For a dyed-in-the-wool author, nothing is as dead as a book once it is written. She is rather like a cat whose kittens have grown up.

Her books for children especially her several doll stories strongly convey the secret thoughts confusions and disappointments and aspirations of childhood. Early life

Godden was born in Sussex England. She visited India once more in 1994 returning to Kashmir for the filming of a BBC Bookmark documentary about her life and books.

Margaret Rumer Godden OBE (10 December 1907 – 8 November 1998) was an English author of more than 60 fiction and nonfiction books written under the name of Rumer Godden. A few of her works were co-written with her sister Jon Godden who wrote several novels on her own including Two Under the Indian Sun a memoir of the Goddens' childhood in a region of India now part of Bangladesh.