Monica Furlong 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:...

, journalist

Journalist

A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...

, and activist. She was born at Kenton

Kenton

-Notable people:* Actress Michele Austin, best known as PC Yvonne Hemmingway in ITV's The Bill, attended Claremont High School in Kenton* Cricketer Denis Compton lived in Kenton* TV exercise instructor Mr Motivator lived in Kenton...

 near Harrow

London Borough of Harrow

The London Borough of Harrow is a London borough of north-west London. It borders Hertfordshire to the north and other London boroughs: Hillingdon to the west, Ealing to the south, Brent to the south-east and Barnet to the east.-History:...

, north-west of London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 and died at Umberleigh

Umberleigh

Umberleigh is a small village in North Devon in England. It shares an ecclesiastical parish with nearby Atherington, but is part of the civil parish of Chittlehampton.-Rail transport:...

 in Devon

Devon

Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...

. An 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...

 called her the Church of England

Church of England

The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...

's "most influential and creative layperson of the post-war period."

Many of Furlong’s books reflected a deep interest in religion

Religion

Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...

 and spirituality

Spirituality

Spirituality can refer to an ultimate or an alleged immaterial reality; an inner path enabling a person to discover the essence of his/her being; or the “deepest values and meanings by which people live.” Spiritual practices, including meditation, prayer and contemplation, are intended to develop...

. She was especially noted as a biographer, writing about John Bunyan

John Bunyan

John Bunyan was an English Christian writer and preacher, famous for writing The Pilgrim's Progress. Though he was a Reformed Baptist, in the Church of England he is remembered with a Lesser Festival on 30 August, and on the liturgical calendar of the Episcopal Church on 29 August.-Life:In 1628,...

 (1975), Thomas Merton

Thomas Merton

Thomas Merton, O.C.S.O. was a 20th century Anglo-American Catholic writer and mystic. A Trappist monk of the Abbey of Gethsemani, Kentucky, he was a poet, social activist, and student of comparative religion...

  (1980), Alan Watts

Alan Watts

Alan Wilson Watts was a British philosopher, writer, and speaker, best known as an interpreter and popularizer of Eastern philosophy for a Western audience. Born in Chislehurst, he moved to the United States in 1938 and began Zen training in New York...

 (1986), and Therese of Lisieux (1987). In addition she authored books covering such diverse topics as the spiritual life of aboriginals

Indigenous Australians

Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....

 (1995), medieval women mystics

Mysticism

Mysticism is the knowledge of, and especially the personal experience of, states of consciousness, i.e. levels of being, beyond normal human perception, including experience and even communion with a supreme being.-Classical origins:...

 (1996), and the Church of England

Church of England

The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...

 (2000). She also wrote a popular series of children's novels set in medieval England: Wise Child, Juniper, and Colman. Her autobiography

Autobiography

An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...

 was published in 1995.

Furlong began her writing career as a freelance journalist in the 1950s

1950s

The 1950s or The Fifties was the decade that began on January 1, 1950 and ended on December 31, 1959. The decade was the sixth decade of the 20th century...

. She then worked for The Spectator

The Spectator

The Spectator is a weekly British magazine first published on 6 July 1828. It is currently owned by David and Frederick Barclay, who also owns The Daily Telegraph. Its principal subject areas are politics and culture...

as a regular columnist writing on religious subjects. In 1961 she started writing feature articles for 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...

where she remained for the next seven years.

In the 1960s Furlong became involved in religious reform. In her first book, With Love to the Church (1965), she expressed her beliefs in an inclusive Church and sided with those who felt excluded. She became a supporter of the cause of women in the Anglican Church. In the 1980s she campaigned for the ordination of women

Ordination of women

Ordination in general religious usage is the process by which a person is consecrated . The ordination of women is a regular practice among some major religious groups, as it was of several religions of antiquity...

 and when that goal was reached she called for the appointment of women to senior Church positions.

Adult Non-Fiction

• With Love to the Church (1965) (ISBN 0-340-01956-5)
• Puritan's Progress: A Study of John Bunyan (1975) (ISBN 0-698-10688-1)
• Merton: A Biography (1980) (ISBN 0-06-063079-5)
• Zen Effects: the Life of Alan Watts (1986) (ISBN 0-395-35344-0)
• Therese of Lisieux (1987) (ISBN 0-394-53706-8)
• Birds of Paradise: Glimpses of Living Myth (1995) (ISBN 0-264-67336-0)
• Visions and Longings: Medieval Women Mystics (1996) (ISBN 1-57062-125-X)
• C of E: the State It's in (2000) (ISBN 0-340-69399-1)
• Women Pray: Voices through the Ages, from Many Faiths, Cultures, and Traditions (2004) (ISBN 1594730717)

Wise Child

• Wise Child (1987) (ISBN 0575040467)
• Juniper (1990) (vt A Year and a Day) (ISBN 0679833692)
• Colman (2004) (ISBN 0375815147)

External links

• Guardian obituary 17 January 2003 (Retrieved 2009-08-31.)
• Telegraph obituary 16 January 2003 (Retrieved 2009-08-31.)