As a child she wanted a pony, but instead she had to sublimate her longing into writing. She began to write at age nine and published her first story while a student at the Wimbledon High School. Her first novel,
Sabre: the Horse from the Sea, was illustrated by Lionel Edwards and appeared in 1947; it was followed by two other horse stories. Although her parents wanted her to attend university, Kathleen chose the Manchester School of Art and received her Art Teacher's Diploma in 1951, a year after having run away to marry a fellow art student, Michael Peyton. Michael's energy, enthusiasm for adventure, and love of sailing heavily influenced Peyton's early writing, and they collaborated on several books in the first years of their marriage. In her early life, however, can be found many of her subjects and themes: the longing for a horse of one's own, a longing that so stirs Ruth in
Fly-by-Night (1968) and
The Team (1975) and Jenny in
Darkling (1989); and the need to rebel against parental domination and make independent choices, a need that drives Tim in
A Pattern of Roses (1972) and Jonathan in
Prove Yourself a Hero (1977) and
Free Rein (1983).
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