Such Stuff: A Story-maker's Inspiration

by Michael Morpurgo

This insightful collection is the perfect gift for Michael Morpurgo fans who want to understand how writing works and where stories begin. Revealing essays from Michael about more than twenty of his most popular novels are combined with key extracts from his books along with historical context and illuminating background information from Michael’s brother Mark. Stunning illustrations from Michael Foreman, photographs and facsimiles complete the immersive experience.

371 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2016

About the author

Sir Michael Andrew Morpurgo, OBE, FRSL is the author of many books for children, five of which have been made into films. He also writes his own screenplays and libretti for opera. Born in St Albans, Hertfordshire, in 1943, he was evacuated to Cumberland during the last years of the Second World War, then returned to London, moving later to Essex. After a brief and unsuccessful spell in the army, he took up teaching and started to write. He left teaching after ten years in order to set up 'Farms for City Children' with his wife. They have three farms in Devon, Wales and Gloucestershire, open to inner city school children who come to stay and work with the animals. In 1999 this work was publicly recognised when he and his wife were invested a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to youth. In 2003, he was advanced to an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). He became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature (FRSL) in 2004. He was knighted in the 2018 for his services to literature and charity. He is also a father and grandfather, so children have always played a large part in his life. Every year he and his family spend time in the Scilly Isles, the setting for three of his books.

Reviews

[Kieran Fanning · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fans of Michael Morpurgo will love this. A fascinating insight into how he dreams up his stories. Cleverly constructed too, with each featured story containing a piece about the inspiration behind the story, an extract from the actual story, and a bit of historical detail too. Interesting the way he weaves his books from 3 or 4 true stories, history and family playing big parts. I haven't read many of his books but this book makes me want to go out and read more. So it's a good marketing tool, as well as a great read!

[Christine Ottaway · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a big Michael Morpurgo fan so having a whole book to read about where his stories come from and how he dreams that into existence was a delight.
Each chapter takes a book or pair of books and shows how ideas, personal history, chance meetings, objects or all manner of things weave together into one of his stories. There then follows an excerpt of the book and finally a section on the history of one of the main event of the book featured.
It made for a thoroughly enjoyable read.

[Aruna Kumar Gadepalli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Though the book is quick read, wanted to read slowly to enjoy the themes. This collection us amazing read. To know about background for writing his books (21 books) and various aspects that made the author to write and various details referring to his research made me enjoy the book. Definitely a good read.

[Claire Marchant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant book! So well put together with interesting informative historical information as well as personal accounts from Morpurgo about the origins of his stories, with snippets of the actual books to tie it all together. A must read for anyone interested in narrative or Michael Morpurgo himself.

[Sharon Brennan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Michael Morpurgo's books and this one did not disappoint. If you want to find where his inspiration for his stories comes from and the history behind the events then this is a book you need to read. I read a version on Overdrive but will need to purchase a hard copy for my school library.

[Ian Rees · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting background to Morpurgo's writing, why he chose the subjects he did and how he went about creating his stories. Some quite moving background stories.

[Katy Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

The sort of book that readers wait for... the story BEHIND the stories.

Morpurgo is very honest in this collection of anecdotes, memories, behind the scenes reminisces and extracts. He takes us through a good portion of his back catalogue, telling us just how they came to be.

There are some fascinating stories here, amazing coincidences, and it is clear throughout that if Morpurgo had not TALKED to people around him, asked questions, considered his surroundings and investigated, he wouldn't have been privy to information, been told secrets, offered people's own memories - and a lot of his books wouldn't have come about.

His books are really an amalgamation of the stories of others' along with his own inspired retellings and imaginings of real-life happenings - tales springing from truth.

I loved reading this. There were a few of his books I hadn't read, and having extracts there is a marvelous way of connecting with the back-story he describes and seeing how he used it in his storytelling.

It's perfect for a class teacher as well - a short introduction to a book and then a few pages from the book itself to encourage students to consider it, to read the whole thing, to become familiar with both storytelling convention and many historical tales.

There are wonderful tips for aspiring writers, and the honesty (Morpurgo quite openly admits that he puts himself in the stories a lot, uses the name Michael, because he can't think of many other names!) is refreshing and surely helpful to a young person not sure if they are 'doing it right'. He tips his cap at parents, teachers and librarians who encourage reading.

It's a very useful book overall, entertaining, but should be something that any Morpurgo-loving school should consider for their shelves.

The hardback in particular is lovely, Foreman as ever capturing the nostalgic feel of the author and many of his books, the watercolour cover depicting a hat-wearing Morpurgo catching books in a fishing net in a strong wind.

Wish more authors would let readers in on the secrets of their inspiration in a similar format.

With thanks to Walker Books for the sample copy, sent for review purposes.

[Tanja · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another gem of a book by Michael Morpurgo, this time created with support from several members of his family, putting together excerpts of stories, background information as well as what gave the inspiration for the stories. I loved, loved, loved it and have already ordered the print copy too. I didn't just enjoy learning how he comes across the ideas and develops his stories, but also appreciated rereading excerpts of favorite stories and discovering the most fascinating and intriguing facts related to the various stories, for example about the nature of horses, the sonar of whales and how it is impacted by submarine sonars. I was especially touched by reading what inspired I Believe in Unicorns and reading the beautiful words he had to say about librarians. Generally, I can always tell how much I love a book by the amount of favorite sentences/ paragraphs I highlight while reading. With this book, there were so many beautiful words, sentences, paragraphs, so much to reread, love and treasure. Michael Morourgo says things that touch me deeply, expresses beliefs and opinions totally in line with how I think and feel but never in the world would have been able to put into words. Here though I just nod my head all the time while reading, thinking "that's exactly it". Finding a book like this is so beautiful, reading it a journey of a very special kind. Once again I am in total awe of Michael Morpurgo, his talent as a story-maker, his compassion and empathy for us humans with all our faults and weaknesses, as well as for all the other creatures with whom we share this beautiful planet.