Lilian Gask

Born in Marylebone in 1865 and later dying in Camberwell on November 17, 1942, Lilian Fanny Gask was a British author of children's books. Her first book, Dog Tales, appeared in 1904, beginning a long run of titles for young readers.

Gask wrote especially often about animals and nature, with books such as Squirrel Tales, Pig Tales, The Wonders of the Zoo, and True Stories About Horses. She also wrote fairy tales and folklore-inspired works, including Through the Gates of the Moon and Folk Tales from Many Lands, giving her writing a mix of storytelling charm and natural history.

She frequently worked with illustrators, especially Dorothy Hardy, and her books were published by well-known houses including George C. Harrap. Although she is not widely remembered today, her work reflects the strong early-20th-century appetite for children's books that combined imagination, animals, and simple adventure.