Escape to King Alfred

Robert Geoffrey Trease August 11, 1909 January 27, 1998 was a prolific writer, publishing 113 books between 1934 Bows Against the Barons and 1997 Cloak for a Spy His work has been translated into 20 languages His grandfather was a historian, and was one of the main influences towards Trease s work.He is best known for writing children s historical novels, whose content reflects his insistence on historically correct backgrounds, which he meticulously researched However, with his ground breaking study Tales Out of School 1949 , he was also a pioneer of the idea that children s literature should be a serious subject for study and debate When he began his career, his radical viewpoint was a change from the conventional and often jingoistic tone of most children s literature of the time, and he was one of the first authors who deliberately set out to appeal to both boys and girls and to feature strong leading characters of both sexes.