Mary Cadogan: Author, critic and anthologist whose own early reading inspired her to champion the study of children's literature

Cadogan: friendly, forthright, outgoing, spirited and resourceful

Mary Cadogan came to prominence in the late 1970s and '80s as an author, broadcaster and commentator on all aspects of popular literature. I first met Mary in 1974, at a meeting of the London Old Boys' Book Club. We had a number of things in common: vegetarianism, for one, and an irrepressible delight in the works of Charles Hamilton (Frank Richards, of "Greyfriars" fame). When it turned out that each of us, independently, was planning a book, not on boys', but on girls' fiction, it soon became apparent that the right way to proceed was to join forces in a collaborative effort. The result, You're a Brick, Angela!, was published by Victor Gollancz in 1976, and seemed to strike a chord with critics and readers at the time. Its positive reception took both of us by surprise.

Two further critical studies, Women and Children First: the Fiction of Two World Wars (1978) and The Lady Investigates: Women Detectives and Spies in Fiction (1980) followed You're a Brick, before Mary and I went our separate (literary) ways. Mary's predominant characteristics included extraordinary good humour, a talent for friendship, immense enthusiasm and expertise in several different – one might almost say contradictory – areas.

From her mid-twenties she was an associate and follower of the Indian philosopher and teacher Jiddu Krishnamurti, and later became a Senior Trustee of the Krishnamurti Foundation. She was closely involved with the development of the Foundation's School and Centre at Brockwood Park in Hampshire. Yet this part of her distinguished dual career was in no sense at odds with her advocacy of "light" literature. Her protean personality was able to accommodate many varieties of life-affirming pursuits.

Mary Summersby was born in 1928 in Bromley, the daughter of a police officer and grand-daughter of an Indian Army officer. She had one older brother, whose copies of The Magnet ("Billy Bunter's Own Paper") inspired her lifelong fascination with the world of Frank Richards and Greyfriars.

At the age of 11 she won a scholarship to a local girls' grammar school; she left at 16 after passing "matric" and was then evacuated for a few months to the Isle of Man – an "idyllic" interlude, as she recalled it – but was soon back in bomb-scarred London and working as a secretary at the BBC (she was a Londoner through and through).

After three years she left to train as a therapist in music and dance for children and young adults suffering from polio, but returned to the BBC, to the Schools Broadcasting Department, in 1953. By this stage she had married Alex Cadogan, an engineer, and the two would often travel considerable distances on a motorbike to attend lectures by Krishnamurti, whose philosophy of life held a strong appeal for both of them. In 1958, after the birth of their daughter Teresa, Mary began to work for the Krishnamurti Foundation, which entailed travel to Centres in Switzerland, California and India.

The first book by Cadogan as sole author was her 1986 biography of Richmal Crompton (1986), whose anarchic 11-year-old William Brown was a childhood favourite, along with Tiger Tim, Rupert Bear, Jo March, Worrals of the WAAF and Clara Trevlyn of Cliff House School (in the pre-war School Friend). It was followed by Frank Richards: the Chap Behind the Chums (1988), another affectionate biography. Then came Women with Wings: Female Flyers in Fact and Fiction (1992), and a somewhat tongue-in-cheek study of romantic fiction, And Then Their Hearts Stood Still (1994).

Cadogan found herself in demand as a broadcaster and speaker at summer schools and conferences devoted to children's literature. She took part in radio programmes with Arthur Marshall and Terence Stamp, among others, and in 2008 was interviewed on the Gyles Brandreth show during the Magnet centenary. At the same time she was writing for papers such as The Guardian, Sunday Times, Birmingham Post and Times Educational Supplement.

She was also active among the Followers of Rupert and other appreciation societies such as the Just William Society. In 1987 she became editor of the Story Paper Collectors' Digest (founded in 1946 to cater to those addicted to the old school story papers) and kept it going for 18 years, imposing her own stamp on it.

Mary Carries On – an appropriate title – was her last book. It appeared under the imprint of Girls Gone By Publishers in 2008, to coincide with her 80th birthday, and consists of a series of exuberant essays on the juvenile books and characters that so enhanced her life and those of many others. The following year the University of Leicester conferred an honorary D Litt in recognition of her "outstanding contribution to the field of British Children's Literature", while from the Children's Books History Society she received a Lifetime Achievement Award.

Her final public appearance was at the Brockwood Alumni Reunion in August, where she spoke about her early encounters with Krishnamurti and applauded the work done at the school. Friendly, forthright, outgoing, spirited and resourceful, generous with her time and knowledge, she was a doyenne of the children's book world, a gifted interpreter and spokesperson for the joys of unexalted fiction. She will be greatly missed in the many circles in which she made her mark.

Mary Summersby, writer: born Bromley 30 May 1928; married 1952 Alex Cadogan (one daughter); died London 26 September 2014.