Winifred Watson, 95; Novels Found New Fame After 60 Years

Winifred Watson, 95, a popular writer in England in the 1930s and early ‘40s who recently gained a new readership, died of undisclosed causes Aug. 5 in a hospital near her home in northern England.

Watson, who was born in Jesmond in northeast England, wrote six popular and well-received novels.

But she gave up writing during World War II while raising her son and dealing with a home that had been bombed.

Two years ago, her humorous and risque 1938 novel, “Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day,” was reprinted by a publisher in England.

The story of a governess mistakenly sent to the home of a nightclub singer instead of a family of unruly children won warm praise the second time around.

“Why has it taken more than half a century for this wonderful flight of humor to be rediscovered?” a reviewer for the Guardian newspaper wrote, describing “Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day” as “pure Cinderella farce, with beaus, bounders, negligees and nightclubs.”

Watson’s other books include “Fell Top,” “Hop, Step and Jump,” “Leave and Bequeath,” “Odd Shoes,” and “Upyonder.”