Robert Leeson

Who was Robert Leeson?

Robert Arthur Leeson was a Cheshire-born British author, mainly known for his children's books. Before becoming a writer, he worked as Literary Editor of the left-wing British newspaper the Morning Star.

He was a prolific writer, having had over 70 books for young people published between 1973 and 2003. His books include several historical novels, such as Maroon Boy, The Third Class Genie and the science-fiction Time Rope and Zania Experiment series. Leeson also wrote social realist novels such as It's My Life about a teenage girl who has to look after her family after her mother walks out on them. Silver's Revenge is a humorous sequel to Treasure Island, and Candy for the King is a fairytale about a giant influenced by Voltaire's Candide. Leeson's Reading and Righting: the past,present and future of Fiction for the young is a history of children's literature. He has also written for radio, television and the theatre.

Leeson cited the fiction of Geoffrey Trease as an influence on his work.