Lavinia Derwent

Who was Lavinia Derwent?

Lavinia Derwent was the pen name of Scottish author and broadcaster Elizabeth Dodd MBE.

She was born in an isolated farmhouse in the Cheviot hills some seven miles from Jedburgh. She began making up stories about animals at an early age. Her most famous creation was "Tammy Troot" who entranced generations of children. She also wrote a best-selling book about an island called Sula which later featured in a film. The novels were: Sula, Return to Sula, The Boy From Sula and Song of Sula. She also wrote a version of Greyfriars bobby Her autobiographical books, particularly A Breath of Border Air recreate a world when it was the more fundamental things of life that mattered. Her Border Bairn series is set around Jedburgh, and Lady of the Manse has a Berwickshire setting. She wrote the wee kirk moose poem.

In the 1970s she co-presented the television series Teatime Tales on STV in which she recollected stories from her own childhood.