The author of the children’s picture book The Snowman, Raymond Briggs, died on August 9, 2022, at the age of 88. Penguin Random House, Briggs’ publisher, first announced the news on August 10.
He has been a cartoonist, illustrator, and graphic novelist since the early 1950s, and is best known for his 1978 book The Snowman. Briggs also created well-known picture books such as Fungus the Bogeyman and Father Christmas. Hilary Delamere, Briggs’ literary agent, delivered the devastating news:
“Raymond enjoyed playing the professional snob, but we will remember him for his tales of love and grief. Because of the numerous letters he received, I know how his writings and animations touched people’s hearts. He kept his interest and sense of wonder until the very end.”
The life and career of illustrator Raymond Briggs
Raymond Briggs was born in London, England in 1934. In London, he attended the Wimbledon School of Art and the Slade School of Art. In the early stages of his career, Briggs worked in advertising. However, he went on to become a children’s book illustrator and illustration instructor at the Brighton College of Art.
Briggs rose to prominence after the publication of The Mother Goose Treasury, a collection of nursery rhymes, in 1966. He also received the Kate Greenaway Medal from the Library Association of the United Kingdom twice, in 1966 and 1973. Raymond Briggs has illustrated books by well-known authors such as Allan Ahlberg.
The artist has also illustrated his own picture books, the most popular of which are Father Christmas (1973) and The Snowman (1979). (1978). Briggs told The Guardian about his reluctance to give producer John Coates film rights to The Snowman:
“Every five minutes, he’d bring it up, and I’d say no because I knew he’d commercialize it.” That is exactly what he did. Done extremely well at the same time.”
Raymond Briggs gave so much magic and joy to so many people. Rest in peace, my friend. Thank you for the memories as well. 🧡 pic.twitter.com/6jgIFlh3OG
August 10, 2022 — Angela Rayner (@AngelaRayner)
In the same interview with The Guardian, Briggs expressed his dissatisfaction with The Snowman book and film merging in the popular mind. He mentioned the following:
“It irritates me that people believe the success of the book is due to the image. It’s the other way around, for God’s sake! It doesn’t really matter.”
The majority of his works have also been translated into other languages and adapted into television cartoons, plays, and films. Briggs also contributed to the graphic novel Ethel & Ernest (1998), a biography of his parents. The plot revolves around the couple’s first meeting and their 41-year relationship. Raymond Briggs’ other notable works include Fungus the Bogeyman (1977), Unlucky Wally (1987), and The Bear (1994).
Raymond Briggs published When the Wind Blows (1982) for his mature audience, which is said to be a parody of nuclear war. The novel has been successfully adapted into two films: The Tin Pot Foreign General and The Old Iron Woman (1984). Briggs’ most recent picture book, Time For Lights Out, was released in 2019, and it, too, explores the physical indignities of aging. Raymond Briggs discussed the book’s completion process:
“I’d like to finish some of the scribbled sketches. You begin sketching it, then abandon it, but you never finish it. Everything takes a long time when you’re elderly. I just finished dressing in 30 minutes. Ludicrous!”
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