SAMPSON, Fay (Elizabeth) 1935-

Personal

Born June 10, 1935, in Plymouth, England; daughter of Edmar Ismail (a member of the Royal Marine Staff Band) and Edith Maud (a hotel waitress; maiden name, Cory) Sampson; married Jack Greaves Priestley (principal of Westhill College), March 30, 1959; children: Mark Alan, Katharine Fay. Education: University College of the Southwest (now University of Exeter), B.A., 1956, certificate in education, 1957. Politics: "Radical." Religion: Christian. Hobbies and other interests: Walking, traveling, Celtic history, mythology, exploring spirituality.

Addresses

Home— 45 Weoley Hill, Selly Oak, Birmingham B29 4AB, England; Christie Cottage, Tedburn St. Mary, Exeter, Devon EX6 6AZ, England. E-mail— [email protected].

Career

Assistant mathematics teacher at high school in Mytholmroyd, England, 1957-58, bilateral school in Nottingham, England, 1959-60, and technical school in Eastwood, England, 1960-61; St. Peter's High School, Exeter, England, part-time assistant mathematics teacher, 1973-86; writer, 1979—. Volunteer librarian in Zambia, 1962-64; volunteer at work camps in Germany, Greece, France, Jordan, South Africa, and Ireland; organized dramatic readings. Member of international committee of Student Christian Movement, 1956-57; member of national executive of NALSO, 1956-57.

Member

Amnesty International, Society of Authors, Fellowship of Christian Writers, West Country Writers Association.

Writings

FOR CHILDREN

F.67, Hamish Hamilton (London, England), 1975.

Half a Welcome, Dobson (London, England), 1977.

The Watch on Patterick Fell, Dobson (London, England), 1978, Morrow (New York, NY), 1980.

The Empty House, Dobson (London, England), 1979.

Landfall on Innis Michael (sequel to The Watch on Patterick Fall ), Dobson (London, England), 1980.

The Hungry Snow, Dobson (London, England), 1980.

The Chains of Sleep, Dobson (London, England), 1981.

SUS, Dobson (London, England), 1982.

Jenny and the Wreckers, Hamish Hamilton (London, England), 1984.

Chris and the Dragon, Gollancz (London, England), 1985.

Josh's Panther, Gollancz (London, England), 1986.

A Free Man on Sunday, Gollancz (London, England), 1987.

The Christmas Blizzard, illustrated by Mary Lonsdale, Lion (Tring, England), 1991.

The Dancing Horse, John Hunt (Alresford, England), 2002.

Them, Lion (Oxford, England), 2003.

"PANGUR BÁN" SERIES; FOR CHILDREN

Pangur Bán, the White Cat, Lion (Batavia, IL), 1983.

Finnglas of the Horses, Lion (Batavia, IL), 1985.

Finnglas and the Stones of Choosing, Lion (Batavia, IL), 1986.

Shape-Shifter: The Naming of Pangur Bán, Lion (Batavia, IL), 1988.

The Serpent of Senargad, Lion (Batavia, IL), 1989.

The White Horse Is Running, Lion (Batavia, IL), 1990.

"DAUGHTER OF TINTAGEL" SERIES; FOR ADULTS

Wise Woman's Telling (also see below), Headline (London, England), 1989.

White Nun's Telling (also see below), Headline (London, England), 1989.

Blacksmith's Telling (also see below), Headline (London, England), 1990.

Taliesin's Telling (also see below), Headline (London, England), 1991.

Herself (also see below), Headline (London, England), 1992.

Daughter of Tintagel (contains Wise Woman's Telling, White Nun's Telling, Blacksmith's Telling, Taliesin's Telling, and Herself ), Headline (London, England), 1992.

OTHER

May Day, Religion and Moral Education Press (Exeter, England), 1985.

Ascensiontide and Pentecost, Religion and Moral Education Press (Exeter, England), 1986.

Star Dancer (novel), Headline (London, England), 1993.

A Casket of Earth (novel), Robert Hale (London, England), 1997.

Flight of the Sparrow (novel), Robert Hale (London, England), 1999.

Visions and Voyages: The Story of Our Celtic Heritage, Triangle (London, England), 1999.

Runes on the Cross: The Story of Our Christian Heritage, Triangle (London, England), 2000.

