Mary Hooper

British children's and young adult author Mary Hooper was born in 1944 in Barnes, South West London. She left school at fifteen to work as a window dresser and secretary, later returning as an adult student to earn a degree in English from Reading University in 1990. She began her writing career with short stories in women's and teen magazines, publishing her first novel Jodie in 1978, and has since authored over 70 books, including historical novels like At the Sign of the Sugared Plum.[1][2][3]