The Duchess of Cambridge will delight young CBeebies viewers tomorrow night with a reading of the classic children’s tale The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark.
But the story behind the book is just as remarkable as the tale itself, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.
For Jill Tomlinson, the acclaimed author behind Kate’s favorite childhood story, battled multiple sclerosis and crippling mental illness for years, even spending time in psychiatric hospitals.
It’s particularly poignant as the Duchess’ TV appearance marks the final day of Children’s Mental Health Week. Palace aides said she also chose the book because the story – of a barn owl called Plop who overcomes her fear of the dark with the help of friends – fits the mental health issues facing children can be faced.
The Duchess of Cambridge (pictured) will please young CBeebies viewers tomorrow night by reading the classic children’s tale The Owl Who Was Afraid Of The Dark
Ms Tomlinson wrote the book in 1968, just as multiple sclerosis was beginning to ravage her body – a new hurdle to overcome after years of battling serious mental health issues. Her symptoms began as postnatal depression, but then escalated.
“Back then it was called manic depression, but now I think it’s called bipolar,” her daughter Kate Goodwin said.
She must have been 26 when it started. After a few years, they discovered that it could be controlled by psychoanalysis.
Jill Tomlinson in 1957 with her daughter Kate in Kenton, north London. Jill was the author of The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark and other children’s works
Ms Goodwin, now 67, said it took her mother six years to overcome her depression, which included two spells in psychiatric hospitals.
While recovering, she embarked on a creative writing class and began writing her first children’s stories. But when Mrs. Tomlinson started writing, the MS took root.
Despite illness, she completed her first book, Hilda The Hen, which was published in 1967, followed by The Owl Who Was Afraid Of The Dark.
She went on to write 12 more books, revolving around the adventures of animals such as penguins, otters and aardvarks, although half of them are now out of print.
The author used to visit London Zoo for research and inspiration, but when she became wheelchair bound her field trips had to come to an end. Eventually, she needed 24-hour care.
“My fondest memory of her is her smile, I think,” Ms Goodwin said. “She was always fun and lively, even though we were horrible teenagers at the time.”
Ms Tomlinson painstakingly wrote her last books by dictating to her children, before finally using a special board on which she selected individual letters by blowing on them with a pipe or gesturing with her eyes.
She died in 1976, aged 45, after raising three children, Kate and two younger brothers.
Ms Goodwin, a retired tax official, said: ‘I think she probably decided she had done her bit. She raised her children and I think she lost the will to keep fighting.
She said the family was honored by the Duchess’ choice of her mother’s book. “We are very happy and happy that this is a book that has stood the test of time, that people remember from their own childhood,” she said.
“People still find it funny, even though the Duchess of Cambridge considers it to be mental health – striving to overcome one’s problems and solve them with ideas.”
Ms Tomlinson, who grew up in Twickenham, south-west London, showed no early literary talent.
“His teachers complained that his writing style was far too juvenile,” Ms. Goodwin said, “but it works quite well for a children’s author.” Instead, Ms Tomlinson had ambitions of becoming an opera singer and studied at the Royal College of Music.
Ms Tomlinson wrote the book in 1968, just as multiple sclerosis was beginning to ravage her body – a new hurdle to overcome after years of battling serious mental health issues. Her symptoms began as postnatal depression, but then escalated
The devout Christian then met her future husband, Rolfe, whom she married at 20 and he at 26.
But when she developed mental health issues, it ended her dream.
Last night, a Kensington Palace source said: ‘The Duchess personally chose the book because she enjoyed reading the long version as a child and now enjoys reading it to her own children.
“The Duchess felt the story fit so well with Children’s Mental Health Week in that it touches on themes such as growing up to overcome your fears with the help of those around you.”
Kate, 40, will be the first royal to read a children’s story on TV since her stepfather Prince Charles appeared on BBC’s Jackanory in 1984 to read his story The Old Man Of Lochnagar.
The Duchess, whose reading airs at 6.45pm on February 13, is the latest known name to appear on CBeebies Bedtime Stories, following Chris Evans, David Tennant, Tom Hardy and Suranne Jones.
