Author:Catherine Sefton

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Pseudonym of "Martin S. Waddell" according to Locus and Contento: Wikipedia says "Martin Waddell" (no S.) This link confirms some connections. We have several "Martin Waddell" or "M. S. Waddell" entries that may be better suited in determining canonical name for our purposes. Unfortunately the author sites mostly concentrate on his children's stories and the 'Horror' writer may be someone else entirely. BLongley 19:18, 9 September 2008 (UTC)

Additional information now available confirms that the children's writer and the horror writer are the same. The "Wee Web" site says:

"His books used to be published under two names: Martin Waddell and Catherine Sefton. His Martin Waddell books he describes as 'for amusement only'. He used the pseudonym Catherine Sefton so that he could write serious books that often look at how people relate to one another, and how they deal with different situations. Now all the books are published under the name Martin Waddell."

In more detail, Answers.com quotes the Oxford Encyclopedia of Children's Literature at length, including:

"The Sefton novels—thoughtful ghost stories for older readers (In a Blue Velvet Dress, 1972) and realistic problem novels (The Cast-Off, 1993)—are characterized by psychological exploration and an emphasis on family and personal history."

This gives us the convincing evidence we need to connect Catherine Sefton with this Martin Waddell. The links above also include data connecting the "Harriet" stories of our Martin S. Waddell with the same Martin Waddell. However, we have been unable to find definitive links between our M. S. Waddell and Martin (S.) Waddell, so these may be separate writers. The Answers.com link above mentions a 1966 book (Otley) by Martin Waddell, so the time frame for having written as "M. S. Waddell" (1963-65) does not rule this out. At least two horror blogs, Vault of Evil and Pan Horrors claim that M. S. Waddell is Martin Waddell, but it seems we need more definitive evidence before we assert this claim. Chavey 17:02, 11 March 2011 (UTC)