Helen Rappaport
Encyclopedia
Helen Rappaport is a British historian, author, and former actress. As a historian, she specialises in the Victorian era
and revolutionary Russia
.
, Rappaport grew up near the River Medway
in North Kent and attended Chatham Grammar School for Girls
. She studied Russian at Leeds University, where she was involved in the university theatre group and decided against a career in the Foreign Office and instead became an actress. She appeared in several television series including Crown Court
, Love Hurts
and The Bill
. As she reveals in an interview she spent '20 years in the doldrums as an out of work, broke and miserable actress'...
In the early nineties she gave up acting and became a copy editor for academic publishers Blackwell
and OUP. and also contributed to historical and biographical reference works published by for example Cassell and Readers Digest.
She became a full-time writer in 1998, writing three books for US publisher ABC-CLIO
including An Encyclopaedia of Women Social Reformers in 2001, with a foreword by Marian Wright Edelman
. It won an award in 2002 from the American Library Association
as an Outstanding Reference Source and according to the Times Higher Educational Supplement, 'A splendid book, informative and wide-ranging'.
In 2003 Rappaport discovered and purchased an 1869 portrait of Jamaican nurse Mary Seacole
by Albert Charles Challen
. The picture now hangs in the National Portrait Gallery
.
Mary Seacole features in Rappaport's 2007 book No Place for Ladies: The Untold Story of Women in the Crimean War which was praised by Simon Sebag Montefiore
as being 'Poignant and inspirational, well researched yet thoroughly readable' and also received positive reviews in The Times
and The Guardian
.
Her 2008 book Ekaterinburg: The Last Days of the Romanovs received many positive reviews in both the UK and US where it became a bestseller.
Conspirator: Lenin in Exile published in 2009 gained considerable publicity due to Rappaport's claim that Lenin died from syphilis
and not a stroke.
Her 2010 book, Beautiful For Ever describes the growth of the Victorian cosmetics industry and tells the story of Madame Rachel who found both fame and infamy peddling products which claimed almost magical powers of "restoration and preservation". According to the Daily Mail
, 'Rappaport handles her scandalous Victorian melodrama with energy and aplomb, and produces a richly entertaining portrait of the seamy side of 19th century society'.
Her latest book, Magnificent Obsession was due to be published on 3 November 2011, the 150th anniversary of its subject; the death of Prince Albert
.
, David Hare and Nicholas Wright
.
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
and revolutionary Russia
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
.
Biography
Born in BromleyBromley
Bromley is a large suburban town in south east London, England and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Bromley. It was historically a market town, and prior to 1963 was in the county of Kent and formed the administrative centre of the Municipal Borough of Bromley...
, Rappaport grew up near the River Medway
River Medway
The River Medway, which is almost entirely in Kent, England, flows for from just inside the West Sussex border to the point where it enters the Thames Estuary....
in North Kent and attended Chatham Grammar School for Girls
Chatham Grammar School for Girls
Chatham Grammar School for Girls is an all-girls grammar school in Medway in southeast England.-Admissions:There are currently around 1000 pupils on roll, including 240 in the mixed sixth form, and 64 teaching staff, however, the number of pupils has dropped over the last three years so the school...
. She studied Russian at Leeds University, where she was involved in the university theatre group and decided against a career in the Foreign Office and instead became an actress. She appeared in several television series including Crown Court
Crown Court (TV series)
Crown Court was an afternoon television courtroom drama produced by Granada Television for the ITV network that ran from 1972, when the Crown Court system replaced Assize courts and Quarter sessions in the legal system of England and Wales, to 1984....
, Love Hurts
Love Hurts (UK TV series)
Love Hurts is a British situation-comedy television series that was broadcast from 1992 to 1994 on the BBC. It was scripted by Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran and starred Adam Faith, Zoë Wanamaker and Jane Lapotaire as Frank Carver, Tessa Piggott and Diane Warburg, respectively....
and The Bill
The Bill
The Bill is a police procedural television series that ran from October 1984 to August 2010. It focused on the lives and work of one shift of police officers, rather than on any particular aspect of police work...
. As she reveals in an interview she spent '20 years in the doldrums as an out of work, broke and miserable actress'...
Blackwell Publishing
Wiley-Blackwell is the international scientific, technical, medical, and scholarly publishing business of John Wiley & Sons. It was formed by the merger of John Wiley's Global Scientific, Technical, and Medical business with Blackwell Publishing, after Wiley took over Blackwell Publishing in...
and OUP. and also contributed to historical and biographical reference works published by for example Cassell and Readers Digest.
She became a full-time writer in 1998, writing three books for US publisher ABC-CLIO
ABC-CLIO
ABC-CLIO is a publisher of reference works for the study of history and social studies in academic, secondary school, and public library settings.-History:...
including An Encyclopaedia of Women Social Reformers in 2001, with a foreword by Marian Wright Edelman
Marian Wright Edelman
Marian Wright Edelman is an American activist for the rights of children. She is president and founder of the Children's Defense Fund.-Early years:...
. It won an award in 2002 from the American Library Association
American Library Association
The American Library Association is a non-profit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with more than 62,000 members....
as an Outstanding Reference Source and according to the Times Higher Educational Supplement, 'A splendid book, informative and wide-ranging'.
