Gillian White (1945-2020;

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

, Georgina Fleming) was a British novelist and former journalist, several of whose works were adapted for television.

Life

She was born on 6 February 1945 in

Streatham Streatham ( ) is a district in south London, England. Centred south of Charing Cross, it lies mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, with some parts extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. Streatham was in Surrey ...

, south London, and was adopted as a baby by Ted and Lily Smith of Wirral, Merseyside, where she grew up. She had a difficult childhood, was expelled from three schools, and ran away to London, where a social worker helped her to obtain a job as a junior reporter on a newspaper in

Harlow, Essex Harlow is a large town and local government district located in the west of Essex, England. Founded as a new town, it is situated on the border with Hertfordshire and London, Harlow occupies a large area of land on the south bank of the upper ...

. There she met journalist Ron White, and they married in 1967. In the 1970s they moved to Cornwall where they farmed. When her children were teenagers she began to write, and after publishing several books with Rainbow Romances in 1988 she published ''The Plague Stone'' in 1989. Her fourth book, ''Rich Deceiver'' (1992) was adapted for television in two parts by the BBC in 1995, directed by

Gurinder Chadha Gurinder Chadha, (born 10 January 1960) is a British film director of Indian origin. Most of her films explore the lives of Indians living in England. The common theme among her work showcases the trials of Indian women living in the UK and ho ...

and starring

Lesley Dunlop Lesley Jane Dunlop (born 10 March 1956) is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Norna in the ''Doctor Who'' serial "Frontios", Anna Kirkwall in ''Where the Heart Is (British TV series), Where the Heart Is'' and Zoë Angell in ''May ...

and John McCardle.

Gina McKee Georgina "Gina" McKee (born 14 April 1964) is an English actress. She won the 1997 BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress for ''Our Friends in the North'' (1996), and earned subsequent nominations for ''The Lost Prince'' (2003) and ''The Street'' (2 ...

starred in the 1997 television version of ''

Mothertime ''Mothertime'' is a 1997 British film directed by Matthew Jacobs. Plot Vanessa and her siblings watch, as their divorced mother once again becomes drunk, making the children believe their Christmas will be ruined once again. Some drastic change ...

'' (1996), and

Keeley Hawes Claire Julia Hawes (born 10 February 1976), known professionally as Keeley Hawes, is an English actress. After beginning her career in a number of literary adaptations, including ''Our Mutual Friend'' (1998) and ''Tipping the Velvet'' (2002), Haw ...

in the 1997 adaptation of the 1996 book ''The Beggar Bride'', ''The Sleeper'' (2000), in two parts, starred

Eileen Atkins Dame Eileen June Atkins, (born 16 June 1934), is an English actress and occasional screenwriter. She has worked in the theatre, film, and television consistently since 1953. In 2008, she won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress and the Emmy Aw ...

Anna Massey Anna Raymond Massey (11 August 19373 July 2011) was an English actress. She won a BAFTA Award for the role of Edith Hope in the 1986 TV adaptation of Anita Brookner's novel ''Hotel du Lac'', a role that one of her co-stars, Julia McKenzie, h ...

and George Cole. White's obituary in ''The Guardian'' said that "Jealousy, revenge, greed and despair motivated Gill's characters, and she also examined class conflict, dysfunctional families, domestic violence, poverty and lack of opportunity in society." She lived in

Totnes Totnes ( or ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish at the head of the estuary of the River Dart in Devon, England, within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is about west of Paignton, about west-so ...

toward the end of her life and died on 24 July 2020. She had four children, thirteen grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

Selected publications

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As Georgina Fleming

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:White, Gillian 1945 births 2020 deaths English women novelists 20th-century English women writers 21st-century English women writers 20th-century English novelists 21st-century English novelists 20th-century pseudonymous writers Pseudonymous women writers