Nancy Astor

by Derek Marlowe

Strong-minded Nancy Astor, who became the first female member of the British Parliament, struggles to find happiness in her stormy personal life and political career

Mass Market Paperback

First published January 28, 1982

About the author

Derek William Mario Marlowe was an English playwright, novelist, screenwriter and painter. His father was Frederick William Marlowe (an electrician) and his mother Helene Alexandroupolos. He had early education at Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School in Holland Park.

In 1959 Marlowe went to Queen Mary College of the University of London to study English literature. Marlowe calls his time spent there the unhappiest years of his life.He never finished his degree course – Alex Hamilton claims he was expelled for "satire and kindred villainies". Marlowe wrote and edited an article for the college magazine, a parody of J. D. Salinger's novel The Catcher in the Rye which reflected what Marlowe called "the boredom of college seminars." However, the college had a particularly fine theatre (the former People's Palace in Mile End Road) and Marlowe became part of a core theatre group there. In 1960 the college group formed a semi-professional theatre company, the 60 Theatre Group, and took their production of Tennessee Williams' play Summer and Smoke to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, with Marlowe in the leading role opposite Audrey "Dickie" Gaskell.

At college, Marlowe was a contemporary of the poet Lee Harwood, and after leaving he shared a flat with fellow writers Tom Stoppard and Piers Paul Read.

He married Susan Rose "Suki" Phipps, in 1968; together they had a son, Ben, to add to Suki's two sons and two daughters from a previous marriage. He divorced in 1985 and in 1989 he moved to Los Angeles, where he wrote a number of scripts for television, including the award-winning Two Mrs. Grenvilles, Abduction of Innocence and an episode of Murder, She Wrote.

While working there, he contracted leukaemia, and died of a brain haemorrhage after a liver transplant. He was cremated in California, but his ashes were brought back to England by his sister, Alda. At the time of his death he was planning to return to England and complete a tenth novel, Black and White.

Summarised from Wikipedia

Reviews

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having spent a few years recently in London, and dining many times in the home in St James's Square once lived in by Nancy and Waldorf Astor, and often seeing Nancy's blue plaque on the building, I was eager to read more about the lady who would become the first woman to become a member of parliament in the UK in 1919. What a life she lived! She was a formidable woman, with strong convictions, and would often upset her own party as well as the opposition. I do pity her poor children as she was an absent mother and apparently had little to do with them. I imagine she would have been a very difficult woman to live with but she and Waldorf fought hard for their constituents in Plymouth. A fascinating woman no matter what you think of her

[Lindsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love all books about women during the gilded age. This book tells of Nancy Astor's amazing but tragic life in politics, during both world wars, and her personal life. She was so stubborn!

I took off one star because although I loved this story and it was definitely more fact than fiction, I feel it could have used more creativity and maybe a feminine touch to make it a five star.

[Piper Mejia · Rating 3 out of 5]

and then this happened and then this happened. A very boring book but still the character intrigued me.