In 2003 Rappaport discovered and purchased an 1869 portrait of Jamaican nurse Mary Seacole
Mary Seacole
Mary Jane Seacole , sometimes known as Mother Seacole or Mary Grant, was a Jamaican nurse best known for her involvement in the Crimean War. She set up and operated boarding houses in Panama and the Crimea to assist in her desire to treat the sick...
by Albert Charles Challen
Albert Charles Challen
Albert Charles Challen was a British artist. He is best known as the painter of a portrait of Mary Seacole in 1869, when she was around 65 years old...
. The picture now hangs in the National Portrait Gallery
National Portrait Gallery
National Portrait Gallery can refer to:*National Portrait Gallery in Canberra*Portrait Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, Ontario*National Portrait Gallery , with satellite galleries in Denbighshire, Derbyshire and Somerset...
.
Mary Seacole features in Rappaport's 2007 book No Place for Ladies: The Untold Story of Women in the Crimean War which was praised by Simon Sebag Montefiore
Simon Sebag Montefiore
Simon Jonathan Sebag Montefiore is a British historian and writer.-Family history:Simon's father, a doctor, is descended from a famous line of wealthy Sephardic Jews who became diplomats and bankers all over Europe...
as being 'Poignant and inspirational, well researched yet thoroughly readable' and also received positive reviews in The Times
The Times
The 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...
and The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
.
Her 2008 book Ekaterinburg: The Last Days of the Romanovs received many positive reviews in both the UK and US where it became a bestseller.
Conspirator: Lenin in Exile published in 2009 gained considerable publicity due to Rappaport's claim that Lenin died from syphilis
Syphilis
Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the spirochete bacterium Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum. The primary route of transmission is through sexual contact; however, it may also be transmitted from mother to fetus during pregnancy or at birth, resulting in congenital syphilis...
and not a stroke.
Her 2010 book, Beautiful For Ever describes the growth of the Victorian cosmetics industry and tells the story of Madame Rachel who found both fame and infamy peddling products which claimed almost magical powers of "restoration and preservation". According to the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
, 'Rappaport handles her scandalous Victorian melodrama with energy and aplomb, and produces a richly entertaining portrait of the seamy side of 19th century society'.
Her latest book, Magnificent Obsession was due to be published on 3 November 2011, the 150th anniversary of its subject; the death of Prince Albert
Prince Albert
Prince Albert was the husband and consort of Queen Victoria.Prince Albert may also refer to:-Royalty:*Prince Albert Edward or Edward VII of the United Kingdom , son of Albert and Victoria...
.
Non-fiction
- Joseph StalinJoseph StalinJoseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
: A Biographical Companion, 1999 ABC-CLIOABC-CLIOABC-CLIO is a publisher of reference works for the study of history and social studies in academic, secondary school, and public library settings.-History:... - An Encyclopedia of Women Social Reformers, 2001 ABC-CLIO
- Queen Victoria: A Biographical Companion, 2003 ABC-CLIO
- No Place for Ladies: The Untold Story of Women in the Crimean WarCrimean WarThe Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
, 2007 Aurum PressAurum PressAurum Press is an independent English publishing house located in London. It was founded in 1976. Aurum concentrates on non-fiction titles and publishes approximately 75 new books every year. One of its titles in 2009 will be the biography of Neville Staple, vocalist in The Specials, Fun Boy... - Ekaterinburg: The Last Days of the Romanovs, 2008 HutchinsonHutchinson (publisher)Hutchinson & Co. was an English book publisher, founded in 1887. The company merged with Century Publishing in 1985 to form Century Hutchinson, and was folded into the British Random House Group in 1989, where it remains as an imprint in the Cornerstone Publishing division...
- Conspirator: Lenin in Exile, 2009 Hitchinson
- Beautiful for Ever: Madame Rachel of Bond StreetBond StreetBond Street is a major shopping street in the West End of London that runs north-south through Mayfair between Oxford Street and Piccadilly. It has been a fashionable shopping street since the 18th century and is currently the home of many high price fashion shops...
- Cosmetician, Con-Artist and Blackmailer, 2010 Long Barn Books - Magnificent Obsession; Victoria, Albert and the Death that Changed the Monarchy, 2011 Hutchinson
Fiction
- Dark Hearts of Chicago (2007, Hutchinson) - co-wrote with William HorwoodWilliam Horwood (novelist)William Horwood is an English novelist. He grew up on the East Kent coast, primarily in Deal, within a model modern family—fractious with "parental separation, secret illegitimacy, alcoholism and genteel poverty"....
Translating
Helen is a fluent Russian speaker and is well known as a translator of Russian plays, notably those of Chekov, working with Tom StoppardTom Stoppard
Sir Tom Stoppard OM, CBE, FRSL is a British playwright, knighted in 1997. He has written prolifically for TV, radio, film and stage, finding prominence with plays such as Arcadia, The Coast of Utopia, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, Professional Foul, The Real Thing, and Rosencrantz and...
, David Hare and Nicholas Wright
Nicholas Wright (playwright)
Nicholas Wright is a British dramatist. He opened and ran the Theatre Upstairs at the Royal Court Theatre, was joint artistic director of the Royal Court and is a former literary manager and associate director of the Royal National Theatre. Wright began acting as a child, and trained at The...
.