (1984)
- Suspicion Stalks The Moor (1986)
Dates Unknown:-
- Youth In The Saddle (contributor)
Josephine also wrote the adult mystery books
Gin and Murder (1959),
Murder Strikes Pink (1963) and
They Died In The Spring (1960). She also wrote the book
A Place With Two Faces (1972) under the pseudonym of Josephine Mann. She has long been involved with the British branch of the writers' organisation
International PEN, which campaigns for writers' freedoms in authoritarian or tyrannical regimes. She was awarded the
MBE in 1984.
The book
Six Ponies is now available to buy from
Fidra Books (who are also republishing some of
Joanna Cannan's books), which includes original illustrations and text.
Diana
- Three Ponies and Shannan (1947)
- The Penny Fields (has been published under The Pennyfields) (1949)
- Horses At Home and Friends Must Part (1954)
- Riding With The Lyntons (1956)
- Riding For Children (non-fiction)(1957)
- The Boy & The Donkey (later republished as The Donkey Race) (1958)
- The Boy Who Came To Stay (1960)
- The Battle Of Clapham Common (1962)
- The Hermit's Horse (1974)
- Ponies In The Valley (1976)
- Ponies On The Trail (1978)
- Cassidy In Danger (later republished as This Pony Is Dangerous) (1979)
- Dear Pup: Letters To A Young Dog (1988)
- The Long Ride Home (1996)
Dates unknown:
- Youth In The Saddle (contributor)
The books
Five at 10: Prime Ministers' Consorts Since 1957 (1985),
Gilbert Cannan; A Georgian Prodigy (1978) and
Choosing (1988) have been published under her married name (Diana Farr) in addition to her maiden (and better known) name.
Christine
- We Rode To The Sea (1948)
- I Carried The Horn (1951)
- A Day To Go Hunting (1956)
- The Impossible Horse (1957)
- For Want Of A Saddle (1960)
- Giles And The Elephant (1960)
- Giles And The Greyhound (1961)
- Bandits In The Hills (1962)
- Giles And The Canal (1962)
- The Gipsy Children (1962)
- The Doping Affair (later published as The Pony Dopers) (1963)
- The Eastmans In Brittany (1964)
- Granny Comes To Stay (1964)
- The Boys From The Cafe (1965)
- The Eastmans Move House (1965)
- The Eastmans Find A Boy (1966)
- Robbers In The Night (1967)
- Nigel Eats His Words (1969)
- Phantom Horse Comes Home (1970)
- Riders On The March (1970)
- Phantom Horse Goes To Ireland (1972)
- They Rode To Victory(1972)
- A Second Pony Scrapbook (1973)
- Good Riding (non-fiction)(1975)
- Christine Pullein-Thompson's Book of Pony Stories (1975)
- A Pony To Love (non fiction) (1975)
- Strange Riders At Black Pony Inn (1976)
- Mystery At Black Pony Inn (1976)
- Pony Patrol S.O.S. (1977)
- Pony Patrol Fights Back (1977)
- Christine Pullein-Thompson's Second Book of Pony Stories (1977)
- Prince At Black Pony Inn (1978)
- Secrets At Black Pony Inn (1978)
- Riding For Fun (non fiction) (1978)
- Improve Your Riding (non-fiction)(1979)
- Phantom Horse In Danger (1980)
- Pony Patrol And The Mystery Horse (1981)
- Phantom Horse Goes To Scotland (1981)
- Ponies In The Park (1982)
- Ponies In The Forest (1983)
- Ponies In The Blizzard (1984)
- Wait For Me Phantom Horse (1985)
- Please Save Jessie (1987)
- The Road Through The Hills (1988)
- Candy Goes To The Gymkhana (1989)
- Candy Stops A Train (1989)
- Catastrophe At Black Pony Inn (1989)
- Good Deeds At Black Pony Inn (1989)
- Smoke In The Hills (1989)
- Across The Frontier (1990)
- A Pony In Distress (1994)
- The Best Pony For Me! (1995)
- Bedtime Pony Stories (1997)
- Sundance Saves The Day (these were based upon Julip horses and was sold exclusively through their catalogue) (1997)
- More Bedtime Pony Stories (1997)
- Incredible Pony Tales (1998)
- Magical Pony Tales (1998)
- Havoc At Horsehaven (1999)
- Horsehaven Lives On (1999)
Dates unknown:
- Triple Adventure (co-author)
The title
The Impossible Horse has also been published under the name of Christine Keir, which may have been a pseudonym, as it is the same story. Also, the book
Riding (1983) which is part of the Granada Guides series, has also been published under the same name.
Josephine, Diana and Christine collectively
- It Began With Picotee (1946)
- Fair Girls and Grey Horses (1996)
- Pullein-Thompson Treasury Of Horse And Pony Stories (1995)
