Sophie Neville became inadvertently well known for starring as ‘Titty’ in ‘Swallows and Amazons’ (1974), a movie so ageless that it is repeatedly broadcast around the world. After her ebook on ‘The Secrets of Filming Swallows & Amazons’ became an Amazon bestseller, she was commissioned to write ‘The Making of Swallows and Amazons’, now published by The Lutterworth Press. Amusing, and appropriate for all ages, it doesn’t spoil the magic of the film.
Although useless at sailing, Sophie became President of The Arthur Ransome Society in 2014 and began speaking at yacht clubs, cinemas and literary festivals. She was commissioned to write DVD Extras for Revelation Film, along with forewords for ‘Swallowdale’ by Arthur Ransome, ‘Swallows, Amazons and Coots’, ‘An A-Z of Cumbria and The Lake District on Film’, and ‘Boats Yet Sailing’. Since then, she has contributed chapters to books such as Write Well and Merry Christmas Everyone, while writing feature articles for magazines and newspapers such as the Daily Telegraph.
Whilst living in Africa, Sophie put together two illustrated memoirs: Ride the Wings of Morning, and Funnily Enough, which was serialised in iBelieve magazine, won a Rubery Book Award, hit #1 in Humour on Amazon Kindle in the UK. She is bringing out an audiobook and 2nd edition with additional illustrations available online.
Sophie has been speaking on BBC Radio and nearly capsized on ITV News. You can listen to her on Radio Cumbria here and find behind-the-scenes photos with links to BBC iPlayer here.
The original film of ‘Swallows and Amazons’ is streaming on Amazon Prime where you can watch the trailer. Loved by generation after generation, it is often on BBC iPlayer where you can also find The Secret Life of Arthur Ransome.
Sophie has a degree in Anthropology from Durham University and background in television production. She began working at the BBC on drama serials such as ‘Doctor Who’ and ‘Eastenders’ before making her first documentary for Channel 4 while driving from London to Johannesburg. After directing comedy dramas for BBC Education, she produced an Inset series, set up a Blue Peter exploration of South Africa and worked freelance for the BBC Natural History Unit in Botswana and Namibia. As trustee of The Waterberg Trust, she organised challenge rides in Southern Africa where she was based for twelve years, working as a wildlife artist, cartographer and horse safari guide.
The Lutterworth Press bring you an interview with Sophie Neville here
email: sophie@sophieneville.co.uk
Sophie Neville 