Chrissie Glazebrook, adopted as Christine Ann Wright (19 March 1945 – 7 December 2007) was a British writer, known for her novel ''The Madolescents'' (2001).

Early life and marriage

Glazebrook was adopted at 8 weeks by Mary and Ernest Wright and brought up in the

Black Country The Black Country is an area of the West Midlands county, England covering most of the Metropolitan Boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell and Walsall. Dudley and Tipton are generally considered to be the centre. It became industrialised during its ro ...

. She was educated at Cannock Grammar School and then did a secretarial course. She married in the late 1960s and moved to

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, su ...

. She was divorced a few years later.

Career

Before her writing career, Glazebrook had a number of jobs, including in a zoo and managing a vegetarian restaurant. She also worked at the

Stephen Joseph Theatre The Stephen Joseph Theatre is a theatre in the round in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England that was founded by Stephen Joseph and was the first theatre in the round in Britain. In 1955, Joseph established a tiny theatre in the round on the f ...

. From 1982 to 1990 she worked as a freelance writer and broadcaster. She wrote for

Jackie (magazine) ''Jackie'' was a weekly British magazine for girls. The magazine was published by D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd of Dundee from 11 January 1964 until its closure on 3 July 1993 — a total of 1,534 issues. ''Jackie'' was the best-selling teen magazi ...

. She produced ''Flavour of the Month'', a cookery programme, for

Tyne Tees Television ITV Tyne Tees, previously known as Tyne Tees, Channel 3 North East and Tyne Tees Television, is the ITV (TV network), ITV television franchise for North East England and parts of North Yorkshire. Tyne Tees launched on 15 January 1959 from stud ...

, and also worked as a television presenter for Tyne Tees. In 1991 Glazebrook became an Arts Administrator at

Northern Arts The regional arts boards (formerly regional arts associations) were English regional subdivisions of the Arts Council of Great Britain History As the Arts Council began to move away from organising art activities in the 1950s, regional offices ...

. She was one of the founders of ProudWORDS, a gay and lesbian literature festival. In 1998 Glazebrook completed an MA in creative writing at

Northumbria University , mottoeng = A lifetime of learning , established = 1877 - Rutherford College of Technology1969 - Newcastle Polytechnic1992 - gained university status , type = Public , budget = � ...

. Her first novel, ''The Madolescents'', was published in 2001. Ray French said of the teenage narrator that "Rowena's cynical, fragile, vulgar voice is a delight". Glazebrook was part of a network of Northern writers, particularly women, including

Julia Darling Julia Rose Darling (21 August 1956 – 13 April 2005) was an English novelist, poet and dramatist. Early life and education Darling was born in 1956 in 8 College Street, Winchester—the house Jane Austen died in. Her parents were John Ramsay D ...

Illness and death

Glazebrook had depression. In 2006 she was diagnosed with

liver The liver is a major Organ (anatomy), organ only found in vertebrates which performs many essential biological functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the Protein biosynthesis, synthesis of proteins and biochemicals necessary for ...

and

bowel cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel m ...

. She died the following year in Scarborough, supported by her family.

Selected works

Glazebrook's publications include: * ''The Pocket Guide to Men'' (1986) * "The Full Monty", in ''Biting Back : new fiction from the North'', (ed) Kitty Fitzgerald (IRON, 2001) * ''The Madolescents'' (Heinemann/Arrow, 2002) * ''Blue Spark Sisters'' (Heinemann/Arrow, 2003)

References

External links

Shuffling Off – author's blog

The Madolescents discussed on Radio 4's Open Book
{{DEFAULTSORT:Glazebrook, Chrissie 1945 births 2007 deaths English adoptees Deaths from liver cancer Deaths from colorectal cancer British women short story writers English women novelists 20th-century English novelists 20th-century English women writers 20th-century British short story writers People with mood disorders People from Newcastle upon Tyne (district) People from the Black Country Alumni of Northumbria University People educated at Cannock Chase High School People from Scarborough, North Yorkshire