Patricia Mary, Baroness Carson (5 March 1929,

Oreston Oreston ( ), formerly a village on the southern bank of the Cattewater, is now a suburb of Plymouth. It is recorded as ''Horestone'' on the 1591 Spry ''Map of Plimmouth''. Oreston offers many small, local services. It is home to a small cornershop ...

- 13 October 2014,

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded i ...

) was an Anglo-Belgian

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

and

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

Family

Patricia Carson was the daughter of Archibald-Stewart Carson and Hilde-Dorothy (née Clewlow) Carson. In 1954, she married Raoul Van Caenegem, historian and professor at the

University of Ghent Ghent University ( nl, Universiteit Gent, abbreviated as UGent) is a public research university located in Ghent, Belgium. Established before the state of Belgium itself, the university was founded by the Dutch King William I in 1817, when the ...

; the couple had two sons and a daughter.

Short Biography

Carson obtained a Bachelor in history at the

University of London 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 ...

, followed by a Master of arts (history) with a thesis on London in the 18th century. After her wedding, she lived permanently in Ghent and made her speciality of studying the relations between Great Britain and the Low Countries throughout the centuries. Her most successful book, many times reprinted, was ''The Fair Face of Flanders''.

Honours

* The Eugène Baie Award 1977 (

province of Antwerp ) , native_name_lang = nl , settlement_type = Province of Belgium , image_flag = Flag of Antwerp.svg , flag_size = , image_shield = Wapen van de provincie Antwerpen.svg , shield_size ...

) for the ''Fair Face of Flanders''. * On 8 July 1996, Patricia Carson Van Caenegem was made a member of the Belgian nobility, with the personal title of Baroness.Oscar COOMANS DE BRACHÈNE, ''État présent de la noblesse Belge'', annuaire 2004, Brussels, 2004.

Publications

* "The Building of the first Bridge at Westminster", ''Journal of Transport History'' 3/2 (1957) * ''Guide to Materials for West African History in the Archives of Belgium and Holland'', London, 1962 * ''Guide to the Materials for West African History in French Archives'', London, 1968. * ''The Fair Face of Flanders'', Ghent 1969, reprinted 1969, 3rd revised edition 1974, for which she received the Baie prize; with a Dutch translation in 1977, a German in 1982 and a Bulgarian in 1984. A French translation by Mady Buysse, ''Le Miroir de la Flandre'', appeared in 1973. * "The British Connection", ''Handelingen der Maatschappij voor Geschiedenis en Oudheidkunde te Gent'', nieuwe reeks, 28 (1974); translated as "Britten en Vlamingen", ''Neerlandia'', 1975, nr. 1; and "Vlaanderen en Nederland vanuit een Brits standpunt gezien", ''Ons Erfdeel'', 13/3 (1970). * With Gaby Danhieux: ** ''Ghent, a town for all seasons'', Ghent 1972, translated as: ** ''Gent, een stad van alle tijden'', 2nd ed., Ghent, 1977, ** ''Gand, ville de tous temps'', Ghent 1972 ** ''Gent, eine Stadt aus allen Zeiten'', Ghent, 1975, illustrated by Godelieve de Schrijver. * ''James Van Artevelde : The man from Ghent'', 1980. * ''Flanders in Creative Contrasts'', 1989, translated by H. Brondeel as ** ''In Eindeloze Verscheidenheid: een historisch fresco van Vlaanderen'', Lannoo and

Davidsfonds The Davidsfonds is a Catholic organisation in Flanders, Belgium with the purpose of promoting the Flemish culture in the areas of literature, history and art. The Davidsfonds was founded in Leuven, Belgium on 15 January 1875, with the motto ''Voor ...

. * A new revised edition of ''The Fair Face of Flanders'', in 4 languages including a new translation into Dutch was published in 1991 and republished in 1995 and 1997. * A new revised Dutch edition of ''Gent, een stad van alle tijden'', Lannoo, Tielt, 1992. * A translation into Dutch by Marijke Brutsaert of ''James Van Artevelde'', Davidsfonds, 1996.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carson, Patricia 1929 births 2014 deaths Belgian baronesses 20th-century Belgian historians Belgian women writers 20th-century English historians English women writers Historians of Belgium British women historians