P.L. Travers was born in 1899 in Maryborough in Queensland, Australia and was one of three sisters.She worked as a secretary, a dancer and an actress, but writing was P.L. Travers’s real love, and for many years she was a journalist. It was while recuperating from a serious illness that she wrote Mary Poppins – “to while away the days, but also to put down something that had been in my mind for a long time”, she said. She recieved an OBE in 1977, and died in 1996.Lauren Child burst onto the children’s books scene in 1999 and has since published many bestselling and award-winning books, including those featuring the hugely popular Charlie and Lola, and the Clarice Bean series. She has won numerous awards, including the prestigious Kate Greenaway Medal and the Smarties Gold Award. Lauren is a former Waterstones Children’s Laureate.

“Mary Poppins is the Good Fairy, whom we are all seeking”Times Literary Supplement