Francesca Simon on Horrid Henry character disappointment

We all know Horrid Henry, don’t we? The impish whirlwind of stripes and scruffy-haired mischief who burst into the lives of kids worldwide in 1994 and left muddled parents wondering why his well-behaved brother, Perfect Peter, couldn’t have had more of an impact on their giddy offspring.

“It was supposed to be just one story,” Simon admits. “When I submitted the first draft to my editor, Judith, at Orion Publishing, she felt it wasn’t long enough. I sat down and wrote a few more stories and that’s why each book has four stories.”

Simon kept writing and soon had enough material to publish two more books. “The series only took off after the fourth book, though, Horrid Henry’s Nits. It took me a little while to find my voice and become established as a writer.”

And Simon admits good timing was on her side, too. “I think the sustained success of the Horrid Henry books was sparked during a golden era for children’s literature,” she says.

But while Henry has now reached adulthood in real terms, Simon has always kept time frozen in her books. “He doesn’t age and is not going to,” she says. “He’s somewhere around eight and his brother Peter around six.”

Simon felt it was important not to clarify his age, so as not to alienate any of Henry’s fans, whom she says range from children of four to young adults. “The older readers are those who grew up with Horrid Henry and even now in their teens and early 20s still queue for the books,” she says.

Simon may be pleasantly surprised by the longevity of the series, but mention the spin-offs – an animated television series (2006) and film adaptation (2011) and she visibly shudders. Would she rather forget both?

“I had nothing to do with the television series or film,” she insists. “I’m more interested in books and the adaptations weren’t faithful to the books. I am not happy about it, but there is nothing I could do, once you sell the rights – that is it. You have no control over what happens next.”

The 59-year-old American, who was born in St Louis, Missouri, began writing long before her famous character came into existence.

Simon graduated from Yale with an honours degree in Anglo-Saxon medieval history and literature and went on to do postgraduate studies in medievalism at the UK’s Oxford University.

Finishing her studies in the late 1970s, she embarked on a lucrative career as a medievalist, but then left it to teach English as a foreign language in London, before working as a freelance journalist for The Sunday Times, Guardian, Mail on Sunday, Telegraph and US Vogue.

She recalls, for example, a day when her father was babysitting Joshua and brought him back “really dirty”. When she asked her father if he hadn’t seen the bibs, his reply was simply ‘Oh no, I forgot’.” And so Papa Forgot was born. 

Horrid Henry came about when Simon wanted to write about a household with a good and bad child. “Families are a source of comedy because they are about people trapped together,” she says. “Only the parents chose to be there and the rest of you are stuck with these people that you might not necessarily like.”

This time, Simon drew inspiration for the stories from her life experiences growing up and not Joshua’s childhood. “The character Horrid Henry is actually based on me,” she says. “I was very good at school and bad at home.”

She recalls sharing a bedroom with her younger sister who was “very messy and liked going to bed early, at 8pm.” Pausing for a second she laughs, “I was actually horrible to my siblings; I didn’t want to play with them so I know a lot about sibling rivalry.”

The Horrid Henry series also drew inspiration from American sitcom Seinfeld. “I borrow the ‘no hugs and no morals’ from Seinfeld to make the books more compelling and believable,” she says. “I usually think: ‘What would Henry do in such a situation?’”

Simon has also found the time to release more picture books and is in the middle of another fictional series aimed at children, aged eight and above. Her strong interest in Norse mythology and adventure shine through in the first instalment in the new series, The Sleeping Army. “I like [this] story, which is based on ancient legends, because a sleeping army can be found in different cultures, for example in China there are Terracotta Warriors while England has King Arthur’s army sleeping under Tintagel,” she says.

Simon thinks British author Steven Butler does child humour brilliantly with his well-known funnies The Wrong Pong and The Diary of Dennis the Menace. “I think he’s brilliant,” she says. “He has a great way of connecting with his young readers. He writes books that are incredible and enjoyable when read out loud to children.”

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Story time is something Simon has very strong feelings towards. “I love to see magic happening to ordinary children as they enjoy a book,” she says. “Parents should read aloud to their kids and teach them to value books. You shouldn’t stop reading to them when they learn to read, just read books that are too difficult for them to read.”

And in Simon’s opinion parents should lead by example. “If your children read a book you should read it yourself and discuss it with them, and let your child recommend books for you,” she advises. “I want kids to learn to read and love books. I read a lot to my son Joshua – everything from Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder, CS Lewis books, Philip Pullman’s books like The Ruby in the Smoke and fairy tales. He loved picture books like The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle and The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson.”

Just as she wants people to keep reading there’s still a lot Simon wants to write.

“I’ve always written, so it’s not like I have to motivate myself. My love of books and writing are the big motivators.”

And, of course, Horrid Henry also keeps her busy. She has just finished a Horrid Henry tour, which included talks, readings and attending his 20th birthday celebrations in bookshops across the UK.

No doubt, there’s still a strong demand for the stories set to lead a new generation of children astray. But for parents in a spin at the mere thought of more Henry, remember, there’s a silver lining to his high jinks and prankery: He has got them hooked on reading. And for that Francesca Simon has reason to smile.