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Clara Vulliamy to illustrate MARY PLAIN

Children's Books News

Clara Vulliamy is illustrating and editing four of Gwynedd Rae’s Mary Plain titles, to be published by Egmont.

Clara has written a blog post about her experience working on one of her favourite books.


This has been a VERY difficult secret to keep under my hat, or should I say behind my large white rosette…

Mary Plain, the bear cub and star of Gwynedd Rae’s long-running series of stories, much loved in the 1930’s through to the 1960’s but since largely forgotten, returns next year – illustrated by ME!

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To bring Mary back from obscurity has been a literary treasure hunt over many years. With my daughter Leah, fellow Mary fan, we have scoured second-hand bookshops for every old copy and every edition, studied wills and codicils written on faded paper with old-fashioned typewriters, researched long-lost relatives and publishing houses and lawyers. When I discovered that Egmont were searching too and we met somewhere in the middle, suffice to say, many celebratory cream buns were consumed.

But first I need to go right back to the beginning…


You can read the rest of Clara’s post here

…and read the Bookseller exclusive here.

Published: 17th November 2016