Phyllis Matthewman


Phyllis Matthewman , British writer of children's books, mostly boarding school stories.

Personal life

Matthewman was born in Leeds, the elder daughter of Thomas Barton, an insurance manager, and Ada Mary. She had a sister, Joyce. In 1930, She married Sydney Matthewman, a literary agent, whose father ran the Swan Press in Leeds. They had no children. In 1964, her long-time friend Elinor Brent-Dyer was persuaded to leave the unmanageably large Victorian villa at which she had previously run a school in order to live with the Matthewmans, which she did until her death in 1969. After first living together as tenants in half of a house called Albury Edge, at Redhill, Surrey, they bought a house together, Gryphons, also at Redhill, in 1965. Phyllis's aunt, who knew the Dyer family, had introduced them in childhood. Sydney Matthewman served as Brent-Dyer's agent.

Selected Books

Danewood series