Elizabeth Longford
Encyclopedia
Elizabeth Pakenham, Countess of Longford, CBE
, better known as Elizabeth Longford (30 August 1906 – 23 October 2002) was a British
author
.
, and later took her Master's degree
at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford
. "Able, articulate and beautiful", in the words of The New York Times
, she was "the Zuleika Dobson
of her day, with undergraduates and even dons tumbling over one another to fall in love with her". On 3 November 1931, she married Francis Pakenham, 7th Earl of Longford, who died in August 2001. Her obituary
by the BBC
said the marriage was "famously harmonious." The New York Times, in its review of The Pebbled Shore, called Lady Longford "easily the best writer in what is predominantly a literary family".
She and her husband were both devout Roman Catholic converts, Lady Longford having been raised a Unitarian
, and avid social reformers. The Longfords had eight children, among them the writers Lady Antonia Fraser, Lady Rachel Billington
, and Thomas Pakenham.
She lived to the age of 96, dying in October 2002, 14 months after her husband.
, a minister in both Tony Blair
and Gordon Brown's
governments.
, was a doctor and expert witness
for the defence in the 1957 trial of suspected serial killer
John Bodkin Adams
. He was also Harriet Harman's father.
Lady Longford was a great-niece of the Tory
radical Joseph Chamberlain
and a first cousin once removed of the British prime minister Neville Chamberlain
.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, better known as Elizabeth Longford (30 August 1906 – 23 October 2002) was a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
.
Life
Born Elizabeth Harman and a daughter of eye specialist Nathaniel Bishop Harman, she was educated at the Francis Holland SchoolFrancis Holland School
Francis Holland School is the name of two independent day schools for girls in central London governed by the Francis Holland Schools Trust...
, and later took her Master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford
Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford
Lady Margaret Hall is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, located at the end of Norham Gardens in north Oxford. As of 2006 the college had an estimated financial endowment of £34m....
. "Able, articulate and beautiful", in the words of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, she was "the Zuleika Dobson
Zuleika Dobson
Zuleika Dobson, full title Zuleika Dobson, or, an Oxford love story, is a 1911 novel by Max Beerbohm, a satire of undergraduate life at Oxford. It was his only novel, but was nonetheless very successful...
of her day, with undergraduates and even dons tumbling over one another to fall in love with her". On 3 November 1931, she married Francis Pakenham, 7th Earl of Longford, who died in August 2001. Her obituary
Obituary
An obituary is a news article that reports the recent death of a person, typically along with an account of the person's life and information about the upcoming funeral. In large cities and larger newspapers, obituaries are written only for people considered significant...
by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
said the marriage was "famously harmonious." The New York Times, in its review of The Pebbled Shore, called Lady Longford "easily the best writer in what is predominantly a literary family".
She and her husband were both devout Roman Catholic converts, Lady Longford having been raised a Unitarian
Unitarianism
Unitarianism is a Christian theological movement, named for its understanding of God as one person, in direct contrast to Trinitarianism which defines God as three persons coexisting consubstantially as one in being....
, and avid social reformers. The Longfords had eight children, among them the writers Lady Antonia Fraser, Lady Rachel Billington
Lady Rachel Billington
Lady Rachel Billington is a British author, the daughter of the Earl and Countess of Longford, who were both eminent writers. She is the sister of Lady Antonia Fraser and Thomas Pakenham, also writers. Her husband is the film director Kevin Billington.She has published 19 adult novels and 7...
, and Thomas Pakenham.
She lived to the age of 96, dying in October 2002, 14 months after her husband.
Political career
A lifelong socialist, she made several attempts to win election to the House of Commons as a Labour MP but was unsuccessful, unlike her niece Harriet HarmanHarriet Harman
Harriet Ruth Harman QC is a British Labour Party politician, who is the Member of Parliament for Camberwell and Peckham, and was MP for the predecessorPeckham constituency from 1982 to 1997...
, a minister in both Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
and Gordon Brown's
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
governments.
Family
Her brother, John B. HarmanJohn B. Harman
John Bishop Harman, FRCS, FRCP was a British physician, president of the Medical Defence Union and chairman of the British National Formulary. He was also notable as a medical expert witness for the defence in the trial of suspected serial killer John Bodkin Adams...
, was a doctor and expert witness
Expert witness
An expert witness, professional witness or judicial expert is a witness, who by virtue of education, training, skill, or experience, is believed to have expertise and specialised knowledge in a particular subject beyond that of the average person, sufficient that others may officially and legally...
for the defence in the 1957 trial of suspected serial killer
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
John Bodkin Adams
John Bodkin Adams
John Bodkin Adams was an Irish-born British general practitioner, convicted fraudster and suspected serial killer. Between the years 1946 and 1956, more than 160 of his patients died in suspicious circumstances. Of these, 132 left him money or items in their will. He was tried and acquitted for...
. He was also Harriet Harman's father.
Lady Longford was a great-niece of the Tory
Tory
Toryism is a traditionalist and conservative political philosophy which grew out of the Cavalier faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It is a prominent ideology in the politics of the United Kingdom, but also features in parts of The Commonwealth, particularly in Canada...
radical Joseph Chamberlain
Joseph Chamberlain
Joseph Chamberlain was an influential British politician and statesman. Unlike most major politicians of the time, he was a self-made businessman and had not attended Oxford or Cambridge University....
and a first cousin once removed of the British prime minister Neville Chamberlain
Neville Chamberlain
Arthur Neville Chamberlain FRS was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from May 1937 to May 1940. Chamberlain is best known for his appeasement foreign policy, and in particular for his signing of the Munich Agreement in 1938, conceding the...
.
External links
- BBC News 2002: Lady Longford dies aged 96
- Elizabeth Longford, obituary by The TimesThe TimesThe Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...