Peter Dickinson was a staunch supporter of authors’ rights. In the 1980s he was on the executive committee of the then fledgling Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society, which had been set up by authors to protect their collective rights in publishing, television and film.
In this capacity he joined Maureen Duffy and me at tough negotiating meetings with the Committee of Vice Chancellors and Principals to reach agreement on licensing universities for photocopying. I recall him anxiously asking me if his performance had been all right as we left one difficult meeting, concerned that he had raised the right points. I was able to reassure him that he certainly had.
The last time I saw him was in his lovely garden in Hampshire, where he and his wife, Robin, amply demonstrated that they were excellent gardeners as well as successful authors. Always kind and thoughtful, Peter was a gentleman of the old-fashioned variety.
