Christine Stephanie Nicholls, née Metcalfe, (born 23 January 1943) is an author and former editor of the ''

Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

''. She spent her childhood in

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

. Now retired, she lives in

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, England.

Early life

Nicholls was born in England and accompanied her parents to Kenya in 1947. She moved around Kenya as her father took a series of teaching posts until he was employed permanently at

Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of the British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital city status. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...

Primary School in 1954. At this time Nicholls was a boarder at The Kenya High School in

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

, which she attended from 1953-1958.

Career

In 1961 Nicholls went to

Lady Margaret Hall Lady Margaret Hall (LMH) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, located on the banks of the River Cherwell at Norham Gardens in north Oxford and adjacent to the University Parks. The college is more formall ...

, in Oxford University where she received her MA. She then attended St Anthony's College and received her

D.Phil A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

. Following her university education she was employed at the

Institute of Commonwealth Studies The Institute of Commonwealth Studies, founded in 1949, is the sole postgraduate academic institution in the United Kingdom devoted to the study of the Commonwealth. It is also home to the longest-running interdisciplinary and practice-oriented ...

London University The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree- ...

as a research fellow. She later worked as a freelance researcher for the BBC Arabic department. Nicholls joined

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

in 1977 as Assistant Editor of the Dictionary of National Biography. She later became the editor and produced 5 volumes from 1981 to 1986. She has also written a number of other factual books under the name of C.S. Nicholls.

Works

* 1971 ''The Swahili Coast, Politics, Diplomacy and Trade on the East African Littoral'', (Allen & Unwin) * 1981 ''Dictionary of Biography 1961–1970'', with E.T. Williams (Oxford University Press) *1986 ''Dictionary of Biography 1971–1980'', with

Lord Blake Robert Norman William Blake, Baron Blake, (23 December 1916 – 20 September 2003), was an England, English historian and Peerages in the United Kingdom, peer. He is best known for his 1966 biography of Benjamin Disraeli, and for ''The Conserv ...

(Oxford University Press) *1990 ''Dictionary of Biography 1981–1985'', with Lord Blake (Oxford University Press) *1996 ''Dictionary of Biography 1986–1990'', (Oxford University Press) *1993 ''Dictionary of National Biography–Missing Persons'', (Oxford University Press) *1990 ''Power, A Political History'', (Harrup, OUP and various) *1985 ''Cataract'', (with Philip Awdry) (Faber & Faber) *1996 ''Hutchinson Encyclopedia of Biography'' (Helicon) *1998 ''David Livingstone'', (Sutton Publications) Written as part of a biographical series which Nicholls edited. *2000 ''A History of St Anthony’s College 1950–2000'', (Macmillan) *2002 ''Elspeth Huxley, A Biography'', (HarperCollins) (Thomas Dunne Books in USA). *2005 ''Red Strangers: the White Tribe of Kenya'', (Timewell Press) *2011 ''A Kenya Childhood'', (blurb.com)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nicholls, Christine Stephanie 1943 births Alumni of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford Kenyan women writers Alumni of Kenya High School Alumni of the University of London Living people English women writers 20th-century British writers 21st-century British writers 20th-century English women 20th-century English people 21st-century English women 21st-century English people