Margaret Thursday, the unforgettable heroine of Thursday’s Child stars in this classic children’s adventure from Noel Streatfeild, the beloved author of Ballet Shoes.

When Margaret Thursday lands a role as a child actress at a well-known London theatre, becoming famous almost overnight, news of her success reaches her bitter enemy, the matron of her old orphanage.

Margaret knows that Matron is set on revenge, but she keeps her head held high, focusing on the play. But Matron’s evil plans are well prepared, and Margaret is going to need her wits about her – and the help of her friends – if she is to escape unharmed…

‘Noel Streatfeild’s position in the children’s book world is unique. She is endlessly inventive, full of verve and real understanding of the surfaces of childhood. Her stories are rich in documentary interest and entertainment, escapism of a most satisfying sort.’ – The Times Literary Supplement

‘Noel Streatfeild has that happy, skilful knack of turning her characters into real people – something which only really good novelists can do.’ – BBC Children’s Hour

‘Noel Streatfeild is an author who is a true master of her craft.’ – Illustrated London News

Praise for Thursday’s Child
‘Written for unalloyed enjoyment … Children will love it.’ – Daily Telegraph

Noel Streatfeild, the plain middle child between two talented and pretty sisters, trained at RADA and acted for nine years before writing Ballet Shoes, an instant bestseller, in 1936. As vicarage daughter, factory girl, actress, model, social worker, writer, and crusader for good books, Noel touched many aspects of life. Her experiences enriched her stories, which were so popular that, by her eightieth birthday, she had earned herself the title of ‘a national monument’. She died in 1986.