Ian Lucien Serraillier enjoyed a long career as a respected writer, editor, and reteller of tales for children. He is frequently praised in histories and textbooks of children's literature for bringing renewed life and vigor to the myths and legends of Greece, Rome, and England. His poetry and prose retellings are recommended for their subtle, sophisticated style and their enticing readability. First published as a poet and later known primarily for those highly praised children's versions of classical hero tales, Serraillier has a reputation that now rests even more solidly on the award-winning book The Silver Sword (1956), a tale of four Polish children surviving World War II.

Serraillier was born in London on 24 September 1912, the first child of Lucien and Mary Rodger Serraillier. He began school near Hampstead Heath, where his family lived, but his father died in the great influenza epidemic of 1919. Soon afterward he went to...