Early Life
Mahy was born in 1936; she was the eldest of five children. She was raised in her birthplace of Whakatane. Her father was a bridge builder and often told his children adventure stories which later influenced Mahy's writing. Her mother was a teacher. She wrote her first published story when she was seven, called "Harry Is Bad". She showed it to her class to let them know that they could write a story whatever their age.
She went to the local high school, where she was acknowledged as a talented swimmer.
Read more about this topic: Margaret Mahy
Famous quotes related to early life:
“... goodness is of a modest nature, easily discouraged, and when much elbowed in early life by unabashed vices, is apt to retire into extreme privacy, so that it is more easily believed in by those who construct a selfish old gentleman theoretically, than by those who form the narrower judgments based on his personal acquaintance.”
—George Eliot [Mary Ann (or Marian)