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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Obituary: Ava Weiss

Ava Weiss, the highly regarded, former longtime art director at Greenwillow Books, died on November 25 at the age of 95. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-12-10 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Obituary: Don O'Connor, 63

Don O’Connor, Macmillan’s senior field sales and national account manager for Ingram Kids, died on November 13. He was 63. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-11-17 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Obituary: William B. Eerdmans Jr.

William “Bill” B. Eerdmans Jr., who led the family-owned Christian publishing house Wm. B. Eerdmans for more than 50 years, died on November 13. He was 97. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-11-17 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Obituary: Mildred Hird, 98

Mildred Hird, one of the first publishing executives to specialize in the sale of foreign rights of American books, died on November 2 at her home in New York City. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-11-03 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Obituary: Tom Maschler

Tom Maschler Born 16th August 1933 Died 15th October 2020 Rogers, Coleridge & White managing director Peter Straus remembers the late, acclaimed publisher Like many of the impressive publishers to emerge after the Second World War, Tom Maschler was a Jewish émigré from Europe. He was... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-10-30 04:38:04 UTC ]
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Obituary: Randy Kessler

Randy Kessler, national accounts manager at Scholastic, died unexpectedly on October 22 at the age of 50. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-10-29 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Tom Maschler obituary

Booker prize founder and publisher of some of the greats of 20th-century fictionTom Maschler, publisher and managing director of Jonathan Cape and the architect of the Booker prize for fiction, has died aged 87. A glamorous, perma-tanned figure with aquiline features and unruly hair, who dressed... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-10-16 17:49:02 UTC ]
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Obituary: David Gale

Children’s book editor David Gale, who shaped a distinguished roster of award-winning titles and proudly championed works of LGBTQ literature, died on October 9 following a long illness; he was 65. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-10-13 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Janet Freer obituary

My mother, Janet Freer, who has died aged 89, was a literary agent for science-fiction writers in the 1960s and 70s. She helped launch the careers of several young SF writers.Janet began work as a commercial artist before starting her publishing career in London around 1962. She spent several... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-10-11 15:38:47 UTC ]
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Obituary: Bette Greene

Author Bette Greene, known for her books honestly addressing difficult subject matter, including 'Summer of My German Soldier,' died on October 2 at age 86. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-10-11 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Susan Hill and Mary Berry awarded damehoods in Queen's Birthday Honours

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[ The Bookseller | 2020-10-09 08:07:59 UTC ]
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S&S scoops 'inspirational' Mary Seacole biography

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[ The Bookseller | 2020-10-02 10:45:26 UTC ]
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Sir Harold Evans obituary

Journalist who at the Sunday Times became the most admired newspaper editor of his generationSir Harold Evans, who has died aged 92, lived a life of two halves, almost two distinct lives. In his first life, he was the Manchester lad who grew up to be the most famous and most admired newspaper... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-09-24 11:55:45 UTC ]
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Obituary: Sam McBratney

Irish children's author Sam McBratney, most widely known for the classic, bestselling picture book 'Guess How Much I Love You,' died on September 18; he was 77. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-09-22 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Shobna Gulati: 'I've played the Queen, Thatcher and the Virgin Mary – on radio'

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[ The Guardian | 2020-09-16 05:00:14 UTC ]
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[ The Washington Post | 2020-09-14 09:14:57 UTC ]
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Jennifer Howard’s ‘Clutter: An Untidy History’ takes Marie Kondo’s message a step further

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[ The Washington Post | 2020-09-10 05:43:11 UTC ]
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‘No brainer’: Marie Claire launches sampling business to boost revenue and data practice

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[ Digiday | 2020-08-03 04:01:29 UTC ]
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