Ursula Bentley (18 September 1945 - 7 April 2004) was a British writer.

Early life

Ursula Mary Bentley was born in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, 18 September 1945. A couple hours after her birth her mother died of blood loss leaving her father to raise her along with her two older brothers. Her eldest brother was Chris Bentley, born in 1936, who died at age 29. Her other older brother is the actor and writer

Paul Bentley Paul Richard Bentley (born 25 July 1942) is a British stage, film and television actor, perhaps best known for playing the High Septon in the television series ''Game of Thrones''. He is also a writer. Early life Bentley was born in Sheffiel ...

, born in 1942.

Personal life and literary works

Ursula Bentley first studied medical training but then switched to English at Manchester University. She graduated in 1969 and married

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althou ...

Alan Bruce Thompson in the same year. In 1976 the married pair moved to

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. It is there that she composed her first novel ''The Natural Order'' in 1982. The success of this book led her to being named in the inaugural "Best of British Young Novelists" list by

Granta magazine ''Granta'' is a literary magazine and publisher in the United Kingdom whose mission centres on its "belief in the power and urgency of the story, both in fiction and non-fiction, and the story’s supreme ability to describe, illuminate and ma ...

. Her second book ''Private Accounts'' came out in 1986. She had two children. She returned to the UK to renew her life and published more novels: ''The Angel Of Twickenham'' (1996) and ''The Sloping Experience'' (1999). Living in

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

Awards and honours

* "Best of Young British Novelists" in 1983

References

1945 births 2004 deaths 20th-century British novelists British women novelists Alumni of the University of Manchester Deaths from cancer in England Place of birth missing Writers from Suffolk {{UK-writer-stub