Rosemary Sisson

Rosemary Sisson contributed to the very first Robin Annual (1953) and it may well have been her sole contribution to any comic.

Rosemary Anne Sisson was born in London on 13 October 1923, the daughter of Charles Jasper Sisson (a professor) and his wife Vera (nee Ginn). Her early ambition was to be a theatre actress but this was thwarted by the war, during which she served in the Royal Observer Corps in 1943-45. She attended the University College, London, where she obtained a B.A. (with honours) in 1946; she then went on to Cambridge University where she earned her M. Lit. in 1948.

She has taught literature (both English and American) at the University of Wisconsin (1949-50), the University College (University of London) (1950-54) and the University of Birmingham (1954-55). She joined the Stratford-upon-Avon Herald as drama critic (1955-57). She wrote seven plays before having one produced in 1957. As well as writing plays, scripts and novels, she has also contributed to Modern Review, the Sunday Telegraph, Sunday Times, Daily Mail and The Guardian.

She is a member of the Writers Guild of Great Britain (co-chairperson, 1979-80) and the Writers Guild of America and has been a guest on the radio series Quote... Unquote.

Novels
The Adventures of Ambrose, illus. Astrid Walford. London, George G. Harrap & Co., 1951; New York, Dutton, 1952.
The Impractical Chimney-Sweep, illus. Fritz Wegner. London, Macmillan & Co., 1956; New York, St. Martin's Press, 1956.
Mr Nobody, illus. Rosamond Stokes; Vera Kathleen Sisson wrote some of the rhymes. London, Macmillan & Co., 1956; New York, St. Martin's Press, 1956.
The Isle of Dogs, illus. Enid S. Ash. London, Macmillan & Co., 1959; New York, St. Martin's Press, 1959.
The Exciseman. London, Mayflower Books, 1972.
The Killer of Horseman's Flats. London, Hale, 1973.
The Stratford Story. London, W. H. Allen, 1975; as Will in Love, New York, Morrow, 1976.
Escape from the Dark (novelisation of the screenplay). London, W. H. Allen, 1976; as The Littlest Horse Thieves, New York, Pocket Books, 1976.
The Queen and the Welshman. London, W. H. Allen, 1979.
The Manions of America, based on a story by Agnes Nixon. New York, Dell, 1981; Loughton, Piatkus, 1982.
Bury Love Deep (based on Finders Keepers TV series). London, Love Stories, 1985.
Beneath the Visiting Moon. London, Love Stories, 1986.
The Bretts (based on the TV series). Harmondsworth, Viking, 1987.
First Love, Last Love. Sutton, Severn House, 2002.
We'll Meet Again. Sutton, Severn House, 2003.

Non-fiction
The Parish Church of St. Mary Magdalene, Lyminster (a shortened edition of Notes on the Parish and Church of Lyminster by Stephen Peachey Duval). Littlehampton, printed by Littlehampton Gazette, 1953.
The Treasures of Our Time. Embroidered kneelers in Chelsea Old Church, based on research by Marie Worsley. Bristol, printed by Western Printing Services, 1958?; 2nd ed., London, Chelsea Old Church, 1968.
The Young Shakespeare, illus. Denise Brown. London, Max Parrish, 1959; New York, Roy Publishers, 1959.
The Young Jane Austen, illus. Denise Brown. London, Max Parrish, 1962.
The Young Shaftesbury, illus. Denise Brown. London, Max Parrish, 1964.

Verse
Rosemary for Remembrance. London, Radcliffe Press, 1995.

Plays
The Queen and the Welshman. A play in three acts. London, Samuel French, 1958.
Fear Came to Supper. A play. London, S. French, 1959.
The Splendid Outcasts (1959), in Plays of the Year, 1958-59, ed. J. C. Trewin. London, Elek, 1959.
The Royal Captivity (1960).
Hone and Heart (1961).
The Acrobats. A play in one act. London, French, 1965.
Bitter Sanctuary. A play in three acts (1963). London, French, 1965.
The Man in the Case, in Eight Plays, ed. Malcolm S. Fellows. London, Cassell, 1965.
I Married a Clever Girl (1967).
Catherine of Aragon, in The Six Wives of Henry VIII, ed. J. C. Trewin. London, Elek, 1972; adapted by Herbert E. Martin, Dramatic Publishing, 1973.
A Ghost on Tiptoe, with Robert Morley. London, French, 1975.
The Dark Horse. A play. London, French, 1979.

