Aileen Armitage (pen names Ruth Fabian, Erica Lindley, Aileen Quigley) is a British writer and author of more than thirty-five historical novels. She is partially-sighted and legally blind.

Early life and education

Armitage was born in

Luton Luton () is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable an ...

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council wa ...

in 1930. She grew up in Huddersfield,

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

, where her father's family have lived for about 400 years. The family house was in Lindley Moor near Huddersfield. Her grandfather owned a mill in this area. Armitage studied Modern Languages at

Hull University , mottoeng = Bearing the Torch f learning, established = 1927 – University College Hull1954 – university status , type = Public , endowment = £18.8 million (2016) , budget = £190 million ...

and became a teacher, but due to failing eyesight she had to give up teaching. In 1967, she took a creative writing class through night school, and began writing at night with a felt tip pen and had many magazine articles and short stories published before she turned to longer fiction.

Later life and career

Armitage's first novel was accepted by a publisher, who asked her to write more. She has since been widely published in the UK and in the US. She has written under the names Ruth Fabian, Erica Lindley, Aileen Quigley and Aileen Armitage. In the UK, Armitage is a high

Public Lending Right A Public Lending Right (PLR) is a program intended to either compensate authors for the potential loss of sales from their works being available in public libraries or as a governmental support of the arts, through support of works available in pu ...

earner.

Awards

In 1988, Armitage received the Frink Woman of the Year Award. In November 2002 Armitage and her husband were awarded honorary Doctor of Literature degree by

University of Huddersfield , mottoeng = Thus not for you alone , established = 1825 – Huddersfield Science and Mechanics' Institute1992 – university status , type = Public , endowment = £2.47 million (2015) , chancellor = George W. Buckley , vice_chancel ...

. International Emmy 1999, Nominated for a BAFTA, Winner of the Peabody Prize and Le Priz Crystale all for Lost For Words film, co-written with Deric Longden.

Personal life

In 1954 Armitage married Peter Quigley, with whom she had four children. The marriage later ended in divorce. In the mid-1980s she met writer

Deric Longden Deric Francis Longden (29 November 1936 – 23 June 2013) was a British writer, autobiographer, reporter, public speaker and broadcaster. Life and career Early years Longden was born in Chesterfield, Derbyshire. He was the son of Frederick ...

, who at that time was married to his first wife Diana, who was experiencing

chronic fatigue syndrome Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), also called myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) or ME/CFS, is a complex, debilitating, long-term medical condition. The causes and mechanisms of the disease are not fully understood. Distinguishing core symptoms are ...

or myalgic encephalomyelitis. She died in 1985. Armitage married Longden in 1990 and they moved to

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into ...

. This part of Armitage's life was included in Longden's 1989 novel ''Diana's Story'', later made into a TV film ''

Wide-Eyed and Legless ''Wide-Eyed and Legless'' (known in the US as ''The Wedding Gift'') is a 1993 made-for-TV British drama film, directed by Richard Loncraine starring Julie Walters, Jim Broadbent, Sian Thomas and Thora Hird. It is based on the 1989 book ''Diana ...

'' (1993). Armitage was played by Welsh actress

Sian Thomas Sian or Siyan may refer to: __NOTOC__ People *Siân, a Welsh girl's name; list of people with this name Places *Sian, Iran (disambiguation), various places in Iran *Sian, Russia, a rural locality in Amur Oblast, Russia *Xi'an, China, formerly roman ...

whilst Longden was played by

Jim Broadbent James Broadbent (born 24 May 1949) is an English actor. He won an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award for his supporting role as John Bayley in the feature film ''Iris'' (2001), as well as winning a BAFTA TV Award and a Golden Globe for hi ...

. Longden's book ''Lost For Words'' (1991), which continued the story of his life with Aileen and his eccentric mother, was also made into a TV film, '' Lost for Words'' (1999), in which

Penny Downie A penny is a coin ( pennies) or a unit of currency (pl. pence) in various countries. Borrowed from the Carolingian denarius (hence its former abbreviation d.), it is usually the smallest denomination within a currency system. Presently, it is th ...

played Armitage and

Pete Postlethwaite Peter William Postlethwaite, (7 February 1946 – 2 January 2011) was an English character actor. After minor television appearances, including in '' The Professionals'', his first major success arose through the British autobiographical film ...

played Longden.

Thora Hird Dame Thora Hird (28 May 1911 – 15 March 2003) was an English actress and comedian, presenter and writer. In a career spanning over 70 years, she appeared in more than 100 film and television roles, becoming a household name and a Briti ...

played Longden's mother Annie in both films. Longden died of cancer of the oesophagus on 23 June 2013.

Works

* ''Child of Fire'', 1971 * ''King's Pawn'', 1971 * ''Shadow of Dungeon Wood'', 1972 * ''Bloodstone'', 1972 * ''A Theft of Honour'', 1972 * ''Rose Brocade'', 1972 * ''A Scent of Violets'', 1973 * ''A Devil in Holy Orders'', 1973 * ''King Bastard. The Story of William the Conqueror'', 1973 * ''Court Cadenza'', 1974 * ''Empress to the Eagle'', 1975 * ''The Radley Curse'', 1975 * ''The Brackenroyd Inheritance'', 1976 * ''The Devil in Crystal'', 1979 * ''Harvest of Destiny'', 1979 * ''Jacob's Well'', 1981 * ''Hawksmoor'', 1981 (Hawksmoor series) * ''Pipistrelle'', 1982 * ''A Dark Moon Raging'', 1982 (Hawksmoor series) * ''Hunter's Moon'', 1984 (Hawksmoor series) * ''Touchstone'', 1987 (Hawksmoor series) * ''Chapter of Innocence'', 1988 * ''Hawkrise'', 1988 (Hawksmoor series) * ''Chapter of Echoes'', 1989 * ''Chapter of Shadows'', 1990 * ''A Midnight Smile'', 1993 * ''The Jericho Years'', 1994 * ''Cedar Street'', 1995 (Hawksmoor series) * ''Cambermere'', 1995 * ''Annabella'', 1996 * ''The Dark Arches'', 1996 (Hawksmoor series) * ''Jason's Dominion'', 1997 * ''Mallory Keep'', 1998 * ''The Seamstress'', 1999 * ''A Winter Serpent'', 1999 * ''A Passionate Cause'', 2000 * ''A Double Sacrifice'', 2001 * ''To Catch and Conquer'', 2001 * ''Willerby Manor'', 2002 * ''Flames of Fortune'', 2002 * ''Conflict of Interest'', 2005 * ''The Tudor Sisters'', 2005

References

External links

Archive of Deric Longden's official website
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Armitage, Aileen People from Huddersfield English blind people Blind writers Alumni of the University of Hull Schoolteachers from Yorkshire Living people 1930 births