Dinah Jefferies
Dinah Mary Jefferies (born 1948) is a British novelist, short story and article writer.[1]
Biography
Dinah Jefferies was born in Malacca, Malaya in 1948 and moved to England in 1956 at age eight after the country became independent.[2] She studied at the Birmingham College of Art and later at the University of Ulster, where she graduated in English Literature. While in college she became pregnant with her first child, her son Jamie. Jefferies did not remain with Jamie's father and later went on to marry Jon Owen, with whom she had one daughter, and the family moved into a musicians' commune.[2][3] After separating with Owen she began teaching at Dartington Hall School.[2] She later met Richard Jefferies and the two married in 1998.
When her son Jamie was fourteen he was killed in an accident at school and the experience formed part of the inspiration for her 2013 work The Separation.[2][4] An article in Best Magazine, April 5, 2016[5] made a number of erroneous statements: that The Tea Planter's Wife was set in Malaya when it was set in Ceylon; that her son Jamie was on the back of a motorbike driven by another older boy when he died, in fact Jamie was alone and driving it by himself when he died, he was riding in Dartington Hall School.[2] grounds when the older boy let him have a go on it; as well as more minor errors.
Her 2015 novel, The Tea Planter's Wife , was a choice for the Richard and Judy Bookclub.[6] and was in the Sunday Times best sellers list for 16 weeks continuously from September until Christmas 2015, topping it twice during that time.[7]
Bibliography
Short stories
- "The Scent of Roses" (May 2014, published in The Sunday Express "S" magazine)
- "The Shadow In The Wind" (Sept 2015, published in The Sunday Express "S" magazine)
Feature Articles authored by Dinah Jefferies
- "I felt robbed of our last moments together" in the Daily Mail, 25 May 2014[11]
- "My children grew up in a commune" in The Guardian, 14 June 2014[12]
References
- ↑ "Cheltenham Literature Festival: Dinah Jefferies on Telling Truths and The Separation". Gloucestershire Echo. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Jarvis, Katie. "The separation of Dinah Jefferies". Cotswold Life. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
- ↑ "Single parent Dinah Jefferies spent the 1970s dancing under the stars at a commune in Sotherton". East Anglican Daily Times. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
- ↑ Yong, Michael. "Cheltenham author Dinah Jefferies rebounds with first novel The Separation after loss of son". Gloucestershire Echo. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
- ↑ "Best Magazine (Hearst Group)" (13). 5 April 2016: 18 & 19.
- ↑ "Richard and Judy Book Club". Richard and Judy.
- ↑ "Sunday Times - Culture section" (20th September 2015).
- ↑ Chan, Tessa. "Book review: The Separation, by Dinah Jefferies". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
- ↑ Norfolk, Pam. "Book review: The Separation by Dinah Jefferies". Lancanshire Evening Post. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
- ↑ "Historical fiction round-up:". The Independent.
- ↑ Jefferies, Dinah. "I felt robbed of our last moments together". Daily Mail. Associated Press.
- ↑ Jefferies, Dinah. "My children grew up in a commune". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited.
External links
- Official website
- Launching A Writing Career Later In Life at Writers & Artists