Hilda Frances Margaret Prescott, more usually known as H. F. M. Prescott (22 February 1896 – 5 May 1972), was an English writer, academic and historian. She was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. Her best-known work is a novel, ''The Man on a Donkey'', set in the 16th century.

Biography

She was born in Cheshire, the daughter of Rev James Mulleneux Prescott and his wife Margaret (née Warburton). She was educated at Wallasey High School. She read Modern History at Lady Margaret Hall,

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

, where she received her first

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

Subsequently, she was awarded a second

Manchester University , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...

, where she did research under the direction of

Thomas Frederick Tout Thomas Frederick Tout (28 September 1855 – 23 October 1929) was a British historian of the medieval period. He was one of the founders of the Historical Association in 1906. Early life Born in London, he was a pupil of St Olave's Grammar Sch ...

, professor of Medieval and Modern History. She was awarded an honorary

D.Litt. Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Doctor ...

by the

University of Durham Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by royal charte ...

. In 1958 she was elected Jubilee Research Fellow at

Royal Holloway College Royal Holloway, University of London (RHUL), formally incorporated as Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, is a public research university and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It has six schools, 21 academic departm ...

in 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 ...

, where she worked on

Thomas Wolsey Thomas Wolsey ( – 29 November 1530) was an English statesman and Catholic bishop. When Henry VIII became King of England in 1509, Wolsey became the king's Lord High Almoner, almoner. Wolsey's affairs prospered and by 1514 he had become the ...

. H.F.M. Prescott is best known however for her historical novel ''The Man on a Donkey''. Written in the form of a chronicle, the book tells the story of the

Pilgrimage of Grace The Pilgrimage of Grace was a popular revolt beginning in Yorkshire in October 1536, before spreading to other parts of Northern England including Cumberland, Northumberland, and north Lancashire, under the leadership of Robert Aske. The "most ...

, a popular rising in protest at the Dissolution of the Monasteries by Henry VIII. The book is still in print, the latest edition being published in December 2016 by Apollo, London, . Her biography of Mary I of England, ''Mary Tudor'' (originally titled ''Spanish Tudor''), which won the

James Tait Black Prize The James Tait Black Memorial Prizes are literary prizes awarded for literature written in the English language. They, along with the Hawthornden Prize, are Britain's oldest literary awards. Based at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, Uni ...

in 1941 remains one of the leading works on Mary I's troubled life and reign and is named by the ''

Encyclopædia Britannica The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various t ...

'' as the best biography of the monarch. H.F.M. Prescott wrote only one thriller, ''Dead and Not Buried'', and this was adapted for

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

Climax! ''Climax!'' (later known as ''Climax Mystery Theater'') is an American television anthology series that aired on CBS from 1954 to 1958. The series was hosted by William Lundigan and later co-hosted by Mary Costa. It was one of the few CBS progra ...

television series under the screen title of ''Bury Me Later'' in 1954. As the daughter of a clergyman, H.F.M. Prescott was a committed member of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

and her wide-ranging interests included travel and a deep love of the English countryside. H.F.M. Prescott was an early supporter of Amnesty (Amnesty International), the human rights organisation, of Consumers' Association (Which?), and an enthusiastic member of the English-Speaking Union. She was a woman of refined but simple tastes, and lived for many years quietly with her dogs in the small Oxfordshire town of

Charlbury Charlbury () is a town and civil parish in the Evenlode valley, about north of Witney in the West Oxfordshire district of Oxfordshire, England. It is on the edge of Wychwood Forest and the Cotswolds. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's po ...

. She died on 5 May 1972.

Commemoration

A biography of Hilda Frances Margaret Prescott was published in the ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'' in December 2020.

Works

*''The Unhurrying Chase'' (1925). Published by Constable & Co *''The Lost Fight'' (1928). Published by Constable & Co *''Son of Dust'' (1932). Published by Constable & Co *''Dead and Not Buried'' (1938) *''Spanish Tudor'' (1940). Published by Constable & Co *''The Man on a Donkey'' (1952). Published by Eyre & Spottiswoode *''Jerusalem Journey'' (1954). Published by Eyre & Spottiswoode *''Once to Sinai: The further pilgrimage of Friar

Felix Fabri Felix Fabri (also spelt Faber; 1441 – 1502) was a Swiss Dominican theologian. He left vivid and detailed descriptions of his pilgrimages to Palestine and also in 1489 authored a book on the history of Swabia, entitled ''Historia Suevorum''. ...

'' (1957). Published by Eyre & Spottiswoode

Translation

*''Flamenca'' (1930). Published by Constable & Co (Attributed to Bernardet the Troubadour. Translated from the Thirteenth-Century Provençal by H F M Prescott)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prescott, H F M English Anglicans Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature Academics of Royal Holloway, University of London Alumni of the University of Manchester Alumni of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford 1896 births 1972 deaths James Tait Black Memorial Prize recipients 20th-century English novelists 20th-century English historians English historical novelists Writers of historical fiction set in the early modern period