Leonard Malcolm Saville (21 February 1901–30 June 1982)[1] was an English writer best known for the Lone Pine series of children's books, many of which are set in Shropshire.
His work emphasises location; the books include many vivid descriptions of English countryside, villages and sometimes towns.
[2] It was adapted for BBC radio broadcast in 1943, and was followed by a further 19 children's books in the Lone Pine series, the last one published in 1978.
Several of his 90 books were serialised for broadcast on radio, many on Children's Hour, and his 1953 book The Ambermere Treasure, part of the Jillies series, was serialised by Associated-Rediffusion, the first commercial television company to broadcast in the United Kingdom, in late 1955 and early 1956; it was therefore one of the first ITV children's drama series.
Another book by Mark O'Hanlon called The Complete Lone Pine – a guide to the entire series – was published in 1996 and was reprinted in an extended hardback edition in 2005.