What do you think?
Rate this book
A Trouser-Wearing Character: The Life and Times of Nancy Spain
Nancy Spain, the best-known and most successful all-media woman of her time, died in a civilian plane crash on Grand National Day in 1964, together with her longtime partner, Joan 'Jonny' Werner Laurie, editor and co-founder of She magazine.
The pioneering lesbian magazine, Arena Three, reflected, 'Nancy Spain was not the first British lesbian to make front-page she was indisputably the wildest, wittiest and warmest of heart'.
It was those very qualities which helped propel Nancy Spain to the forefront of popular newspapers, magazines, books, radio and television, from the 1940s until the day she from Good Housekeeping to the News of the World; from Woman's Hour to My Word and What's My Line? to Juke Box Jury; and, of course, her famously camp crime novels, such as Poison for Teacher and Cinderella Goes to the Morgue.
She was the ultimate 'bachelor' or 'career' woman, blessed with the common touch, who spoke openly of her love for her female partner and their children, while simultaneously and deftly avoiding affronting the less liberal sensibilities of the times and guarding her biggest secrets.
This fascinating biography reconstructs the life and career of one of Britain's most extraordinary post-war female characters, who utilized her energy, charisma, talent and determination in both her starry career and her complex, audacious personal life to such astonishing effect. It draws on a rich diversity of letters, archive material, published and unpublished writings, together with personal testimony from friends, family, former colleagues and schoolfriends, including Denis Norden, Sandy Wilson, Alan Freeman, David Jacobs and Michael Foot, most of whom have never spoken publicly about her before. It also includes previously unpublished photographs and a foreword by one of Nancy's closest friends, best-selling novelist and creator of Coronation Street, Tony Warren.
The pioneering lesbian magazine, Arena Three, reflected, 'Nancy Spain was not the first British lesbian to make front-page she was indisputably the wildest, wittiest and warmest of heart'.
It was those very qualities which helped propel Nancy Spain to the forefront of popular newspapers, magazines, books, radio and television, from the 1940s until the day she from Good Housekeeping to the News of the World; from Woman's Hour to My Word and What's My Line? to Juke Box Jury; and, of course, her famously camp crime novels, such as Poison for Teacher and Cinderella Goes to the Morgue.
She was the ultimate 'bachelor' or 'career' woman, blessed with the common touch, who spoke openly of her love for her female partner and their children, while simultaneously and deftly avoiding affronting the less liberal sensibilities of the times and guarding her biggest secrets.
This fascinating biography reconstructs the life and career of one of Britain's most extraordinary post-war female characters, who utilized her energy, charisma, talent and determination in both her starry career and her complex, audacious personal life to such astonishing effect. It draws on a rich diversity of letters, archive material, published and unpublished writings, together with personal testimony from friends, family, former colleagues and schoolfriends, including Denis Norden, Sandy Wilson, Alan Freeman, David Jacobs and Michael Foot, most of whom have never spoken publicly about her before. It also includes previously unpublished photographs and a foreword by one of Nancy's closest friends, best-selling novelist and creator of Coronation Street, Tony Warren.
318 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 1997
20 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 7, 2022
Whilst not the easiest and most flowing books, which a biography often struggles to deliver it is an excellent story of one of the most enigmatic Fleet Street characters to have lived.
I first read her book, ‘Thank you Nelson’ and then ‘Why I’m not a millionaire’. Both books piqued my interest in finding more about this colourful and enigmatic ‘trousers-wearing character’. The book did not fail to deliver.
It is a fascinating story and although I found it a little difficult to keep up with the plethora of celebrity names that littered the book I enjoyed it.
For anyone wishing to know more about Nancy Spain - A trouser-wearing character, then this book by Rose Collis is a must read.
I first read her book, ‘Thank you Nelson’ and then ‘Why I’m not a millionaire’. Both books piqued my interest in finding more about this colourful and enigmatic ‘trousers-wearing character’. The book did not fail to deliver.
It is a fascinating story and although I found it a little difficult to keep up with the plethora of celebrity names that littered the book I enjoyed it.
For anyone wishing to know more about Nancy Spain - A trouser-wearing character, then this book by Rose Collis is a must read.
October 25, 2022
ancy Spain was a journalist, broadcaster, media personality and socialite in England, from the 1940s until her death in a plane crash at the age of 47. Her varied work included interviews, book reviewing and features for various publications but especially the Express.
She also published a number of books, including a series of satirical crime novels, several memoirs, children's books, two biographies (one of her ancestor Mrs Beeton) and a cookery book. Virago Modern Classics has recently republished 4 of her series crime novels featuring Natasha Nevkorina and Miriam Birdseye, two women who repeatedly find themselves investigating murder in various settings. Two of her memoirs have also come back into print courtesy of Weidenfeld & Nicolson.
She lived with her female partner, Joan 'Jonny' Werner Laurie, also a woman of letters from a publishing dynasty and a journalist, who founded the women's magazine She. They were fairly widely known to be and accepted as a lesbian couple, without it generally being said, and brought up two sons together in a manner common among upper middle class people who were more interested in life outside than domesticity. The children were packed off to various boarding schools and sent on holiday with servants to take care of them.
Nancy Spain also preferred trousers, but also, mostly wore clothes still considered in her times to be mens' attire. She does not seem to have felt there was any contradiction between living her life as she wanted to and her upbringing in a conservative middle class family in Newcastle. She was a lifelong Tory voter like her father and many (not all) of her friends and the newspaper she worked for. Collis reflects that if she had not died in 1964, she might not have been particularly comfortable with the different values of the 1960s, that she was quite happy just living life her own way in the apparently much more conservative 1950s.
I found this very thoroughly researched biography an interesting read into a character whose books are enjoying a revival of interest. It was published back in 1997 and is sadly long out of print but I was able to borrow a copy from a library's reserve stock.
She also published a number of books, including a series of satirical crime novels, several memoirs, children's books, two biographies (one of her ancestor Mrs Beeton) and a cookery book. Virago Modern Classics has recently republished 4 of her series crime novels featuring Natasha Nevkorina and Miriam Birdseye, two women who repeatedly find themselves investigating murder in various settings. Two of her memoirs have also come back into print courtesy of Weidenfeld & Nicolson.
She lived with her female partner, Joan 'Jonny' Werner Laurie, also a woman of letters from a publishing dynasty and a journalist, who founded the women's magazine She. They were fairly widely known to be and accepted as a lesbian couple, without it generally being said, and brought up two sons together in a manner common among upper middle class people who were more interested in life outside than domesticity. The children were packed off to various boarding schools and sent on holiday with servants to take care of them.
Nancy Spain also preferred trousers, but also, mostly wore clothes still considered in her times to be mens' attire. She does not seem to have felt there was any contradiction between living her life as she wanted to and her upbringing in a conservative middle class family in Newcastle. She was a lifelong Tory voter like her father and many (not all) of her friends and the newspaper she worked for. Collis reflects that if she had not died in 1964, she might not have been particularly comfortable with the different values of the 1960s, that she was quite happy just living life her own way in the apparently much more conservative 1950s.
I found this very thoroughly researched biography an interesting read into a character whose books are enjoying a revival of interest. It was published back in 1997 and is sadly long out of print but I was able to borrow a copy from a library's reserve stock.
June 16, 2024
Decent book about an interesting woman. Could have used a bit more editing, as the timeline is a bit hard to follow sometimes, and the book gets occasionally bogged down in unnecessary details, but on the whole a good read. I loved all of the snippets of Tony Warren's recollections, but then I'm highly biased by my love for him!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews