Clark, Mavis Thorpe (1909-1999), was an Australian author of fiction for young readers. She wrote under the pen names of M. R. Clark and Mavis Latham. Most of her many books for teenagers portray life in Australia, both in pioneer days and in modern times. She has been praised for her descriptions of the harsh but beautiful Australian landscape. Her character handling is sympathetic and full of human interest.
Clark’s best-known work is probably The Min-Min (1966), which won the Children’s Book Council of Australia Award in 1967. It is an account of a troubled young man and his sister who journey across the Nullarbor Plain on the edge of the Central Australian desert. Blue Above the Trees (1967) portrays the destruction of the Australian rain forest by sheep and cattle ranchers. Her other notable novels for young people include The Brown Land Was Green (1956), Spark of Opal (1968), and The Sky Is Free (1976). Clark also wrote biographies for adults and textbooks about mining.
Clark was born in Melbourne on June 29, 1909, and educated at Methodist Ladies’ College. She began her writing career at the age of 14 when her children’s serial, “The Red School,” was published in the Australasian magazine. In 1996, she was named a Member of the Order of Australia for her contributions to children’s literature. The Order of Australia is Australia’s highest award for service to the country or to humanity. Clark died on July 8, 1999.
