Raymond Briggs, the beloved author and illustrator of classic children's books including The Snowman and Father Christmas, has died at the age of 88. His publisher, Penguin Random House, confirmed his death on Tuesday.
Briggs's career spanned six decades, during which he created a host of memorable characters, from the grumpy Father Christmas to the angst-ridden Fungus the Bogeyman. His work ranged from the enchanting wordless story of The Snowman to the devastating nuclear apocalypse depicted in When the Wind Blows. Television adaptations of his books became a staple of British Christmas viewing.
Hilary Delamere, Briggs's literary agent, said: 'Raymond liked to act the professional curmudgeon, but we will remember him for his stories of love and of loss. I know from the many letters he received how his books and animations touched people's hearts. He kept his curiosity and sense of wonder right up to the last.'
Born in Wimbledon in 1934, Briggs left school at 15 to study at Wimbledon Art College, later attending the Slade School of Fine Art. Despite early snobbery about his interest in commercial art, he found work as an illustrator before publishing his first book, The Strange House, in 1961. He won the Kate Greenaway medal twice, for The Mother Goose Treasury in 1966 and Father Christmas in 1973.
Briggs often infused his work with a melancholy realism. Speaking about The Snowman, he said: 'I don't have happy endings. I create what seems natural and inevitable. The snowman melts.' His books have sold millions of copies worldwide and continue to be cherished by readers of all ages.
