A Master Storyteller

Born in Wimbledon in 1934, Raymond Briggs worked in advertising before finding acclaim as an author and illustrator. He first came to the public’s attention with a series of illustrations for a book of nursery rhymes, The Mother Goose Treasury in 1966, winning a Kate Greenaway medal for his work.

Since then he’s found global fame, notably in Japan where he’s something of a cult figure. Along with The Snowman, his best-known books for children include Father Christmas, Fungus the Bogeyman and Ethel and Ernest, a charming biography of his parents who lived in the same house together for 41 years.