Felicity Anne Bryan (16 October 1945 – 21 June 2020) was a British literary agent, the founder of Felicity Bryan Associates based 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 ...

. She co-founded ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

''s

Laurence Stern Fellowship The Stern-Bryan fellowship is an annual summer internship program for British journalists at ''The Washington Post''. The internship was established in honour of ''Post'' journalist, Laurence Stern. A fund for the program is managed by the Nationa ...

. It was announced in June 2020 that the Fellowship was being renamed in her honour as the Stern-Bryan Fellowship.

Biography

Early years and education

Bryan, the second of three daughters of

Paul Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

, a Conservative MP, and Betty (Hoyle) Bryan, was born in Sowerby Bridge,

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

. One of her sisters was

Elizabeth Bryan Elizabeth Blomfield Bryan AM is an Australian executive director. She was the first woman to run a large financial institution in Australia. Biography Bryan grew up on her family's cattle and sheep properties near Coonabarabran in northern New ...

, a paediatrician She took a degree in History of Art at the

Courtauld Institute of Art The Courtauld Institute of Art (), commonly referred to as The Courtauld, is a self-governing college of the University of London specialising in the study of the history of art and conservation. It is among the most prestigious specialist coll ...

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- ...

Journalism

From 1968 to 1970, she worked with Joe Rogaly on the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...

'' in

Washington DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

. She then returned to London to write for the American Survey of ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Econo ...

''. From 1975 to 1979 she wrote the weekly Gardening Column for the London ''

Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

''. She contributed articles to UK newspapers. In 1980, with Godfrey Hodgson and

Benjamin Bradlee Benjamin Crowninshield Bradlee (, 1921 – , 2014) was an American journalist who served as managing editor, then as executive editor of ''The Washington Post'', from 1965 to 1991. He became a public figure when the ''Post'' joined ''The New Y ...

, she founded the

Laurence Stern fellowship The Stern-Bryan fellowship is an annual summer internship program for British journalists at ''The Washington Post''. The internship was established in honour of ''Post'' journalist, Laurence Stern. A fund for the program is managed by the Nationa ...

in memory of her friend Larry Stern. Every year it sends a young British journalist to work on ''

''. Alumni include

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 on ...

Lionel Barber Lionel Barber (born 18 January 1955) is an English journalist. He was editor of the ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') from 2005 to 2020. Barber worked at ''The Scotsman'' and ''The Sunday Times'' before working at the ''FT'' from the mid-1980s. Bar ...

Mary Ann Sieghart Mary Ann Corinna Howard Sieghart (born 6 August 1961) is an England, English author, journalist, radio presenter and former assistant editor of ''The Times'', where she wrote columns about politics, social affairs and life in general. She has al ...

Cathy Newman Catherine Elizabeth Newman (born 14 July 1974)Campbell, Lisa (20 October 2011)"Cathy Newman, C4 News" ''Broadcast''. . Newman's date of birth is given as "Bastille Day 1974". is an English journalist, and presenter of ''Channel 4 News''. She be ...

and

Gary Younge Gary Andrew Younge , (born January 1969) is a British journalist, author, broadcaster and academic. He was editor-at-large for ''The Guardian'' newspaper, which he joined in 1993. In November 2019, it was announced that Younge had been appointe ...

Literary agency

In 1973, Bryan joined the London literary agency

Curtis Brown Curtis Lee "Curt" Brown Jr. (born March 11, 1956) is a former NASA astronaut and retired United States Air Force colonel. Background Colonel Brown was born March 11, 1956. He graduated from East Bladen High School in Elizabethtown, North Caroli ...

, where she remained for 15 years. By 1988, she had moved with her family to Oxford, saw it as an ideal place for a literary agency and started Felicity Bryan Ltd. She represented major international authors, including

Karen Armstrong Karen Armstrong (born 14 November 1944) is a British author and commentator of Irish Catholic descent known for her books on comparative religion. A former Roman Catholic religious sister, she went from a conservative to a more liberal and m ...

