I hope in my books I help children to see their strengths, and show them I have some idea of what they may occasionally be going through. Especially at tricky moments when it is easier to go back and evade things rather than go forwards and confront them. Nina Bawden backbookchild share on social
I wanted to be a war reporter - scrabbling around, exposing things. I didn't want to go to university, I wanted to get a job, but Auntie Beryl said I should go to Oxford. Nina Bawden auntieberylexpose Change image and share on social
I dislike the word 'victim.' I dislike being told that I 'lost' my husband - as if I had idly abandoned you by the side of the railway track like an unwanted pair of old shoes. Nina Bawden abandondislikehusband Change image and share on social
I met my second husband on a bus. We looked at each other and that was it. We were both married to other people at the time and behaved badly, but we didn't seem to have any choice. We were very happy for nearly 50 years and would still be together if it wasn't for the bloody railways. Nina Bawden badlybehavebloody share on social
One good reason for writing novels based on your life is that you have something to read in old age when you've forgotten what happened. Nina Bawden agebaseforget Change image and share on social
People who don't read seem to me mysterious. I don't know how they think or learn about other people. Novels are a very important part of our education. Nina Bawden educationimportantlearn Change image and share on social
I like stirring the pot - I think it's part of my duty, to shake people up a bit - make them look at things in a different way. Nina Bawden bitedutymake Change image and share on social
Margaret Thatcher was in my year, and our first-year college photograph shows us standing side by side in the back row. We were both grammar school girls on state scholarships. Nina Bawden backcollegegirl Change image and share on social
I am not a victim. I am an angry survivor. Nina Bawden angrysurvivorvictim Change image and share on social
I was born in a small suburb of Ilford in a rather nasty housing estate that my mother despised. She had grown up in the country, so when the war came and I was evacuated to Wales she thought I was much better off there. Nina Bawden bearcountrydespise share on social
