RIP, Diana Wynne Jones

Christopher Priest's obit for much-loved fantasy writer Diana Wynne Jones in today's Guardian is a lovely and loving look at a wonderful person who will be much missed:

Like many good writers, Diana Wynne Jones, who has died aged 76 of cancer, worked for long years in relative obscurity, in her case sustained as a children's fantasy author by a modestly sized but devoted young readership. That obscurity provided the freedom to develop her own voice without the distractions of having to build on perceived success. By the time real success found her, in Jones's case almost by chance, she was a mature writer with a solid and varied body of work that was ready to be appreciated by a much bigger new audience.

Her intelligent and beautifully written fantasies are of seminal importance for their bridging of the gap between "traditional" children's fantasy, as written by CS Lewis or E Nesbit, and the more politically and socially aware children's literature of the modern period, where authors such as Jacqueline Wilson or Melvyn Burgess explicitly confront problems of divorce, drugs and delinquency.

Diana Wynne Jones obituary (Thanks, Flying_Monkey, via Submitterator)

• [Lobster]

  Why do we keep losing the good ones, while the evil ones seem indestructible?

• [legionabstract]

  I only got into her books very recently. I had tried them out about twenty years ago and didn’t like them very much; now, looking back on that, I have to wonder what I was thinking, because she’s great. Is.

• [Tynam]

  I am shocked once again by just how much it is possible to hurt for the loss of a woman I never met.

  I have to go reread Deep Secret now. (The thought that there will be no more sequels is an unforgettable tragedy by itself.)

• [Anonymous]

  Oh how sad. I was considerably infatuated with the Dalemark quartet as a kid. Those books were gorgeous. I hardly even remember them anymore, but I was just thinking last week that I should pick them up on amazon… =/ She was really a writer whose works stuck with you.

• [RobertBigelow]

  Sophie: “Yes, I’m the scariest witch of them all, the kind that cleans!”

  • [Amelia_G]

    Nooo! I’ll miss her so much! I reread “Howl’s Moving Castle” for decades. Still know where to find it in the children’s room of my redneck childhood library.

• [Anonymous]

  I’m am horribly saddened to hear of our loss.

• [tr3x27]

  :’( I loved her books.

• [Anonymous]

  Tragic. She was an amazing writer. Her books were fun and imaginative.

• [maxoid]

  Oh man, no! I was looking forward to at least another decade of her writings. You know she would have, if given the chance.

  “A Tale of Time City” and “The Homeward Bounders” are my top two books of hers, personally. “Dalemark” quartet in a close third.

• [Anonymous]

  When I was a teenager in the early 80s, my parents took me to England for a trip, and one of the absolute highlights for me was having tea with Diana Wynne Jones at her home (my parents were friends of hers). I was a bit nervous to meet one of my favorite authors, and expected her to be one of those aristocratic English literary sorts. Instead, she picked us up at the train station in an old station wagon sort of thing, apologizing to me all the drive to her home about the dog hair coating the back seat I had been relegated to. She was warm, kind, and self effacing, and I felt instantly at ease. She was a magnificent storyteller, and a lovely woman. RIP Diana.

• [Anonymous]

  My son began reading Diana Wynne Jones when he was 9 years old. He couldn’t get enough. Then he got me interested in her and I began reading her as well. I loved the Chrestomanci novels and the Dalemark Chronicles. Howl’s Moving Castle is brilliant and my son’s personal favorite. Strangely, I was just beginning Dark Lord of Derkholm today when my son came in the room to tell me the news. We’re so very sad. We wish her family peace and hope that they can find comfort in the joy that she brought to so many. Thank you, Diana Wynne Jones. Rest in peace.

• [Anonymous]

  very sad. My favorites were Dogsbody, the Chrestomancis and Fire and Hemlock. RIP, but send somebody some inspiration from the other side.

• [Atlacatl]

  She was one of my favorite childhood authors along with Roald Dahl. Homeward Bounders was my favorite book for many years, along with the Chrestomanci series.

• [hugesean]

  Neil Gaiman’s blog post was particularly moving:
  http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2011/03/being-alive.html

  • [Scurra]

    Thank you for that link – Gaiman is so right. In some ways I’m glad that she never became a massive “break-out” success, because it meant that those of us who knew about her felt like she was our secret.

    It’s invidious to try and pick favourites, but I adore Archer’s Goon, still get properly baffled by Hexwood and think that Fire & Hemlock might be one of the finest YA books ever written.

  • [Flying_Monkey]

    That is as perfect a tribute as any of us could hope for. She was clearly a very special person.

• [Anonymous]

  Last summer I snuck into the children’s floor of my public library and checked out all of her books I could find again. So many years later and I still loved them; I even discovered some new favourites. She will be sorely missed!

  I think I’ll go curl up Dark Lord of Derkholm now.

• [Anonymous]

  Sitting at work with tears in my eyes. My favourite author who’s books I will treasure forever as they opened my eyes to the world of fantasy & the fantastical. I red Howl’s moving castle aged about 11 and have read every book I know of that she’s written.
  Me and my Mum would wait till we’d both read the same one & then get all excited talking about the story and the characters – which have always been engaging and colourful.
  I will miss you terribly.

• [Anonymous]

  A great loss to us all. At least we still have her wonderful books.