Joyce Lankester Brisley

• Name — Joyce Lankester Brisley • Born — 1896 • Birthplace — Bexhill-on-Sea, England, UK • Occupation — Writer, illustrator • Notable Works — Milly-Molly-Mandy series • Died — 1978 (aged 82)

The second of three daughters of George Brisley, a pharmacist, of Bexhill-on-Sea, Sussex, Brisley's sisters - Ethel Constance, the eldest, and Nina Kennard, the youngest - were also illustrators. They studied art firstly at Hastings School of Art, then, following their parents' divorce in 1912 and the subsequent relocation of the girls and their mother to Brixton, at Lambeth School of Art.

All three sisters illustrated postcards for the publisher Alfred Vivian Mansell & Co., with Nina (who also illustrated Elinor Brent-Dyer's Chalet School series) and Ethel becoming quite prolific. Brisley's books were first printed in 1925, and a collection appeared in book form in 1928. She wrote and illustrated six collections of Milly-Molly-Mandy, amongst other works.

Brisley died in 1978 at the age of 82. She left the J L Brisley Charitable Trust, which provides financial assistance to religious charities in London as specified in her will. The 2022 total expenditure was £5,070.