Deborah Moggach (née Hough; born 28 June 1948) is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

novelist and screenwriter. She has written nineteen

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

s, including '' The Ex-Wives'', ''Tulip Fever'' (made into the film of the same name), ''These Foolish Things'' (made into the film ''

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel ''The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel'' is a 2011 British comedy-drama film directed by John Madden. The screenplay, written by Ol Parker, is based on the 2004 novel ''These Foolish Things'' by novelist Deborah Moggach, and features an ensemble c ...

'') and ''Heartbreak Hotel''.

Early life and career

Moggach is one of four daughters of writers

Charlotte Hough Charlotte Hough (24 May 1924 – 31 December 2008) was a British author of over thirty illustrated children's books. Early life Helen Charlotte Woodyatt (or Woodyadd) was born in Brockenhurst, Hampshire. Her father was a doctor in his fifties. ...

(née Woodyadd) and

Richard Hough Richard Alexander Hough (; 15 May 1922 – 7 October 1999) was a British author and historian specializing in maritime history. Personal life Hough married the author Charlotte Woodyatt, whom he had met when they were pupils at Frensham Height ...

. Moggach was brought up in

Bushey Bushey is a town in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire in the East of England. It has a population of over 25,000 inhabitants. Bushey Heath is a large neighbourhood south east of Bushey on the boundary with the London Borough of Harrow re ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

and

St John's Wood St John's Wood is a district in the City of Westminster, London, lying 2.5 miles (4 km) northwest of Charing Cross. Traditionally the northern part of the ancient parish and Metropolitan Borough of Marylebone, it extends east to west from ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, and was educated at

Camden School for Girls The Camden School for Girls (CSG) is a comprehensive secondary school for girls, with a co-educational sixth form, in the London Borough of Camden in north London. It has about one thousand students of ages eleven to eighteen, and specialist- ...

and

Queen's College, London Queen's College is an independent school for girls aged 11–18 with an adjoining prep school for girls aged 4–11 located in the City of Westminster, London. Founded in 1848 by theologian and social reformer Frederick Denison Maurice along wit ...

. She graduated from the

University of Bristol , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

in 1971 with a degree in English and trained as a teacher before going to work at

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 ...

. She lived in

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

for two years in the mid-1970s and in the United States.

Novels and other writings

Most of her novels are contemporary, tackling family life,

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...

, children and the confusions and disappointments of relationships. She has an ear for comedy but has also written a dark thriller set in America, ''The Stand-In''; a bleak story of

incest Incest ( ) is human sexual activity between family members or close relatives. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by affinity (marriage or stepfamily), adoption ...

set near

London Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the Airports of London, London airport sys ...

, '' Porky''; and a novel pitting Muslim versus English family values, ''Stolen''. Her two historical novels are ''Tulip Fever'', set in

Vermeer Johannes Vermeer ( , , see below; also known as Jan Vermeer; October 1632 – 15 December 1675) was a Dutch Baroque Period painter who specialized in domestic interior scenes of middle-class life. During his lifetime, he was a moderately succe ...

’s

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

, and ''In The Dark'', set in a boarding house during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Her novel, ''Something To Hide'' (2015), is set in Texas, London, Beijing, and West Africa. The Indian subcontinent has featured frequently in her work. Her other work includes a stage play and two collections of short stories. She has adapted many of her novels as TV dramas and has also written acclaimed adaptations of other people's work, among them Nancy Mitford's ''

Love in a Cold Climate ''Love in a Cold Climate'' is a novel by Nancy Mitford, first published in 1949. The title is a phrase from George Orwell's novel ''Keep the Aspidistra Flying'' (1936). ''Love in a Cold Climate'' is a companion volume to ''The Pursuit of Lov ...

'', for instance, and ''

The Diary of Anne Frank ''The Diary of a Young Girl'', also known as ''The Diary of Anne Frank'', is a book of the writings from the Dutch-language diary kept by Anne Frank while she was in hiding for two years with her family during the Nazi occupation of the Netherl ...

''. Her script of the film ''

Pride and Prejudice ''Pride and Prejudice'' is an 1813 novel of manners by Jane Austen. The novel follows the character development of Elizabeth Bennet, the dynamic protagonist of the book who learns about the repercussions of hasty judgments and comes to appreci ...

'', starring

Keira Knightley Keira Christina Righton (; née Knightley, born 26 March 1985) is an English actress. Known for her work in both independent films and blockbusters, particularly period dramas, she has received several accolades, including nominations for ...

, was nominated for a BAFTA award, and ''Goggle-Eyes'', from Anne Fine's novel, won a Writers Guild Award. ''These Foolish Things'', her comic novel about elderly people moving to India to obtain affordable care, was made into the successful film ''The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel''. ''Tulip Fever'' has also been made into a film.

Honours

In 2005 she was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Bristol; she is a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820, by George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV, to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, th ...

, a former Chair of the

Society of Authors The Society of Authors (SoA) is a United Kingdom trade union for professional writers, illustrators and literary translators, founded in 1884 to protect the rights and further the interests of authors. , it represents over 12,000 members and as ...

and was on the executive committee of

PEN A pen is a common writing instrument that applies ink to a surface, usually paper, for writing or drawing. Early pens such as reed pens, quill pens, dip pens and ruling pens held a small amount of ink on a nib or in a small void or cavity whic ...

