Bestselling Author of Over 100 Books
ABOUT LEONARD
Leonard Wibberley, born in Dublin in 1915, was the sixth child of a schoolteacher and an agricultural scientist. At nine, his family swapped Ireland’s emerald charm for London’s foggy embrace. When his father died seven years later, Leonard went to work as a stockroom apprentice for a publisher at age 16.
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A roving spirit, Leonard bounced from apprentice to reporter before landing in the U.S. in 1943, where he forged his path through a decade of newspaper ink. While working for the Los Angeles Times, he published his first work, The King’s Beard. But it was The Mouse That Roared—written three years later and ultimately made into a classic film starring Peter Sellers—that crowned him a literary lion.
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In addition to satires, Leonard went on to write the award-winning Father Bredder Mysteries under the pen name, Leonard Holton, and several juvenile fiction books (including his popular John Treegate and Black Tiger books) sometimes using the pen names Patrick O’Connor and Christopher Webb. He also wrote several Christian-themed and non-fiction novels.
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Leonard lived in Hermosa Beach from 1949 until his death in 1983. With his wife, Hazel, who clean typed his work, he raised six rambunctious children and wrote over 100 books and hundreds of newspaper columns.
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Leonard was an adventurer who enjoyed traveling, scuba diving, ocean sailing, and road racing. He also enjoyed playing the violin, painting, and shouting at his kids.
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To read more about Leonard’s life and work, check out this biography which is also filled with Leonard’s musings and quotes about everything:
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The Life and Writings of Leonard Wibberley
by Dennis M. Duffy
Sign up for our newsletter to receive columns written by Leonard Wibberley that were syndicated by newspapers nationally over his lifetime. You will also receive news of the upcoming releases of new ebook, audiobook, and paperback editions of his many out-of-print novels:
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Leonard’s Musings & eBook News
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