Andrews, William Eusebius (1773–1837), writer and publisher, was born at Norwich on 15 December 1773, the son of John (d. c.1796) and Helen Andrews (c.1729–1823), who were converts to Roman Catholicism. He began work as a printer's apprentice on the ...
Article
Andrews, William Eusebius (1773–1837), writer and publisher
Brian Carter
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Anson, Peter Frederick (1889–1975)
Maker: Howard Coster
In
Peter Frederick Anson (1889–1975) by Howard Coster, 1933 © National Portrait Gallery, London
Article
Anson, Peter Frederick (1889–1975), monk, writer, and artist
Michael Yelton
Anson, Peter Frederick (1889–1975), monk, writer, and artist, was born Frederick Charles Anson on 22 August 1889 at 32 South Parade, Southsea, the son of Charles Eustace Anson (1858–1940), subsequently rear-admiral, and his wife, (Maria) Evelyn, née Ross (1863–1904). His father came from a family with strong connections to the ...
Article
Arouet, François-Marie [known as Voltaire] (1694–1778), writer and philosopher
David Williams
Arouet, François-Marie [known as Voltaire] (1694–1778), writer and philosopher, was born in Paris on 21 November 1694 according to the notice of baptism. He was the fifth of five surviving children born to François Arouet (1649–1722), lawyer and minor official, and his wife, ...
Article
Arundell, Dorothy (1559/60–1613), author and Benedictine nun
Kate Aughterson
Arundell, Dorothy (1559/60–1613), author and Benedictine nun, was the daughter of Sir John Arundell (1527×30–1590) [see under Arundell family] of Lanherne, Cornwall, and Lady Anna Stourton, daughter of the earl of Derby. The Arundells were the chief mainstay of Catholicism during ...
Article
Askew [married name Kyme], Anne (c. 1521–1546), writer and protestant martyr
Diane Watt
Askew [married name Kyme], Anne (c. 1521–1546), writer and protestant martyr, was probably born at her family home in Stallingborough, near Grimsby in Lincolnshire, the second daughter of Sir William Askew (1489–1541) and his first wife, Elizabeth Wrottesley. She had two brothers, ...
Article
Bainbridge, Dame Beryl Margaret (1932–2010), actress, writer, and artist
Mark Bostridge
Bainbridge, Dame Beryl Margaret (1932–2010), actress, writer, and artist, was born on 21 November 1932 at 294 Menlove Avenue, Allerton, Liverpool, the younger child of Richard Bainbridge, commercial agent, and his wife, Winifred, née Baines. Her father was a self-made man who left school at ten, established himself successfully in business, but then went bankrupt as a result of the 1929 financial crash. His wife, who considered that her husband had married above himself, was disappointed and embittered by the family's reduced circumstances, and the young ...
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Bainbridge, Dame Beryl Margaret (1932–2010)
Maker: Eamonn McCabe
In
Dame Beryl Margaret Bainbridge (1932–2010) by Eamonn McCabe, 2002 © Eamonn McCabe
Article
Barclay, John (1582–1621), writer
Nicola Royan
Barclay, John (1582–1621), writer, was born on 28 January 1582 at Pont-à-Mousson, Lorraine, the son of William Barclay (1546–1608) and his wife, Anne de Malleviller. His father was Scottish, and professor of civil law in the college recently founded in Pont-à-Mousson by the ...
Article
Barry, Michael Joseph (1817–1889), writer and lawyer
Brigitte Anton
Barry, Michael Joseph (1817–1889), writer and lawyer, was born in Cork City, the eldest son of Michael Joseph Barry, a barrister and later professor of English law in the then Queen's College, Cork (now University College, Cork), and his wife, Anne England...
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Baynes, Roger (1546–1623), author and administrator
Michael E. Williams
Baynes, Roger (1546–1623), author and administrator, was the son of Hugh Baynes of Shrewsbury. In his will he mentions a brother who married in Spain and two brothers living in England. He was admitted to the Middle Temple on 24 November 1565. In May 1572 ...
Article
Bedford [née von Schoenebeck], Sybille (1911–2006), writer
Selina Hastings
Bedford [née von Schoenebeck], Sybille (1911–2006), writer, was born on 16 March 1911 at Charlottenburg, on the outskirts of Berlin, Germany, the second daughter of Maximilian Josef von Schoenebeck (1863–1925) and only child of his second wife, Elizabeth, née Bernhardt. Her father was descended from a long line of bureaucrats and minor landed gentry; his father, ...
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Bedford, Sybille (1911–2006)
Maker: Lucinda Douglas-Menzies
In
Sybille Bedford (1911–2006) by Lucinda Douglas-Menzies, 1990 © Lucinda Douglas-Menzies / National Portrait Gallery, London
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Bedoyere, Michael Anthony Maurice Huchet de la, Count de la Bedoyere in the French nobility (1900–1973), author and journalist
Andrew Boyle
revised
Bedoyere, Michael Anthony Maurice Huchet de la, Count de la Bedoyere in the French nobility (1900–1973), author and journalist, was born on 16 May 1900 in St Servan, Brittany, France, the only child of Vicomte Yvon Huchet de la Bedoyere and his wife, ...
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Behan, (Francis) Brendan (1923–1964)
Maker: Daniel Farson
In
(Francis) Brendan Behan (1923–1964) by Daniel Farson, 1952? © Estate of Daniel Farson; collection National Portrait Gallery, London
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Behan, (Francis) Brendan (1923–1964), writer
Joan Littlewood
Behan, (Francis) Brendan (1923–1964), writer, was born on 9 February 1923 at Holles Street Hospital, Dublin, the first of the four sons of Stephen Behan (d. 1968), house painter, and his wife, Kathleen, daughter of John Kearney, grocer. Stephen was doing time for ...
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Bicarton, Thomas (fl. 1570–1590), author and teacher of rhetoric
J. H. Burns
Bicarton, Thomas (fl. 1570–1590), author and teacher of rhetoric, was probably born in St Andrews, where his father, John Bicarton, a saddler, was an early adherent of the protestant congregation—but an unruly member. In 1559 John had become trustee for the property of the expelled Dominican community. Five years later, by refusing to present one of ...
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Braine, John Gerard (1922–1986), writer
Kingsley Amis
revised
Braine, John Gerard (1922–1986), writer, was born on 13 April 1922 in Bradford, the elder child and only son of Fred Braine, a sewage-works inspector, and his wife, Katherine Josephine Henry. By religion his father was a Methodist, his mother a Roman Catholic; he was brought up in the latter faith. He was educated at ...
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Braine, John Gerard (1922–1986)
Maker: Mark Gerson
In
John Gerard Braine (1922–1986) by Mark Gerson, 1962 © Mark Gerson; collection National Portrait Gallery, London
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Braybrooke [née Jolliffe], June Guesdon [pseud. Isobel English] (1920–1994), writer
Peter Parker
Braybrooke [née Jolliffe], June Guesdon [pseud. Isobel English] (1920–1994), writer, was born at 15 Kensington Court Place, London, on 9 June 1920, the belated second daughter of John Mayne Jolliffe (1885–1957), a Welsh civil servant at the Ministry of Pensions, and his wife, ...
