British Women Non-Fiction Writers

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 1 
Mary Wollstonecraft
4
Birthdate: April 27, 1759
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: London, England
Died: September 10, 1797

Mary Wollstonecraft was an English writer, advocate of women's rights, and philosopher. Wollstonecraft, who attracted a lot of attention for her unconventional personal relationships, is widely considered a founding feminist philosopher. Although her unorthodoxy initially attracted criticisms, her advocacy of women's equality became increasingly important during the 20th century. Modern-day feminists cite her works and her life as important influences.

 2 
Geri Halliwell
4
Birthdate: August 6, 1972
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Watford

Geri Halliwell is a British singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as part of the popular girl group, The Spice Girls, which has sold more than 85 million records worldwide. Also a well-known philanthropist, Geri Halliwell has worked closely with the United Nations Population Fund, becoming its goodwill ambassador in 1998. She is widely regarded as a girl power icon.

 3 
Mary Seacole
(Heroine of the Crimean War)
Mary Seacole
3
Birthdate: November 23, 1805
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Kingston, Jamaica
Died: May 14, 1881

Mary Seacole was a British-Jamaican nurse, businesswoman, and healer. She played a major role during the Crimean War, providing aid for wounded servicemen and nursing them back to health. In 1991, Seacole was posthumously honored with the Jamaican Order of Merit. In 2004, she was named the greatest black Briton for her contribution during the war.

 4 
Sara Pascoe
(Comedian)
Sara Pascoe
4
Birthdate: May 22, 1981
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Dagenham, London, England

Born to musician Derek Pascoe, comedian Sara Pascoe was raised by her mother amid poverty after her parents’ divorce. Initially a tour guide, she later stepped into comedy and never looked back. She is known for shows such as 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown and Twenty Twelve.

 5 
Gertrude Bell
(Writer, Diplomat)
Gertrude Bell
4
Birthdate: July 14, 1868
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Washington, United Kingdom
Died: July 12, 1926

Born into a wealthy English family, Gertrude Bell was an explorer at heart and went down in history for her journeys across the Middle East and for helping establish the Hāshimite dynasty in Iraq. Though she graduated in history from Oxford, being a woman, she wasn’t awarded a degree.

Princess Michael of Kent
4
Birthdate: January 15, 1945
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Karlovy Vary

Princess, Michael of Kent, is one of the members of the British royal family. Princess Michael, who is of Hungarian, Austrian, and German noble descent, worked as an interior designer before shifting her focus towards writing. Having held a long time fascination for cheetahs, Princess Michael serves as a patron for Namibia's Cheetah Conservation Fund

 7 
Elizabeth Gaskell
3
Birthdate: September 29, 1810
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Chelsea, England
Died: November 12, 1865
 8 
Mary Soames
(Youngest Child of Winston Churchill)
Mary Soames
3
Birthdate: September 15, 1922
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Chartwell
Died: May 31, 2014

Mary Soames was a British author and the youngest child of Winston Churchill and Clementine. From 1939 to 1941, Soames worked for several public organizations, such as the Women's Voluntary Service and Red Cross. She then joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service. In 1945, she was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE), in recognition of meritorious military services.

 9 
Jennifer Worth
(British Nurse, Midwife, and Memoirist)
Jennifer Worth
4
Birthdate: September 25, 1935
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, England
Died: May 31, 2011

Jennifer Worth was a British memoirist best remembered for her best-selling trilogy: Call the Midwife, Farewell to The East End, and Shadows of the Workhouse. The trilogy, which is about Jennifer Worth's experience as a nurse and midwife in East End of London during the 1950s, inspired the popular TV series, Call the Midwife. 

 10 
Coleen Nolan
(Singer)
Coleen Nolan
3
Birthdate: March 12, 1965
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Blackpool, England, UK
Height: 5'6" (168 cm)
 11 
Vera Brittain
3
Birthdate: December 29, 1893
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Newcastle Under Lyme, Staffordshire, England
Died: March 29, 1970
 12 
Susannah Constantine
(English Fashion Stylist, Television Presenter and Author)
Susannah Constantine
3
Birthdate: June 3, 1962
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Hammersmith, London, England
 13 
Kate O'Mara
(Actress)
Kate O'Mara
3
Birthdate: August 10, 1939
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Leicester, Leicestershire, England, UK
Died: March 30, 2014
Height: 5'4" (163 cm)
 14 
Deborah Cavendish, dowager duchess of Devonshire
(Writer)
Deborah Cavendish, dowager duchess of Devonshire
3
Birthdate: March 31, 1920
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Asthall Manor, England
Died: September 24, 2014

Deborah Cavendish, the duchess of Devonshire, was the youngest of the popular Mitford sisters. An aristocrat and a socialite, she was one of the rare people who had met both Adolf Hitler and John Kennedy. She played a key role in commercializing Chatsworth Estate and also wrote books on it.

 15 
Frances Burney
(Novelist)
Frances Burney
3
Birthdate: June 13, 1752
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: King’s Lynn, England
Died: January 6, 1840
 16 
Margaret Drabble
(English Novelist, Biographer and Critic)
Margaret Drabble
3
Birthdate: June 5, 1939
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Sheffield, England

English author Margaret Drabble mostly writes about women protagonists and their experiences through marriage, motherhood, and intellectual development. Her novels such as The Gates of Ivory and A Summer Bird-Cage have earned her honors such as the DBE. She is the younger sister of novelist A.S. Byatt.