Radio Plays
Trapped (1968)
Dear Aunt Jane (1972)

TV Plays
Compact (unknown episodes)
The Ordeal of Richard Feverel, based on the novel by George Meredith (1964)
The Rescue of Pluffles, based on the story by Rudyard Kipling (1964)
The Mill on the Floss, based on the novel by George Eliot (21 Feb 1965)
Theatre 625: The Queen & The Welshman (10 Apr 1966)
Der Mann aus Brooklyn (West Germany, 12 May 1966)
Boy Meets Girl: Lucinda (29 Sep 1967)
Heim und Herd (West Germany, 15 Feb 1968)
A Handful of Thieves, based on the novel by Nina Bawden (1969)
The Six Wives of Henry VIII (1970)
The Expert Witness (1970)
Elizabeth R: The Marriage Game (1971)
The Runaway Summer, based on the novel by Nina Bawden (1971)
The Shadow of the Tower (1972)
Upstairs Downstairs (11 eps. between 5 Mar 1972-30 Nov 1975)
Follyfoot:
__The Hundred Pound Horse (Jul 1972)
__Debt of Honour (1972)
Seven Faces of Woman: Let's Marry Liz (16 Jun 1974)
Within These Walls (unknown episodes)
The Duchess of Duke Street:
__The Outsiders (30 Oct 1976)
__A Lesson in Manners (17 Sep 1977)
__The Reluctant Warrior (22 Oct 1977)
Horse in the House, based on a story by William Corbin (1978)
The Talking Parcel, based on the novel by Gerald Durrell (26 Dec 1978)
The Manions in America, based on a story by Rosemary Anne Sisson & Agnes Nixon (1981)
A Town Like Alice, with Tom Hegarty; based on the novel by Nevil Shute (1981)
The Irish R.M., based on the stories by Edith Somerville & Martin Ross (12 eps between 1983-84)
The Wind in the Willows, based on the novel by Kenneth Grahame (27 Dec 1983)
The Wind in the Willows (var. eps, 1984)
Mistral's Daughter, with Terence Feely; based on the novel by Judith Krantz (1985)
Seal Morning, based on the novel by Rowena Farr (1986)
The Bretts, with others (1987)
A Dorothy L. Sayers Mystery:
__Strong Poison, with Philip Broadley; based on the novel by Dorothy L. Sayers (1987)
__Have His Carcase, based on the novel by Dorothy L. Sayers (1987)
Joy to the World, 1988-89, 1991-92
An Unwanted Woman, based on the novel by Ruth Rendell (1992)
The Chronicles of Indiana Jones:
__London, May 1916 (11 Mar 1992)
__Peking, March 1910 (26 Jun 1993)
__Istanbul, September 1918 (17 Jul 1993)
Young Indiana Jones and the Attack of the Hawkmen (1995)
The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Masks of Evil (1999)
Murder She Wrote: The Celtic Riddle, with Bruce Lansbury (19 Nov 2003)

Screen Plays
Ride a Wild Pony, based on the novel A Sporting Proposition by James Aldridge (1975); re-edited as a 2-part TV series for Disneyland (11 Feb-18 Feb 1979)
Escape from the Dark, based on a story by Burt Kennedy & Rosemary Anne Sisson (1976)
Candleshoe, with David Swift; based on the novel by Michael Innes (1977)
The Watcher in the Woods, with Brian Cleens and Harry Scoalding; based on the novel by Florence Engel Randall (1980)

Music
The Open Road, with John Hambley (music by Keith Hopwood and Malcolm Rowe). London, Chappell Music, 1983.