About the Author: James Vance Marshall

Pseudonym of Donald Gordon Payne.
He lives in Surrey, England, and has four sons and one daughter.

The Children, later known as Walkabout, though published under the name James Vance Marshall, was actually written by the English author Donald Gordon Payne as were a number of Payne's later works for children. The Children and other works were apparently based on Marshall's travel notes and diaries, and in the case of The Children, Marshall may have drafted the work. Marshall claimed the work as his own during his lifetime while Payne has also claimed it as his own. Following Marshall's death, and with permission from the family, Payne continued to publish novels for children and adults using Marshall's name. There has been confusion about the status of the works in numerous sources.