Eleanor Updale (born 1953) is an English fiction writer, best known for the
Victorian-era
In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardi ...
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...
thriller ''
Montmorency'' (2003) and its sequels, the
Montmorency series, which feature the
namesake
A namesake is a person, geographic location, or other entity bearing the name of another.
History
The word is first attested around 1635, and probably comes from the phrase "for one's name's sake",
which originates in English Bible translations ...
fictional character,
Montmorency.
Personal life and education
Eleanor Updale was born in 1953 and grew up in
Camberwell in
South London. She studied history at
St Anne's College, Oxford in the 1970s. She studied for an M.Res. degree at the Centre for Editing Lives and Letters at
Queen Mary College, University of London
Queen Mary University of London (QMUL, or informally QM, and previously Queen Mary and Westfield College) is a public university, public research university in Mile End, East London, England. It is a member institution of the federal University of ...
in 2003. Her research into early members of the
Royal Society
The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
was awarded a
PhD in History by the university in 2007. She is also a trustee of the charity Listening Books.
Updale is married to broadcaster
James Naughtie
Alexander James Naughtie FRSE (surname pronounced ; born 9 August 1951) is a British radio and news presenter for the BBC.
Between 1994 and 2015, he was one of the main presenters of Radio 4's the '' Today programme''. In his 21-plus years ...
. The couple have three children.
Career in broadcasting
Updale was a producer of television and radio current affairs programmes for the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
from 1975 to 1990.
'' was her first book, published by Scholastic Corporation in 2003. It was followed by three sequels, with a final, fifth, volume published in 2013.
*
in the U.K. and subsequently by its Orchard Books imprint in the U.S.
**''
'' (2003)
** ''Montmorency on the Rocks: doctor, aristocrat, murderer?'' (2004)
** ''Montmorency and the Assassins: master, criminal, spy?'' (2005) – "the final installment of the Montmorency trilogy"
** ''Montmorency's Revenge: madman, actor, arsonist?'' (2006)
** ''Montmorency's Return'' (2013)
She has also written books with other characters.
* ''Itch, Scritch, Scratch'', illustrated by Sarah Horne (
, 2008), – picture book
* ''Saved'' (Barrington Stoke, 2008)
* ''Johnny Swanson'' (