The Worst Witch
Each book covers one term at the school. There are two terms each year: the Winter term, from September to January, and the Summer term, from March to July. In "First Prize for the Worst Witch", the most recent book, Mildred is in the Summer term of her fourth year.
The author Jill Murphy began writing "The Worst Witch" at the age of 15, while still at school, and based many points of the stories on her own school experiences at Ursuline Convent in Wimbledon, England, with Singing becoming Chanting, Chemistry becoming Potions and so on. Recalling how she got the idea for the story, she said: "My two friends and I used to come home in our dark uniforms, looking very scruffy at the end of the day – my dark plaits sprouting tufts, with lost hair ribbons. My Mum used to say 'Look at you all. You look like the three witches!' and it gave me the idea for a witch's school – so that it was exactly like my school, but with a subtle touch of magic. All the characters are based on my school friends (and enemies) and teachers." Murphy concluded the first book at the age of 18, but failed to achieve a publishing deal, causing her to "put it in a drawer" and decide to "concentrate on other things instead." After working as a nanny and in a children’s home, Murphy had a phone call from a small publisher interested in the book. "The Worst Witch" was finally published in 1974, when Murphy was 24.
Jill Murphy
Murphy started to write "The Worst Witch" while still at school, but put the book on hold while she attended Chelsea and Croydon Art Schools. She continued to write it during a year living in a village in Togo, West Africa, and later while working as a nanny back in the UK. After receiving rejection letters from publishers to whom she offered the book (as she recalls, "They said children would be frightened about a school for witches..."), in 1970 when she was 21 she decided to try the new young company Allison and Busby. "They accepted it immediately, and printed 5,000 copies, and I remember wondering how many aunts and uncles I had, and what we would do with the rest," she said in an interview with "The Telegraph". However, the book proved an instant success, selling out within two months of publication. Murphy continued working as a nanny until the publication in 1980 of "The Worst Witch Strikes Again" prompted her to devote herself to writing full-time.
She gave birth to her son Charlie in spring 1990. Her marriage to potter Roger Michell ended in divorce.