Leon Garfield (1921-1996) is widely regarded as one of the 20th century's finest children's writers. His first novel was the highly-acclaimed Jack Holborn (1964) and this was followed by many exciting, dramatic novels, often with historical themes, ranging from acclaimed retellings of Greek myths to tales of piracy to adventures, romances and supernatural stories set in the 18th ad 19th centuries. He won both the Carnegie Medal and the Whitbread Award.