Helen F. Rappaport (née Ware; born June 1947), is a British historian and former actress. She specialises in the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...

and revolutionary

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

Early life and education

Rappaport was born Helen Ware in

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is southeast of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 88,000 as of 2023. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, charte ...

, grew up near the

River Medway The River Medway is a river in South East England. It rises in the High Weald AONB, High Weald, West Sussex and flows through Tonbridge, Maidstone and the Medway conurbation in Kent, before emptying into the Thames Estuary near Sheerness, a to ...

in North Kent and attended Chatham Grammar School for Girls. Her older brother Mike Ware, born 1939, is a photographer, chemist, and writer. She has twin younger brothers, Peter (also a photographer) and Christopher, born in 1953. She studied Russian at

Leeds University The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed ...

where she was involved in the university Theatre Group and launched her acting career.

Career

Acting

After acting with the Leeds University Theatre Group she appeared in several television series including ''

Crown Court The Crown Court is the criminal trial court, court of first instance in England and Wales responsible for hearing all indictable offences, some Hybrid offence, either way offences and appeals of the decisions of magistrates' courts. It is ...

'', '' Love Hurts'' and ''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV from 16 October 1984 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, "Woodentop (The Bill), Woodentop" (part of the ''Storyb ...

''. She later claimed to have spent "20 years in the doldrums as an out of work, broke and miserable actress".

Writing

In the early nineties she became a copy editor for academic publishers Blackwell and

OUP Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

and also contributed to historical and biographical reference works published by for example Cassell and

Reader's Digest ''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his wi ...

. She became a full-time writer in 1998, writing three books for US publisher ABC-CLIO including ''An Encyclopaedia of Women Social Reformers'' in 2001, with a foreword by Marian Wright Edelman. It won an award in 2002 from the

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world. History 19th century ...

as an Outstanding Reference Source and according to the ''

Times Higher Education Supplement ''Times Higher Education'' (''THE''), formerly ''The Times Higher Education Supplement'' (''The THES''), is a British magazine reporting specifically on news and issues related to higher education. Ownership TPG Capital acquired TSL Education ...

'', 'A splendid book, informative and wide-ranging'.

Mary Seacole

In 2003 Rappaport discovered and purchased an 1869 portrait of Jamaican nurse

Mary Seacole Mary Jane Seacole (;Anionwu, E. N. (2012), "Mary Seacole: nursing care in many lands". ''British Journal of Healthcare Assistants'' 6(5), pp. 244–248. 23 November 1805 – 14 May 1881) was a British Nursing, nurse and Women in business ...

by Albert Charles Challen. The picture now hangs in the

National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: * National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra * National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London ...

. Mary Seacole features in Rappaport's 2007 book ''No Place for Ladies: The Untold Story of Women in the Crimean War'' which was praised by

Simon Sebag Montefiore Simon Jonathan Sebag Montefiore ( ; born 27 June 1965) is a British historian, television presenter and author of history books and novels, including '' Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar'' (2003), '' Jerusalem: The Biography'' (2011), '' The Rom ...

as being 'Poignant and inspirational, well researched yet thoroughly readable' and also received positive reviews in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' and ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

''.

The Last Days of the Romanovs

Her 2008 book ''

Ekaterinburg Yekaterinburg (, ; ), alternatively Romanization of Russian, romanized as Ekaterinburg and formerly known as Sverdlovsk ( ; 1924–1991), is a city and the administrative centre of Sverdlovsk Oblast and the Ural Federal District, Russia. The ci ...

: The Last Days of the

Romanovs The House of Romanov (also transliterated as Romanoff; , ) was the reigning imperial house of Russia from 1613 to 1917. They achieved prominence after Anastasia Romanovna married Ivan the Terrible, the first crowned tsar of all Russia. Nic ...

'' received laudatory reviews in both the UK and US and was a bestseller.

Lenin

''Conspirator: Lenin in Exile'' published in 2009 gained considerable publicity due to Rappaport's claim that

Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...

died from

syphilis Syphilis () is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium ''Treponema pallidum'' subspecies ''pallidum''. The signs and symptoms depend on the stage it presents: primary, secondary, latent syphilis, latent or tertiary. The prim ...

and not a stroke.

