Crime-solving author Robin Stevens captivates local pupils

Pupils at Christ College Brecon and Llanfaes Primary School were last week treated to a visit from number-one best-selling children’s author and creator of the famous Murder Most Unladylike series, Robin Stevens.

Children in years five to eight from the Brecon schools listened to Robin discuss her love of detective fiction and how it shaped her experience as a writer of murder mysteries for children, before she read a summary of her new book The Ministry of Unladylike Activity, in which a young group of would-be spies pose as evacuees to solve a murder at a country manor house in 1940s Britain. 

The audience were then grouped together and tasked with creating their own murder mystery adventure, before completing a quiz to discover which character they are most like in Robin’s book.

Two pupils from Christ College Brecon’s year seven class, Anna Beharrell and Helisent Graham-Paul, were so inspired by the author that they wrote a review of the event.

Anna said: “I thoroughly enjoyed her visit and loved every second of it! So, a huge thank you to Mrs Hope for organising the visit and Robin Stevens for introducing her brilliant books here at Christ College!”

Helisent said: “When I heard that Robin Stevens was coming into our school to talk to us about her new book, The Ministry of Unladylike Activity, I remember that I was just so excited to learn about how she comes up with all her ideas; her talk lived up to that expectation and more.”

Harry Mackridge, Deputy Head (Academic) at Christ College Brecon, said: “We’re so thankful to Robin for taking the time to come and speak to our pupils. It’s always great to see the children engaged and thinking creatively, and this workshop really got them excited about writing and the career that can come from it.”

Robin Stevens was born in California and moved to England when she was three. She attended Cheltenham Ladies College before securing an MA in crime fiction from Warwick University and going on to achieve her dream of writing crime novels.

For further information about Christ College Brecon, visit www.christcollegebrecon.com. Find out more about Robin Stevens at https://robin-stevens.co.uk