Sophie Neville became inadvertently well known as a child when she starred as Titty in the 1974 movie ‘Swallows and Amazons’. Forty years later, she was persuaded to bring out an ebook on ‘The Secrets of Filming Swallows & Amazons’. This attracted so much publicity she was commissioned to write ‘The Making of Swallows and Amazons’, now published by The Lutterworth Press. She brought out two humorous memoirs ‘Ride the Wings of Morning’ and ‘Funnily Enough’, which was serialised in iBelieve magazine. As President of The Arthur Ransome Society she wrote forewords for ‘Swallowdale‘ by Arthur Ransome, ‘Swallows, Amazons and Coots’ and ‘An A-Z of Cumbria and The Lake District on Film’ while speaking on BBC Radio, ITV News and at literary festivals. She has been commissioned to write articles for the Daily Telegraph, Country Life and specialist magazines.
The latest news: Bidding for signed, first edition copies of Sophie’s books on making the movie of ‘Swallows and Amazons’ (1974) in the Children in Read charity auction in aid of BBC Children in Need, has surpassed authors such as Bernard Cornwall and Nigella Lawson and reached £101. Auction prices are only surpassed by Carol Drinkwater and JK Rowling. You can read more here.
Sophie has a degree in Anthropology from Durham University and background in television production. While at the BBC she wrote her own programs and worked on drama serials such as ‘Doctor Who’, ‘Eastenders’ and ‘My Family and Other Animals’, before directing her first documentary for Channel 4 when driving from London to Johannesburg. She later set up a Blue Peter summer exploration of South Africa and worked freelance for the BBC Natural History Unit in Botswana and Namibia. As trustee of The Waterberg Trust, she held a series of challenge rides through Southern Africa where she lived for twelve years while working as a wildlife artist and cartographer.
President of The Arthur Ransome Society 2014-2019
Member of The Biographer’s Club
Member of ACW – Association of Christian Writers
Christian Writers’ Directory
The Lutterworth Press bring you an interview with Sophie Neville here