 17 
Clare Hollingworth
(English Journalist and Author)
Clare Hollingworth
3
Birthdate: October 10, 1911
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Knighton, Leicester, England
Died: January 10, 2017
 18 
Gertrude Jekyll
(Horticulturist, Painter, Gardener, Non-fiction writer, Botanist, Architect)
Gertrude Jekyll
3
Birthdate: November 29, 1843
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: London
Died: December 8, 1932

Landscape architect Gertrude Jekyll was born into an affluent family and grew up in a refined environment, learning music and traveling. Initially interested in painting, she gave it up to focus on gardening when she developed eyesight problems. She built around 400 gardens and also collaborated with Sir Edwin Lutyens.

 19 
Isabella Beeton
3
Birthdate: March 12, 1836
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: London
Died: February 6, 1865
 20 
Susan Hill
(Novelist)
Susan Hill
3
Birthdate: February 5, 1942
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England
 21 
Edith Mary Pargeter
(Novelist)
Edith Mary Pargeter
2
Birthdate: September 28, 1913
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Horsehay, Shropshire, England
Died: October 14, 1995
 22 
Elizabeth Jane Howard
(Author)
Elizabeth Jane Howard
3
Birthdate: March 26, 1923
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: London, England
Died: January 2, 2014
 23 
Lisa Jardine
(Historian, Professor, Non-fiction writer)
Lisa Jardine
2
Birthdate: April 12, 1944
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Oxford
Died: October 25, 2015
 24 
Siân Busby
(Writer)
Siân Busby
0
Birthdate: November 19, 1960
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: London, England
Died: September 4, 2012
 25 
Mary Lamb
(Author)
Mary Lamb
2
Birthdate: December 3, 1764
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: London, England
Died: May 20, 1847
 26 
Mary Astell
(English Protofeminist Writer, Philosopher and Rhetorician)
Mary Astell
2
Birthdate: November 12, 1666
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Newcastle upon Tyne, England
Died: May 11, 1731
 27 
Jenny Diski
(Writer)
Jenny Diski
0
Birthdate: July 8, 1947
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: London, England, United Kingdom
Died: April 28, 2016
 28 
Elspeth Huxley
(Author and Environmentalist, Best Known for Her Books on Her Early Life in British Kenya)
Elspeth Huxley
2
Birthdate: July 23, 1907
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: London, England
Died: January 10, 1997

Raised by coffee farmer parents in British East Africa, Elspeth Huxley grew up to be a prominent author, known for her lyrical books such as The Flame Trees of Thika, depicting her life in British Kenya. She was also a BBC broadcaster, a magistrate, and an environmental activist.

 29 
Sara Coleridge
(Author)
Sara Coleridge
2
Birthdate: December 23, 1802
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Cumberland, England
Died: May 3, 1852
 30 
Sybille Bedford
(Writer)
Sybille Bedford
2
Birthdate: March 16, 1911
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Charlottenburg, Germany
Died: February 17, 2006
 31 
Aminatta Forna
(Writer)
Aminatta Forna
2
Birthdate: 1964
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Bellshill, Lanarkshire, Scotland

Aminatta Forna is a writer whose novel The Memory of Love won the Commonwealth Writers' Prize in 2011. Forna was also honored with the prestigious Windham–Campbell Literature Prize in 2014. She also teaches creative writing at many universities and supports several young and aspiring writers. In the 2017 New Year Honours, Forna was appointed OBE for services to literature. 

 32 
Gillian Rose
(Philosopher)
Gillian Rose
0
Birthdate: September 20, 1947
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: London, England
Died: December 9, 1995
 33 
Jane Drew
(Architect)
Jane Drew
1
Birthdate: March 24, 1911
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Surrey, England
Died: July 27, 1996
 34 
Juliana Berners
(Writer)
Juliana Berners
1
Birthdate: 1388 AD
Birthplace: Unknown
Died: 1460 AD
 35 
Helen Maria Williams
(Novelist)
Helen Maria Williams
1
Birthdate: 1761 AD
Birthplace: London, England
Died: December 15, 1827
 36 
Pamela Hansford Johnson
(Novelist)
Pamela Hansford Johnson
1
Birthdate: May 29, 1912
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: London, England
Died: June 19, 1981
 37 
Jane Marcet
(Writer)
Jane Marcet
1
Birthdate: January 1, 1769
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: London, England
Died: June 28, 1858
 38 
Jill Johnston
(Author)
Jill Johnston
1
Birthdate: May 17, 1929
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: London, England
Died: September 18, 2010
 39 
Lillian Beckwith
(Writer best known for her series of semi-autobiographical books set on the Isle of Skye)
Lillian Beckwith
0
Birthdate: April 25, 1916
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Ellesmere Port, England
Died: January 3, 2004
 40 
Ann Katharine Mitchell
(Psychologist)
Ann Katharine Mitchell
2
Birthdate: November 19, 1922
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Oxford, United Kingdom
Died: May 11, 2020
 41 
Caroline Alexander
(Writer)
Caroline Alexander
0
Birthdate: March 13, 1956
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Unknown
 42 
Anne Scott-James
(Journalist)
Anne Scott-James
1
Birthdate: April 5, 1913
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: London, England
Died: May 13, 2009
 43 
Edna Deane
(Author)
Edna Deane
1
Birthdate: October 15, 1905
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Witsies Hoek, Orange Free State
Died: November 22, 1995
 44 
Elizabeth Jenkins
(Novelist)
Elizabeth Jenkins
1
Birthdate: October 31, 1905
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Hitchin, England
Died: September 5, 2010
 45 
Mitzi Szereto
(American-British Author of Multi-Genre Fiction and Nonfiction)
Mitzi Szereto
0
Birthplace: United States