The Silent Fort (novel), Robert Hale (London, England), 2003.

Sidelights

British author Fay Sampson has written many works of fantasy, including books for children and for adults. Some of her most popular children's works relate the adventures of Pangur Bán, a talking cat. These stories, which draw heavily on Celtic folklore, take place at the time when Christianity is just beginning to erode the traditional, native religions of Ireland and Britain. In Pangur Bán: The White Cat, the title character accidentally causes a young monk named Niall to kill another monk, the son of King Kernac. Kernac tries to avenge his son's death, but Niall and Pangur Bán escape him, only to be pursued by Kernac's daughter Finnglas. She, too, is determined to make Niall pay for her brother's death. In a series of fantastic adventures, the trio are captured by mermaids and eventually rescued by the Christ-like dolphin, Arthmael. In later books, Finnglas is named as her father's successor, the ruler of Summer Land, but she must undergo many trials and learn many lessons before she can truly become queen. "Very much in the tradition of C. S. Lewis's 'Narnia' books, they carry strong moral messages about love, courage, sacrifice, forgiveness, and redemption," wrote David V. Barrett, a contributor to the St. James Guide to Fantasy Writers. Booklist 's Carolyn Phelan also noted this emphasis, commenting in a review of Pangur Bán that "the classic 'battle of good and evil' theme finds fresh interpretation in these adventures."

Sampson once commented: "I was a solitary child, taking pleasure in reading and long walks with a dog on the hills above the fishing village where I lived. I loved writing, but no one ever suggested that I might earn a living by it. That had to wait until I had returned from Zambia and my younger child was starting school. Having made a break in my teaching career, I had to face the question, 'What next?' It was my husband and the late Sidney Robbins, an enthusiast for children's literature in education, who encouraged me to take writing seriously.

"I spent five very enjoyable years writing books that almost, but not quite, got published. I finally struck lucky with F.67. At first I wrote out of a deep love of my native west-country, its landscape, history, and legends. But success came when I turned to the present and near future (I regard F.67 and The Watch on Patterick Fell not as science fiction, but as social fantasy—shaking the kaleidoscope of the present and seeing what new patterns might emerge from the chaos). I still have a strong attachment to the west-country, particularly its Celtic past, and this is reflected in my more recent books. But however old the theme, it must still speak to today.

"Every week of the year I come across a news item or snippet of history that would make a good book. But nineteen times out of twenty I don't want to write it. It is too rounded, complete. For me the essential motivation in writing is curiosity. What would it be like if … ? What if they had … ? Or just, 'Why?' My books are an exploration of these questions. For instance, F.67 began with the influx of Ugandan Asian refugees when I visited one of their camps and asked, 'What would it be like if my own children were put into this situation?' But if I have done my work well, the books themselves will raise more questions than the answer, so that at the end the reader is just beginning his own adventure of the mind."

Biographical and Critical Sources

BOOKS

St. James Guide to Fantasy Writers, St. James Press (Detroit, MI), 1996.

PERIODICALS

Booklist, April 15, 1989, p. 1484; May 15, 2003, Carolyn Phelan, review of Pangur Bán, The White Cat, p. 1662.

Horn Book, June, 1980, Mary M. Burns, review of The Watch on Patterick Fell, p. 309.

New Statesman, November, 28, 1980, Gillian Wilce, review of Landfall on Innis Michael, pp. 30-31; December 5, 1986, p. 29.

School Librarian, May, 1988, p. 67; February, 1991, p. 31.

School Library Journal, March, 1980, George Gleason, review of The Watch on Paterick Fell, p. 143; December, 1989, review of A Free Man on Sunday, pp. 102-103; November, 2003, Patricia A. Dillisch, review of Finnglas and the Stones of Choosing, p. 146.

Spectator, December 13, 1986, p. 44.

Times Educational Supplement, August 30, 1985, p. 37; December 12, 1986, p. 35; November 27, 1987, p. 49; July 29, 1988, p. 21; April 7, 1989, p. B9.

Times Literary Supplement, February 19, 1988, Geoffrey Trease, review of A Free Man on Sunday, p. 200.

ONLINE

Fay Sampson Home Page, http://www.faysampson.co.uk/ (January 15, 2004).*