Isabel Ann Barr (16 September 1929 – 4 May 2015) was a British journalist and writer involved in coining the terms

Sloane Ranger In the United Kingdom, a Sloane Ranger, or simply a Sloane, is a stereotypical upper-middle or upper-class person, typically although not necessarily a young one, who embodies a very particular upbringing and outlook. The Sloane Ranger style is ...

s and Foodies, in the early 1980s.

Early life

Isabel Ann Barr was born in London to Andrew and Margaret Barr, who were Scottish and Canadian respectively. Her earliest years were spent in North Audley Street, Mayfair. At the outbreak of World War II, Barr and her three siblings were taken to

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

by her mother where she attended

The Study The Study is an English-language private education all-girls school in Westmount, Quebec. The school was founded in 1915 by a young Englishwoman named Margaret Gascoigne. The Study offers a bilingual mother tongue education to 386 students from Ki ...

, a private school. She then returned to England in 1945 and attended St Margaret's boarding school,

Ludlow Ludlow () is a market town in Shropshire, England. The town is significant in the history of the Welsh Marches and in relation to Wales. It is located south of Shrewsbury and north of Hereford, on the A49 road which bypasses the town. The t ...

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...

(now

Moor Park School Moor Park School is a coeducational preparatory day and boarding school in the village of Richard's Castle, near Ludlow, England. It educates about 300 children and is located within the Diocese of Shrewsbury. History The school was founded i ...

). In 1950, the family moved to

Belgravia Belgravia () is a Districts of London, district in Central London, covering parts of the areas of both the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Belgravia was known as the 'Five Fields' Tudor Period, during the ...

. Her paternal grandfather was the inventor of Barr's

Irn-Bru Irn-Bru ( "iron brew", ) is a Scottish carbonated soft drink, often described as "Scotland's other national drink" (after whisky). Introduced in 1901, the drink is produced in Westfield, Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire, by A.G. Barr of Glasgow ...

, a type of fizzy soda drink, popular in Scotland.

Career

She began working in journalism working for John Anstey at the ''Telegraph Magazine'' and for Robert Harling at ''House & Garden'', as well as helping Hugh Johnson, her cousin's husband, with his ''World Atlas Of Wine''. She worked as a secretary at ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' and as a sub-editor at '' House and Garden'' magazine and the ''Weekend Telegraph'' magazine. She was features editor of ''

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

'', then '' Harpers & Queen'' for which she was the deputy editor from 1971 to 1985. With

Peter York Peter York (born Peter Wallis; 1944) is a British management consultant, author and broadcaster best known for writing ''Harpers & Queen's'' ''The Official Sloane Ranger Handbook'' with Ann Barr. He has worked as a columnist for ''The Indepe ...

, she co-wrote '' The Official Sloane Ranger Handbook'' which sold over a million copies. She followed up with ''The Official Foodie Handbook'' in 1984, co-written with Paul Levy. She was then Features editor of ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

''.

Death

Barr died from complications of

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

in 2015, aged 85; she never married. From 2011, Barr lived in a nursing home in

Pimlico Pimlico () is an area of Central London in the City of Westminster, built as a southern extension to neighbouring Belgravia. It is known for its garden squares and distinctive Regency architecture. Pimlico is demarcated to the north by London V ...

, London.

Bibliography

* '' The Official Sloane Ranger Handbook'' (1982), co-authored with

; ,

Ebury Press Ebury Publishing is a division of Penguin Random House, and is a publisher of general non-fiction books in the UK. Ebury was founded in 1961 as a division of Nat Mags and was originally located on Ebury Street in London. It was sold to Century ...

* ''The Official Foodie Handbook'' (1984), co-authored with Paul Levy. , Ebury Press

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barr, Ann 1929 births 2015 deaths English women journalists English women non-fiction writers English people of Scottish descent English people of Canadian descent Journalists from London 20th-century English non-fiction writers 20th-century English women writers Deaths from Alzheimer's disease Deaths from dementia in England id:Ann Barr