Angela Brazil

Born in Preston, England, Angela Brazil was a British writer whose books became a defining part of girls' fiction in the early 20th century. She is often credited as one of the first authors to write school stories from the girls' own point of view, with more energy and everyday fun than the moralizing tales that came before.

Across a career that produced nearly 50 books, she became especially known for boarding-school stories full of friendships, pranks, clubs, misunderstandings, and hard-won loyalty. Titles such as The Nicest Girl in the School helped shape the modern school novel and were widely read by young audiences for decades.

Brazil also had strong interests beyond fiction, including local history and nature, and she spent much of her later life in Coventry. Even now, her work stands out for making school life feel busy, social, and recognizably real to its readers.