Iain Pears Iain George Pears (born 8 August 1955) is an English art historian, novelist and journalist. Personal life Pears was born on 8 August 1955 in Coventry, England. He was educated at Warwick School, an all-boys public school in Warwick. He studied ...

Rosamunde Pilcher Rosamunde Pilcher, OBE (''née'' Scott; 22 September 1924 – 6 February 2019) was a British writer of romance novels, mainstream fiction, and short stories, from 1949 until her retirement in 2000. Her novels sold over 60 million copies worldw ...

Matt Ridley Matthew White Ridley, 5th Viscount Ridley, (born 7 February 1958), is a British science writer, journalist and businessman. He is known for his writings on science, the environment, and economics and has been a regular contributor to ''Th ...

Diarmaid MacCulloch Diarmaid Ninian John MacCulloch (; born 31 October 1951) is an English academic and historian, specialising in ecclesiastical history and the history of Christianity. Since 1995, he has been a fellow of St Cross College, Oxford; he was former ...

John Julius Norwich John Julius Cooper, 2nd Viscount Norwich, (15 September 1929 – 1 June 2018), known as John Julius Norwich, was an English popular historian, travel writer, and television personality. Background Norwich was born at the Alfred House Nursing ...

and

Edmund de Waal Edmund Arthur Lowndes de Waal, (born 10 September 1964) is a contemporary English artist, master potter and author. He is known for his large-scale installations of porcelain vessels often created in response to collections and archives or th ...

. By 2010, the agency had expanded and underwent a management buyout, with her colleagues Catherine Clarke and Caroline Wood becoming co-owners of the newly formed

Felicity Bryan Associates Felicity may refer to: Places * Felicity, California, United States, an unincorporated community * Felicity, Ohio, United States, a village * Felicity, Trinidad and Tobago, a community in Chaguanas Entertainment * ''Felicity'' (TV series), ...

Ltd. On 9 June 2020, Bryan announced her intention to retire from Felicity Bryan Associates, citing ill health.

Awards

In 2010, Bryan was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from

Oxford Brookes University Oxford Brookes University (formerly known as Oxford Polytechnic (United Kingdom), Polytechnic) is a public university, public university in Oxford, England. It is a new university, having received university status through the Further and High ...

for her work in publishing. She was appointed

Member 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 ...

(MBE) in the

2020 New Year Honours The 2020 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 celebration ...

for services to publishing.

Other activities

Bryan was a trustee of Equilibrium - The Bipolar Foundation. Passionate about ballet and opera, she represented the dancer

Carlos Acosta Carlos Yunior Acosta Quesada (born 2 June 1973) is a Cuban-British ballet director and retired dancer who is director of the Birmingham Royal Ballet. He danced with many companies including the English National Ballet, National Ballet of Cu ...

for his memoir and writings. She was a Patron of the Woodstock Literary Festival and a Sponsor of the Oxford Literary Festival.

Personal life

She was married to the economist Alex Duncan of The Policy Practice and lived near Oxford. They had three children: Alice Mary Duncan (born June 1982, died November 2004), Maxim Paul Duncan (born October 1983) and Benjamin Patrick Duncan (born May 1987). She was, earlier, married to

Alasdair Clayre Alasdair George S. Clayre (9 October 1935 – 10 January 1984) was a British author, broadcaster, singer-songwriter, and academic. Early life and career Clayre was born in Southampton, Hampshire on 9 October 1935. He won a scholarship to Win ...

. Her elder sister, Dr Elizabeth Bryan, founder of The Multiple Births Foundation, died in 2008. Her younger sister Bernadette Hingley, who was one of the first British women to be ordained as a priest in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

, died in 1995. Bryan died of cancer on 21 June 2020, aged 74.

Publications

*''The Town Gardener’s Companion'' (Andre Deutsch/ Penguin) *''A Garden for Children'' (Michael Joseph) *''Nursery Style'' - with Annie Sloan (Viking) *"Once we had a Daughter" (''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'')

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bryan, Felicity 1945 births 2020 deaths 20th-century British journalists 20th-century British women writers 20th-century English people 20th-century English women English women journalists Literary agents Members of the Order of the British Empire