Ursula Moray Williams
Ursula Moray Williams was a distinguished English author and illustrator of children's literature, born on April 19, 1911, in Petersfield, Hampshire. Raised in a rural environment with her twin sister, she began her creative journey early, telling stories and illustrating books. After attending a finishing school in France and studying at Winchester College of Art, she embarked on a writing career, publishing her first book, *Jean-Pierre*, at the age of twenty. Over her prolific career, she authored more than seventy books, many of which she illustrated herself, with notable works including *Adventures of the Little Wooden Horse* and *Gobbolino, the Witch's Cat*. Her writing is characterized by whimsical themes, engaging characters—often toys or animals—and a memorable storytelling style reminiscent of traditional folktales. Moray Williams' work has had lasting popularity, with several titles remaining in print and beloved by generations of children. She skillfully combined fantasy and adventure, leaving a significant legacy in children's literature that continues to resonate today.
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Ursula Moray Williams
Writer
- Born: April 19, 1911
- Birthplace: Petersfield, Hampshire, England
- Died: October 17, 2006
- Place of death: Unknown
Biography
Ursula Moray Williams, a well-known and prolific author and illustrator of children’s books, was born on April 19, 1911, in Peters field, Hampshire, England. Moray Williams and her twin sister Barbara were raised in an isolated rural setting, educated by their mother and by a governess. The two sisters amused themselves by telling each other stories and writing and illustrating books. They were sent to Annecy in the French Alps for a year of finishing school, and then attended Winchester College of Art. After a year, Moray Williams left the college to write children’s books. Her first book, Jean-Pierre (1931), set in Annecy, was published when she was twenty years old. She published steadily until 1987, writing more than seventy books, many of them self-illustrated.
In 1935, Moray Williams married Conrad Southey John. The couple had four boys and were married until John’s death in 1974. While pregnant with her first child, Moray Williams wrote her best known book, Adventures of the Little Wooden Horse (1938). This story contains several Moray Williams trademarks: a toy protagonist, a simple folktale style, a charming fantasy, an episodic adventure, magic, and an exotic setting.
During World War II, Moray Williams wrote and illustrated two more popular favorites: Gobbolino, the Witch’s Cat (1942) and The Good Little Christmas Tree (1943). Gobbolino, the reluctant witch’s cat, is one of her most endearing animal characters. The Good Little Christmas Tree was adapted as a play in 1951. Both books and the play remain in print and continue to be popular sellers.
The four books in the Toymaker series, Anders and Marta (1935), The Three Toymakers (1945), Malkin’s Mountain (1948), and The Toymaker’s Daughter (1968), illustrate the depth and duration of Moray Williams’s imagination. The series features a beautiful but perverse wooden doll, Marta, the toymaker Malkin, and the woodcarvers Rudi and Anders. The stories, told in the form of traditional folktales, are set in the Bavarian Alps, feature characters who are toys, and tell a complex tale of power, good, and evil through an exciting plot. Two of Moray William’s most popular characters come together in The Further Adventures of Gobbolino and the Little Wooden Horse (1984), in which the cat and the toy horse work together to rescue Gobbolino’s sister, Sootica, through magic, adventure, kindness and loyalty.
Moray Williams also wrote for older children. The Noble Hawks (1959) is a work of historical fiction set in medieval times, featuring a young boy who rescues an injured falcon. Bogwoppit (1978) is a comic fantasy for children in the middle grades.
The work of Moray Williams, characterized by a sense of fun and fantasy, exciting plots, variety, imagination, and amusing characters who are often animals or toys, has enduring appeal to children. Her contribution to children’s literature is significant. Several of her nearly seventy published books are considered classics; many have been continuously in print since their first publication.