Cunningham, Julia

Julia Cunningham was born on October 4, 1916 in Spokane, Washington but grew up in New York City. Her father left the family when Julia was six, an event that had a tremendous influence on her writing. In 1960, at the age of 44, Julia Cunningham published her first book, The Vision of Francois the Fox . She was criticized for her books containing less than traditional gothic themes, many of which are set in France with characters that are often orphans or outcasts of society. However, the power of her work was shown in the numerous awards she received, including the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award, the Christopher Award, and a New York Herald- Tribune Children's Spring Book Festival Award. Julia Cunningham lives in Santa Barbara, California, where until recently she was a buyer and bookseller.

From the guide to the Julia Cunningham papers, 1957-1973, (Special Collections and University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries)

Julia Cunningham was born October 4, 1916 in Spokane, Washington. She attended art school for a year in Virginia and then worked as an editor and at various jobs before writing children's and young adult books. Her first book The Vision of Francois the Fox was published in 1960. Throughout her career, Julia Cunningham has felt that as a writer of children's books it is crucial to "listen", "look", "daydream", and "be aware of smell and taste" and be "disciplined." Critics have praised her works for their originality and almost "poetic prose." She is known for her anthropomorphic animal characters that express the "power of love" and "friendship" and "vivid personalities." Her fables are moralistic but not didactic. Julia Cunningham has also several books with a "gothic" backdrop including Viollet (1966), The Treasure Is the Rose (1973), and Tuppeny (1978). She also uses what critics call "the Romantic child," an innocent child who brings enlightenment to those who will accept it. In Dorp Dead (1965) an allegorical story of "possibility," orphan Gilly escapes from cruel Master Kobalt by following the tenets of the Hunter who "hunts to see" and learns to make the right choices and struggle against regimentation and rigidity.

Something About the Author vol. 26, pp.48-49. Twentieth Century Children's Writers, 3rd ed., pp. 252-253.

From the guide to the Julia Cunningham Papers, 1960-1986, (University of Minnesota Libraries Children's Literature Research Collections [clrc])