Sheila Burnford
Sheila Burnford was a Scottish author born on May 11, 1918, known for her contributions to children's literature, particularly her beloved novel "The Incredible Journey." Growing up in the scenic Scottish Highlands, Burnford's early experiences in nature and her education across Scotland, France, and Germany shaped her literary career. After marrying David Burnford in 1941, she served with the Voluntary Aid Detachment during World War II, which influenced her writing themes of companionship and loyalty.
In 1948, Burnford moved to Canada, where she began writing after her children started school. Her interactions with her pets, including a cat and two dogs, inspired "The Incredible Journey," published in 1961, which tells the tale of animals navigating their way home across Ontario. This work not only became an international bestseller but also garnered critical acclaim, being named an ALA Notable Book and recognized in Canada. Burnford also explored other genres, writing novels for both children and adults, including essays and accounts of her time with the Inuit in the Arctic. She passed away on April 20, 1984, in England, leaving behind a legacy celebrated for its heartfelt portrayal of animal characters and connection to the natural world.
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Subject Terms
Sheila Burnford
Writer
- Born: May 11, 1918
- Birthplace: Scotland
- Died: April 20, 1984
- Place of death: Bucklers Hard, Hampshire, England
Biography
Sheila Burnford was born Sheila Philip Cochrane Every on May 11, 1918, in Scotland, the daughter of Wilfred George Cochrane and Ida Philip Macmillan Every. As a child in the Scottish Highlands she spent as much time as possible outdoors, walking and exploring, and during her college years she took long walking tours through Europe with friends. She was educated privately in Scotland, France, and Germany, and attended Harrogate College in Yorkshire, England. In 1941 she married David Burnford, a surgeon with the British Royal Navy, and took the name Sheila Burnford. The couple had three children, Peronelle Philip, Elizabeth Jonquil, and Juliet Sheila.
The family was living in Sussex, England, during World War II. Burnford served with the Voluntary Aid Detachment and drove an ambulance during the war. With her husband off on military service and her children still infants, Burnford relied on the family terrier, Bill, for company. She was fascinated by his seeming ability to understand the novels she read aloud to him. The English countryside also made it possible for her to pursue her interests in hunting, fishing, and mycology, the study of fungi.
In 1948, the family moved to Port Arthur, Ontario, Canada, and with the children all in school Burnford began writing scripts for puppet shows and articles for popular British magazines, describing her life in Canada. The family acquired a Siamese cat, Simon, and another dog, a Labrador. The cat and dogs became close companions, and Burnford’s interest in the ways they communicated with each other and with the humans in their household eventually led to her most popular work, The Incredible Journey (1961), about a cat and two dogs who find their way home after a long journey across northern Ontario. The book, dedicated to her three children, attributes human characteristics, including friendship, humor, and loyalty, to the animals as it tells the story of their struggle without humans on the scene to interpret. It sold well immediately, and became an international sensation after it was adapted as a motion picture in 1963.
Burnford wrote two other children’s novels, no longer in print, Mr. Noah and the Second Flood (1973), and a popular teen novel, Bel Ria (1977), about a dog in World War II. She also wrote nonfiction books for adults, including a collection of autobiographical essays, The Fields of Noon (1964). In the late 1960’s, she spent two years living with the Inuit on Baffin Island in the Canadian Arctic, an experience described in One Woman’s Arctic (1972). Toward the end of her life, Burnford returned to England, where she continued taking daily walks until her health prevented it. She died of cancer on April 20, 1984, in the small village of Bucklers Hard, Hampshire, England. The Incredible Journey was named an American Library Association Notable Book in 1961, and the Canadian Book of the Year for Children in 1963, and is considered a classic work of children’s literature. It has been translated into more than twenty languages and adapted into two films.