Children’s author, editor and publisher Felicia Law dies aged 80

Children’s author, editor and publisher Felicia Law died aged 80 on Saturday 29th July 2023.

Born Felicia Katherine Gardner in Arrow, Warwickshire on 4th February 1943, Law was a former teacher and headmistress and founder of the Unicorn Primary School in Richmond, London which recently celebrated its 52nd anniversary.

She was also co-founder of the Lion & Unicorn Children’s Bookshop and New Edition Bookshop in Richmond. Her move into the world of publishing took her to the UK, US, Europe, the Middle East and Asia creating reference material for children.

Law wrote over 300 children’s books published by Penguin Books, HarperCollins, Random House and other international publishers worldwide. Her career included international publishing director at World Book, managing director and publisher at Marshall Direct Learning, consultant publisher at the EFL division at Random House Korea, and publisher and director at London-based packagers Allegra Publishing and Diverta Ltd.

She met Marco Rodino at Marshall Direct and together they founded Allegra and later Diverta. In 2012, she set up the children’s content creator BrambleKids with fellow director Bill Burnham, former c.e.o. of the American publisher Soundprints.

Jenny Rosson, who had been Law’s rights agent for many years, through Diverta, Allegra and since 2012 BrambleKids, said: “She battled illness for many years but this beautiful, brilliant, fiery, determined, amazing, infuriating woman was not indestructible after all.

“She was an inspiration and always so generous in passing on her knowledge and expertise. A perfectionist and obsessive fact checker, she would explain that things had to be done in a certain way. Her way. Always! She would have much to say about the publisher who questioned her knowledge of architecture or the one who tinkered with international borders on one of her maps. But she very well understood the markets to whom she sold her works. She would allow a publisher a small tinker as long as it didn’t mess with the integrity of her work.

“A devout Remainer, she left the UK in a big huff after Brexit and settled in Italy before moving to Ireland in 2022. She will be very much missed and has left behind a menagerie of heartbroken pets along with sisters Caroline and Elisabeth, nephews and nieces Adrian, Sophie, Abigail and Jody and their children.”