How does a writer in her seventies relate so well to readers barely in their teens? Jacqueline Wilson confronts her audience with realism, not with tales of fantasy, but she wins them over because she remains in touch with the child within herself. The Scotsman has described her as someone with “twinkling eyes” and “cropped spring chicken hair,” who holds an OBE, has a defibrillator in her heart, needs dialysis three times a week, and yet retains “the curiosity of a child, sides with children and writes as a child in first person.”
Jacqueline Wilson is one of Britain’s most prolific and esteemed children’s authors. She has written over a hundred books. In the UK alone, over 40 million copies of her work have been sold. She has been Children’s Laureate from 2005 to 2007 and became Dame Jacqueline Wilson in 2008.
Jacqueline Wilson’s imagination is as free-spirited as the characters in her stories. She is probably best known for her novels about Tracy Beaker, a child living in a care home. She is, as The Scotsman puts it, “mixture of prim and punk” and “the dame of disobedience.” Wilson has always known that adults aren’t perfect and believes it is acceptable for children to have their own views.
Jacqueline Wilson wanted, as we learn from The Scotsman, to encourage children to read about children who were in some ways different from themselves, and find a way to accept them and take them into their hearts. Jacqueline Wilson yearned for authentic stories about children to be articulated in a sparkling yet genuine voice. Wilson wanted to place herself, by reflecting “real children’s real lives.” She thought about all those children who don’t live with their natural parents, or live in families where no one works, or those who have a disability. She wanted to empower such children by giving them a chance to see themselves in her books. The issues which Wilson’s protagonists grapple with are serious. In "The Illustrated Mum", the tattooed mother suffers from manic depression. In "The Bed and Breakfast", we see a family almost permanently homeless. The children cope with disappointments such as when a parent fails to turn up to a Christmas play. They experience vulnerability and attraction when a teacher shows kindness because they have witnessed only violence and anger from a father.
It is this familiarity with family troubles, financial difficulties, difficult marriages, angry adults and early motherhood which lend such authenticity to Wilson’s narrative. She can make a reader feel at ease about such themes because reality is acknowledged without judgment. This version of the world, coming from a renowned author, is strong validation which makes a child feel that he or she is certainly not alone in facing the ups and downs of life. It’s the very thing which Wilson’s books are loved for.
Jacqueline Wilson also enjoys a wonderful relationship with her fans. She receives almost 200 letters a week from around the world, a fact mentioned in an interview with The Guardian. She regrets only that it is impossible for her to reply to each one personally.
There is no doubt that being able to reach the hearts of her readers is one of the keys to Wilson’s success. However, there is something else which has made the difference between wanting to write and actually achieving her dream.
Jacqueline Wilson is assiduous. This is the one attribute which ensures that she manages to publish at least two books every year. Nick Sharratt (the primary illustrator for all her books and good friend), in an informal discussion with Wilson recorded by The Independent, admired her for being incredibly disciplined. She manages to write between five hundred to a thousand words each day, not even taking a day off at Christmas. She is also unflagging in her pursuit of new stories. Talking to The Guardian, Wilson said that when she suffered from heart failure a few years ago, she used the convalescence period to do research for her new series about a Victorian foundling, "Hetty Feather".
Wilson responds to a question on her website that of all her books, "Hetty Feather" is the one she personally likes best. It is a work of historical fiction. Hetty is a red-haired, fiery tempered child who was abandoned at birth at the Foundling Hospital. She is given in care until she is five years old, at which point she must return to the hospital for her education. Hetty’s adventures take her from the cruel and cold world of the hospital to the exhilarating world of the circus. Adapted by script writer Emma Reeves and director Sally Cookson of "Peter Pan", Hetty Feather’s story is now a stage show, applauded by The Scotsman as one “bursting with circus skills and music.”
Jacqueline Wilson has the uncanny knack for placing herself at center stage without stealing the limelight from the stars of her books, like "Tracy Beaker" or "Hetty Feather". Her website is a cheerful and inviting micro-world featuring her biography, fan mail, a scrapbook, information about her books and a calendar of important events. We learn that she serves as Chancellor of Roehampton University, promotes literacy in schools, and saw her proudest moment when she introduced the Queen to all her fellow authors on the day she was celebrating her 80th birthday. Blessed with abundant energy, she gives talks about "Hetty Feather" at the Foundling Museum every year, appears for several book readings and has been profiled and interviewed by leading media sources including BBC, The Telegraph and The Guardian over her career. She might be meeting excited fans in Norwich one day and answering questions on a CBBC Newsround on another. Any child will be curious about links like “The Gossip”, “Storyland”, or a chance to meet Hetty in the “Foundling Hospital.” Wilson supports young aspiring authors by giving them opportunities to materialise their ideas. There are writing competitions which encourage children to participate and win prizes. In recognition of the fact that children may sometimes need to talk to someone about something which is worrying them, there is a link provided for a children’s helpline, where everything is assured to be kept confidential.
Jacqueline Wilson is a powerful and influential force in the literary world. It would not be surprising if one day, a Jacqueline Wilson fan asked her affluent parents to move to a council flat! The real essence of Wilson’s work, however, lies in the fact that she holds up a mirror to life and gives children permission to acknowledge flaws, and seek happiness despite the flaws.
