Although her work is known for being witty and comic in nature, she has also been praised for her characterisation and the complexity of her characters.

Her work drew on her own life experiences and locations she had lived in, for example part of her novel Sun in Scorpio was set in Malta. She was disciplined and focused in her writing as well as researching her work meticulously.

The journey in 1928 by train and Steam ship with two other young women saw Margery mentioned in the press, including in the Sunday Mirror, and she also wrote about her tour experiences for the Evening Standard.Īfter university Margery continued with her writing. She was also chosen to be part of a team who visited American Women’s colleges all over the United States. While studying, she joined the National Students Union British University Women’s Debating Team, visiting Poland and Ireland. She then spent a year studying art at Westminster Art School, and it is clear from her books she had a passion and discipline for drawing and painting. She left the college in 1928 with a BA(Hons) Class II degree. She had a mentor in Sir Owen Seaman, the satirical Editor of Punch, who corresponded frequently with her and sent her letters encouraging her writing. Her college career was devoted “ almost entirely to journalism and campus activities.” This included story contributions to Punch magazine. She studied Intermediate Arts, then French with English. She worked briefly as a typist for a year, and then in 1925 she began attending Bedford College, University of London. When Margery returned to the UK from Malta, she received a good education at Streatham Hill High School, with a distinction in English and English History and a Higher Certificate (1923). Her interest in writing started early – she had planned to be a writer from the age of seven. Here Margery attended the Chiswick House School. Shortly after Margery’s birth, the family left Hulse Road, Salisbury to go to Malta, where John was seconded. Her father was a Civil Servant in the War Office, briefly working in the Army Accounts Office. Clara Margery Melita Sharp was born in Salisbury in January 1905 to Yorkshire-born couple Clara and John Sharp.

The Rescuers by Margery Sharp