Mary Cowan obituary

My friend Mary Cowan, who has died aged 99, rebelled against her privileged background and in the 1930s became a communist.She was born in Edinburgh, where her father, John Jameson, was the Conservative MP for Edinburgh West. Her mother, Margaret (nee Smith), was the daughter of a master of Balliol College, Oxford. Descended from the Forster family which had owned Bamburgh Castle, Northumberland, Mary and her cousins lived in the castle during holidays.In the 1930s Mary married Anthony Cowan. After the second world war they moved to Newton, near Edinburgh, where Mary raised their four children. With little formal schooling, mainly having been tutored at home, Mary read widely and grew critical of the role of British imperialism in the Middle East and Africa, no doubt influenced by her cousins Thomas and Edward Hodgkin, authors respectively of books on Africa and Palestine.She became active in the Medical Aid Committee for Vietnam, and in her 60s went to work in Vietnam, a country she felt great sympathy for as it emerged from the war. Mary admired the resilience and fortitude of the Vietnamese people. She was much valued for her work translating Vietnamese poetry from French into English; these and some of her own poems have been published, the latter in Singing in Tune with Time: Stories and Poems about Ageing (1993) and in the Scottish magazine Cencrastus.A keen reader of the Morning Star, Mary supported progressive, anti-imperialist change everywhere – in Cuba,... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2013-12-16 00:00:00 UTC ]

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Andrew Brown obituary

Top academic publisher who joined Cambridge University Press as a graduate trainee and became a managing director in 2002Andrew Brown, who has died aged 63 of cancer, was one of the leading academic publishers of his generation. Having joined Cambridge University Press as a graduate trainee in... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-02-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Pamela Vandyke Price obituary

One of the first women to write about wine, she was known for her prickly putdowns and forthright views about food and drinkPamela Vandyke Price, who has died aged 90, was the first woman in Britain to write seriously about wine and spirits. Writing about drinking – its tastes, smells,... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-02-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Ron Hall obituary

Leading Sunday Times journalist who was the first editor of its groundbreaking investigative Insight unitRon Hall, a former top executive of the Sunday Times in its pre-Murdoch golden era, has died aged 79. Hall's distinctions were many: first editor of the paper's successful investigative unit,... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-02-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Tom Rosenthal obituary

Publisher adept at balancing the demands of literature and commerce, and a notable writer on artIn his prime, with his coloured shirts, red braces, bright bow ties and macho cigars there were few more flamboyant London publishers than Tom Rosenthal, who has died aged 78. But the extravagant top... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-01-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Colin Wilson obituary

Britain's first homegrown existentialist star, he failed to follow up the huge success of his 1956 book, The OutsiderFor a few dazzling months, Colin Wilson, who has died aged 82, was taken at his own valuation in his diary as "the major literary genius of our century", a writer destined to be... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2013-12-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Leo Cooper obituary

Publisher of military history books and husband of Jilly CooperLeo Cooper, who has died aged 79 after suffering from Parkinson's disease, was a publisher with a zeal for military history, who also enjoyed some notoriety as the husband of the novelist Jilly Cooper.Leo's hospitality was out of all... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2013-12-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Paul Westlake obituary

My friend Paul Westlake, who has died of cancer aged 65, was a pillar of the radical publishing world from the mid-1970s onwards. He was an advocate of workers' co-operatives and gained much experience in ensuring that the output of independent publishers reached the bookshops.In autumn 1976,... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2013-11-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Andro Linklater obituary

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[ The Guardian | 2013-11-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Mari Hannah: 'I had to dig very deep to keep the faith'

The creator of lesbian detective Kate Daniels was downcast when publishers rejected her work. Now, she's won the Polari first book prize for The Murder WallSomething extraordinary happened to me last week. I was outed to the whole wide world, having won the Polari first book prize 2013 for my... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2013-11-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Marie Claire turns 25 with bumper UK issue

Marie Claire, the monthly fashion magazine, is celebrating its 25th British anniversary with a bumper 430-page birthday October issue. Continue reading at Media Week

[ Media Week | 2013-08-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Saving Mr. Banks' trailer explores how 'Mary Poppins' was adapted for the big screen (+video)

'Saving Mr. Banks' stars Tom Hanks as Walt Disney and Emma Thompson as 'Poppins' author P.L. Travers in the story of how the children's book became a Disney film. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-07-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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VMC acquires Mary Renault backlist

Virago Modern Classics has acquired the full fiction backlist of novelist Mary Renault, including... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-01-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Marie Claire to debut NFC technology for magazine ad

Marie Claire is to debut a near field communications (NFC)-enabled ad in its pages, after striking a deal with healthcare business Nuffield Health. Continue reading at Media Week

[ Media Week | 2012-11-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Dobelli, Beauman, Cowan deals for Sceptre

Sceptre has signed three new titles, striking deals for a non-fiction title about avoiding errors... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-04-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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S&S pre-empts Typhoid Mary title

Simon & Schuster has pre-empted a historical novel about Typhoid Mary for a six-figure sum.... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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IPC Media appoints Evans as publisher of Marie Claire

IPC Media magazine Marie Claire has appointed Toby Evans as publisher, from his position as associate publisher on woman's weekly title Look. Continue reading at Media Week

[ Media Week | 2012-01-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hearst Uses Marie Claire @Work to Grab Younger Audiences

Hearst Magazines is launching a supplement to Marie Claire magazine today in an attempt to drive interest and attract new and younger demographics of readers. The 72-page November supplement, entitled Marie Claire @Work, will roll out with 100,000 issues on newsstands. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-10-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Marie Claire to launch biannual fashion magazine

IPC Media has announced a number of proposed changes for monthly fashion title Marie Claire next year, including a larger format, a redesigned website and a new biannual fashion magazine. Continue reading at Media Week

[ Media Week | 2011-09-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Marie Claire publisher claims new technology boosts newsletter subs 60% in a year

IPC Media claims its email marketing has been "revolutionised" by a new technology platform that has led newsletter subscriptions to increase almost 60% in a single year. Continue reading at Media Week

[ Media Week | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Marie Claire's Anti-Apple Maneuver

Marie Claire is becoming the latest publisher to seek an alternative to Apple’s walled garden. The fashion magazine has optimized MarieClaire.com for the iPad, giving it a Flipboard-like look that’s designed for the tablet. Marie Claire created the site using technology company Onswipe, which... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2011-06-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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