Edna May Healey, Baroness Healey (née Edmunds; 14 June 1918 – 21 July 2010) was a British writer, lecturer and filmmaker.

Life and career

Edna May Edmunds was born in the

Forest of Dean The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the county of Gloucestershire, England. It forms a roughly triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and northwest, Herefordshire to ...

and educated at Bells Grammar School,

Coleford, Gloucestershire Coleford is a market town in the west of the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England, east of the Welsh border and close to the Wye Valley. It is the administrative centre of the Forest of Dean district. The combined population of the tow ...

, where she was the first pupil to gain a place at

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. Her father, Edward Edmunds, was a crane driver who threatened her that failing to apply herself to reading would leave her working in a pin factory. While studying English at St Hugh's College she met

Denis Healey Denis Winston Healey, Baron Healey, (30 August 1917 – 3 October 2015) was a British Labour politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1974 to 1979 and as Secretary of State for Defence from 1964 to 1970; he remains the longe ...

, who was studying at

Balliol College Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the ...

. She then trained as a teacher and married Healey in 1945 after his military service in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. She became Baroness Healey in 1992 when her husband received a life peerage. Though she began her writing career relatively late in life, her books were critically acclaimed and sometimes best-sellers. She wrote non-fiction books, often biographies of successful women in powerful positions. Lady Healey also made two award-winning television documentaries. She was elected in 1993 a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820, by King George IV, to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 600 Fellows, ele ...

Quotations

Edna Healey has one entry in the 8th Edition of The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations where she says of

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...

, "She has no hinterland; in particular she has no sense of history."

Death

She died on 21 July 2010, aged 92. She was survived by Lord Healey, her husband of 65 years, three children and four grandchildren.''The Courier and Advertiser'' obituary, 24 July 2010

Books

* ''Lady Unknown, the Life of Angela Burdett-Coutts'' (1978) * ''Wives of Fame'' (1986) (subjects were Mary Livingstone,

Jenny Marx Johanna Bertha Julie Jenny Edle von Westphalen (12 February 18142 December 1881) was a German theatre critic and political activist. She married the philosopher and political economist Karl Marx in 1843. Background Jenny von Westphalen was bor ...

and Emma Darwin) * ''Coutts and Co'' (1992) * ''The Queen's House: A History of

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...

'' (1997) * '' Emma Darwin'' (2001) * ''Part of the Pattern'' (2006) (Lady Healey's memoirs)

Documentaries

* ''Mrs Livingstone, I Presume'' (1982) * ''One More River, the Life of Mary Slessor in Nigeria'' (1984)

References

External links

Edna Healey obituary in ''The Guardian''

Edna May (née Edmunds), Lady Healey (1918-2010), Author, radio and television writer and broadcaster; wife of Baron Healey: Sitter associated with 3 portraits
(National Portrait Gallery) {{DEFAULTSORT:Healey, Edna 1918 births 2010 deaths British non-fiction writers British women writers British baronesses People educated at Bells Grammar School People from Forest of Dean District Alumni of St Hugh's College, Oxford Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature Spouses of life peers