Victorian cosmetics industry

Her 2010 book, ''Beautiful For Ever'' describes the growth of the Victorian cosmetics industry and tells the story of Madame Rachel who found both fame and infamy peddling products which claimed almost magical powers of "restoration and preservation".

Death of Prince Albert

''Magnificent Obsession'' was published on 3 November 2011, the 150th anniversary of its subject; the death of

Prince Albert Prince Albert most commonly refers to: *Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1819–1861), consort of Queen Victoria *Albert II, Prince of Monaco (born 1958), present head of state of Monaco Prince Albert may also refer to: Royalty * Alb ...

Birth of photography

''Capturing the Light: The Birth of Photography'', co-written with Roger Watson, tells the story of

Henry Fox Talbot William Henry Fox Talbot (; 11 February 180017 September 1877) was an English scientist, inventor, and photography pioneer who invented the salted paper and calotype processes, precursors to photographic processes of the later 19th and 20th c ...

and

Louis Daguerre Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre ( ; ; 18 November 1787 – 10 July 1851) was a France, French scientist, artist and photographer, recognized for his invention of the eponymous daguerreotype process of photography. He became known as one of th ...

. Both authors took part in an event during the Edinburgh Book Festival on 14 August 2013.

Caught in the Revolution

''Caught in the Revolution: Petrograd, Russia, 1917 – A World on the Edge'' was published in 2016 in the UK, where it received many positive reviews.

Translating

Rappaport is a fluent Russian speaker and is a translator of Russian plays, notably those of

Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; ; 29 January 1860 – 15 July 1904) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer, widely considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career as a playwright produced four classics, and his b ...

, working with

Tom Stoppard Sir Tom Stoppard (; born , 3 July 1937) is a Czech-born British playwright and screenwriter. He has written for film, radio, stage, and television, finding prominence with plays. His work covers the themes of human rights, censorship, and politi ...

, David Hare, David Lan and Nicholas Wright.

Bibliography

Non-fiction

*''

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

: A Biographical Companion'', 1999 ABC-CLIO *''An Encyclopedia of Women Social Reformers'', 2001 ABC-CLIO *''

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

: A Biographical Companion'', 2003 ABC-CLIO *''No Place for Ladies: The Untold Story of Women in the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

'', 2007

Aurum Press The Quarto Group is a global illustrated book publishing group founded in 1976. It is domiciled in the United States and listed on the London Stock Exchange. Quarto creates and sells illustrated books for adults and children, across 50 countri ...

*''

: The Last Days of the

'', 2008 Hutchinson *''Conspirator:

in Exile'', 2009 Hutchinson *''Beautiful for Ever: Madame Rachel of

Bond Street Bond Street in the West End of London links Piccadilly in the south to Oxford Street in the north. Since the 18th century the street has housed many prestigious and upmarket fashion retailers. The southern section is Old Bond Street and the l ...

- Cosmetician, Con-Artist and Blackmailer'', 2010 Long Barn Books *''Magnificent Obsession; Victoria, Albert and the Death that Changed the Monarchy'', 2011 Hutchinson *''Capturing the Light: The Birth of Photography'', 2013 *''The Romanov Sisters: The Lost Lives of the Daughters of Nicholas and Alexandra'', 2014 *''Caught in the Revolution: Petrograd, Russia, 1917 – A World on the Edge'', 2016 *''The Race to Save the Romanovs: The Truth Behind the Secret Plans to Rescue the Russian Imperial Family'', 2018 St. Martin's Press *''After the Romanovs: Russian Exiles in Paris from the Belle Époque Through Revolution and War'', 2022 St. Martin's Press *''In Search of Mary Seacole: The Making of a Cultural Icon'', 2022 Simon & Schuster UK *

Fiction

*''Dark Hearts of Chicago'' (2007, Hutchinson) - co-wrote with William Horwood

Family life

Rappaport has two daughters.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rappaport, Helen Actresses from Kent Writers from the London Borough of Bromley Alumni of the University of Leeds English television actresses Russian–English translators English translators English biographers English historical novelists 21st-century British novelists 21st-century English women writers English women novelists 21st-century British biographers 21st-century British translators Living people 1947 births British women historical novelists English women non-fiction writers British women biographers Actors from the London Borough of Bromley People from Bromley