Frances Harris (8 January 195017 February 2021), was a British historian known for her focus on the Stuart period.

Biography

Frances Harris was born in

Victoria, Australia Victoria is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state with a land area of , the second most populated state (after New South Wales) with a population of over 6.5 million, and the most densely populated state in Au ...

to the commercial artist Esther Hall and Laurence Harris, a civil servant. Harris was educated in

Methodist Ladies' College, Melbourne ("For God and for Home") , established = , type = Independent, single-sex, day and boarding school , denomination = Uniting , slogan = "MLC girls become world-ready women"< ...

. Her father's job took the family to Britain in 1967 and Harris remained to attend

Westfield College Westfield College was a small college situated in Hampstead, London, from 1882 to 1989. It was the first college to aim to educate women for University of London degrees from its opening. The college originally admitted only women as students and ...

, London University where she graduated with a degree in English in 1971. Harris completed her PhD in 1975. She followed up the doctorate with a diploma in library and information studies through

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

. Harris then took up a position in the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

. Harris wrote three books on the

Stuart period The Stuart period of British history lasted from 1603 to 1714 during the dynasty of the House of Stuart. The period ended with the death of Anne, Queen of Great Britain, Queen Anne and the accession of George I of Great Britain, King George I ...

beginning in 1991. In 2004 Harris's second book won a

Wolfson History Prize The Wolfson History Prizes are literary awards given annually in the United Kingdom to promote and encourage standards of excellence in the writing of history for the general public. Prizes are given annually for two or three exceptional works ...

. When Harris retired in 2010 she was the head of modern historical manuscripts.

Private life

Harris was in a civil partnership with Elfrida Roberts. She was diagnosed with a myeloma in December 2020 and died on 17 February 2021.

Bibliography

* ''A Passion for Government: The Life of Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough'', 1991 * ''Transformations of Love:The Friendship of John Evelyn and Margaret Godolphin'', 2003 * ''The General in Winter:The Marlborough-Godolphin Friendship and the Reign of Anne'', 2017

Sources

1950 births 2021 deaths Deaths from multiple myeloma Alumni of the University of London Alumni of University College London People educated at Methodist Ladies' College, Melbourne British historians British women biographers {{UK-historian-stub