The Toy Maker

A single man was responsible for the toys which shaped generations of children. Frank Hornby invented the train set, Meccano, the dinky toy and Scalextric. And yet, until now, there has been no biography of this extraordinary figure. Frank Hornby was born in 1866 to a working class family in Liverpool. Whilst working as a book keeper for a meat importer, and frustrated by the range of toys in turn of the century Britain he set up a toy manufacturing company. A passionate and inspired man, he developed his first toys for his own children and by his death in 1936 Meccano and Hornby trains were market leaders. In 2001 Hornby's chairman announced the company profits were booming as twenty-first century adults rediscovered the joys of their childhood. Encompassing social history, politics and changing attitudes towards children this is a beautifully written life story of an unsung hero.