Valerie Grove (née Smith, born 11 May 1946) is a British journalist and author, who for many years worked as a feature writer, interviewer and columnist for ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' newspaper. Grove was born in

South Shields South Shields () is a coastal town in South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the south bank of the mouth of the River Tyne. Historically, it was known in Roman times as Arbeia, and as Caer Urfa by Early Middle Ages. According to the 20 ...

. Her father, William Douglas "Doug" Smith (1916–73), was a cartoonist for the ''Shields Gazette'' and other newspapers. Grove was an undergraduate at

Girton College, Cambridge Girton College is one of the 31 constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge. The college was established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon as the first women's college in Cambridge. In 1948, it was granted full college status ...

from 1965, graduating from

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

in 1968 with a degree in English. She joined 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 ...

'' in the year of her graduation, initially working on Londoner's Diary then as a feature writer, eventually becoming the newspaper's literary editor for two spells (1979–81 and 1984–87). She left the ''Standard'' in 1987. After this she wrote for ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

'' (1987–91) and ''

'' (1992–2014). Grove's book ''The Compleat Woman: Marriage, Motherhood, Career - Can She Have it All?'' appeared in 1987. The volume contains interviews with prominent women of the time, married for at least 25 years and with three or more children. Grove is a biographer of the writers

Dodie Smith Dorothy Gladys "Dodie" Smith (3 May 1896 – 24 November 1990) was an English novelist and playwright. She is best known for writing ''I Capture the Castle'' (1948) and the children's novel ''The Hundred and One Dalmatians'' (1956). Other works i ...

(1996),

Laurie Lee Laurence Edward Alan "Laurie" Lee, MBE (26 June 1914 – 13 May 1997) was an English poet, novelist and screenwriter, who was brought up in the small village of Slad in Gloucestershire. His most notable work is the autobiographical trilogy ...

(1999) and

John Mortimer Sir John Clifford Mortimer (21 April 1923 – 16 January 2009) was a British barrister, dramatist, screenwriter and author. He is best known for novels about a barrister named Horace Rumpole. Early life Mortimer was born in Hampstead, London, ...

(2007). ''So Much To Tell'', a biography of the children's book editor

Kaye Webb Kathleen ("Kaye") Webb (26 January 1914 – 16 January 1996), was a British editor and publisher. She was a recipient of the Eleanor Farjeon Award. Early life and education Kathleen Webb was born in Chiswick, London, in 1914, the second of ...

, was published in May 2010. Previously known professionally as Valerie Jenkins; she married David Byrnmor Jenkins in 1968, but the couple later divorced. (Her first book ''Where I Was Young - Memories of London Childhoods'' was published in 1976, under her former name.) She married Trevor Grove in 1975. Her second husband is a former editor of ''

The Sunday Telegraph ''The Sunday Telegraph'' is a British broadsheet newspaper, founded in February 1961 and published by the Telegraph Media Group, a division of Press Holdings. It is the sister paper of ''The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', kn ...

''.Agent's biography page
United Agents.

References

1946 births Living people Alumni of Girton College, Cambridge British journalists The Times people {{UK-journalist-stub