. She was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) in the

2018 New Year Honours The 2018 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebratio ...

for services to literature.

Personal life

she met the man who became her first husband, Tony Moggach; the couple later divorced. He died in November 2015. For ten years, her partner was the cartoonist

Mel Calman Melville Calman (19 May 1931 – 10 February 1994) was a British cartoonist best known for his "little man" cartoons published in British newspapers including the ''Daily Express'' (1957–63), ''The Sunday Telegraph'' (1964–65), ''The Obse ...

. After his death in 1994, she lived for seven years with Hungarian painter Csaba Pásztor. She currently lives in the Welsh border town of

Presteigne Presteigne (; cy, Llanandras: the church of St. Andrew) is a town and community in Radnorshire, Powys, Wales on the south bank of the River Lugg. Formerly the county town of the historic county of Radnorshire, the town has, in common with sev ...

with her husband since 2014, Mark Williams, a journalist, editor and magazine publisher. They also have a maisonette in

Kentish Town Kentish Town is an area of northwest London, England in the London Borough of Camden, immediately north of Camden Town. Less than four miles north of central London, Kentish Town has good transport connections and is situated close to the ope ...

, north London. She has two adult children: Tom, a teacher, and Lottie, a journalist and novelist. In 1985, her mother was sent to prison for helping a terminally ill friend kill herself. Moggach is a patron of

Dignity in Dying Dignity in Dying (originally The Voluntary Euthanasia Legalisation Society) is a United Kingdom nationwide campaigning organisation. It is funded by voluntary contributions from members of the public, and as of December 2010, it claimed to hav ...

and campaigns for a change in the law on

assisted suicide Assisted suicide is suicide undertaken with the aid of another person. The term usually refers to physician-assisted suicide (PAS), which is suicide that is assisted by a physician or other healthcare provider. Once it is determined that the p ...

Works

Novels

* ''You Must Be Sisters'' (1978) * '' Close to Home'' (1979) * '' A Quiet Drink'' (1980) * '' Hot Water Man'' (1982) * '' Porky'' (1983) * '' To Have and to Hold'' (1986) * '' Driving in the Dark'' (1988) * ''Stolen'' (1990) * ''The Stand-In'' (1991) * '' The Ex-Wives'' (1993) * ''

Seesaw A seesaw (also known as a teeter-totter or teeterboard) is a long, narrow board supported by a single pivot point, most commonly located at the midpoint between both ends; as one end goes up, the other goes down. These are most commonly found a ...

'' (1996) * ''Close Relations'' (1997) * ''Tulip Fever'' (1999) * ''Final Demand'' (2001) * ''These Foolish Things'' (2004) (was adapted into the movie ''

'') ** Also available as a "movie tie-in" book, with the same title as the movie. * ''In the Dark'' (2007) * ''Heartbreak Hotel'' (2013) * ''

Something to Hide ''Something to Hide'' (in the U.S. also reissued as ''Shattered''), is a 1972 British thriller film, written and directed by Alastair Reid, based on a 1963 novel by Nicholas Monsarrat. The film stars Peter Finch, Shelley Winters, Colin Blakely ...

'' (2015) * '' The Carer'' (2019) * '' The Black Dress'' (2021)

Short story collections

* ''Smile and Other Stories'' (1987) * ''Changing Babies and Other Stories'' (1995)

Screenplays

* ''

Pride & Prejudice ''Pride and Prejudice'' is an 1813 novel of manners by Jane Austen. The novel follows the character development of Elizabeth Bennet, the dynamic protagonist of the book who learns about the repercussions of hasty judgments and comes to appreci ...

'' (2005) * ''

Tulip Fever ''Tulip Fever'' is a 2017 historical romantic drama film directed by Justin Chadwick and written by Deborah Moggach and Tom Stoppard, adapted from Moggach's 1999 novel of the same name. It stars an ensemble cast featuring Alicia Vikander, Dane D ...

'' (2017)

Teleplays

* ''To Have and to Hold'' (mini-series) (1986) * ''Goggle Eyes'' (adaptation of an

Anne Fine Anne Fine OBE FRSL (born 7 December 1947) is an English writer. Although best known for children's books, she also writes for adults. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and she was appointed an OBE in 2003. Fine has written mor ...

novel) (1993) (Won a Writers' Guild Award for Best Adapted TV Serial) * ''Seesaw'' (adaptation of her own novel) (1998) * ''Close Relations'' (adaptation of her own novel) (1999) * ''

'' (adaptation of two

Nancy Mitford Nancy Freeman-Mitford (28 November 1904 – 30 June 1973), known as Nancy Mitford, was an English novelist, biographer, and journalist. The eldest of the Mitford sisters, she was regarded as one of the "bright young things" on the London s ...

novels) (2001) * ''Final Demand'' (adaptation of her own novel) (2003) * ''

'' (2009) * ''Stolen'' (adapted from her own novel) (1991)

Stage play

* ''Double-Take''

References

External links

*
Author's website

University of Bristol announcement about Moggach's receipt of honorary degree
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moggach, Deborah 1948 births Living people Alumni of the University of Bristol English screenwriters Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature British women screenwriters People educated at Camden School for Girls People educated at Queen's College, London English expatriates in Pakistan 20th-century English novelists 21st-century British novelists 20th-century English women writers 21st-century English women writers English women novelists People from Middlesex People from Bushey People from Hampstead People from Powys People from St John's Wood