Leonard Malcolm Saville was an English author best known for the Lone Pine series of children's books, many of which are set in Shropshire. His work emphasises location; the books include many vivid descriptions of English countryside, villages and sometimes towns.
Early life and career
He was born in Hastings, Sussex, and was educated at Richmond Hill School, in Richmond, Surrey. His working life began at Oxford University Press in 1918, then continued as a publicist with Cassell & Co, Associated Press, and George Newnes. He was also the associate editor of My Garden magazine, before taking over editorship of Sunny Stories from Enid Blyton in 1954, when she left to set up her own magazine in direct competition. Saville's writing career, from 1943 to 1982, was initially a diversion from his working life. His first book, Mystery at Witchend, was set in Shropshire and was written when his children had been evacuated to the county from the family home in Hertfordshire. It was adapted for BBC radio broadcast in 1943, and was followed by a further 19 children's books in the Lone Pine series, the last one published in 1978. Several of his 90 books were serialised for broadcast on radio, many on Children's Hour, and his 1953 book The Ambermere Treasure, part of the Jillies series, was serialised by Associated-Rediffusion, the first commercial television company to broadcast in the United Kingdom, in late 1955 and early 1956; it was therefore one of the first ITV children's drama series. Saville also wrote many short stories and magazine articles.
Personal life
His marriage to Dorothy in 1926 produced four children. Saville had strong moral convictions, and was a practising Christian. He died in Hastings in 1982, aged 81.
Book list
All dates in the list below refer to the first date of publication. Some of the earlier titles were reissued in revised editions in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Some of the books were translated into Dutch.
Malcolm Saville's Country Book – an updated revision and expansion of the Country Scrapbook and Open Air Scrapbook.
Malcolm Saville's Seaside Book – a similar updated revision and expansion of the Seaside Scrapbook.
See How It Grows
Eat What You Grow
The Countryside Quiz
The Wonder Why Book of Exploring a Wood
The Wonder Why Book of Exploring the Seashore
The Wonder Why Book of Wild Flowers Through the Year
The Seashore Quiz
Religious books
King of Kings
Strange Story
Other non-fiction
The Adventure of the Lifeboat Service
The Coronation Gift Book for Boys and Girls – Although written for children to enable them to understand the process of Queen Elizabeth II's coronation, the book was informative enough for it to be read by adults as well.
Saville also edited Words For All Seasons, a poetry anthology first published in 1979. He began a book on the Shropshire countryside he loved, The Silent Hills of Shropshire, but died before he could finish it; it was completed by Mark O'Hanlon and published in 1998. Mark O'Hanlon's biography of Saville, Beyond the Lone Pine which was published to coincide with the centenary of Saville's birth in 2001, is also now out of print. Another book by Mark O'Hanlon called The Complete Lone Pine – a guide to the entire series – was published in 1996 and was reprinted in an extended hardback edition in 2005.
