Norah Lofts
Norah Lofts was a British author and educator, born on August 27, 1904, in Shipham, Norfolk, England. She began her career as a teacher after receiving a diploma from Norwich Training College in 1925, and she taught English and history for nearly four decades at the Guildhall Feoffment Girls School. Lofts also engaged in local governance as a member of the Bury St. Edmunds Borough Council and contributed to various educational and family planning organizations.
Her literary career, which eventually flourished, included the publication of over fifty books, with sales exceeding one million copies. Lofts is particularly renowned for her historical novels, often set against the backdrop of English history, and is noted for her meticulous research and character-driven storytelling. She explored a variety of historical periods and figures, including Anne Boleyn and Catherine of Aragon. Additionally, Lofts wrote under pseudonyms such as Peter Curtis and Juliet Ashley, producing thrillers and contributing to numerous magazines.
Despite facing physical challenges later in life, she continued to write and adapt her methods, employing researchers to assist her. Lofts passed away on September 10, 1983, in Bury St. Edmunds, leaving behind a legacy of significant contributions to historical fiction and literature.
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Subject Terms
Norah Lofts
Writer
- Born: August 27, 1904
- Birthplace: Shipham, Norfolk, England
- Died: September 10, 1983
- Place of death: Bury St. Edmonds, Suffolk, England
Biography
Norah Robinson was born on August 27, 1904, in Shipham, Norfolk, England, the daughter of Isaac and Ethel (neé Garner) Robinson. She took the name Lofts when she married Geoffry Lofts on December 29, 1933. She attended the Norwich Training College, where she received a teaching diploma in 1925. She then took a position at the Guildhall Feoffment Girls School, where she taught English and history from 1925 to 1962. From 1957 to 1962, Lofts was a member of the Bury St. Edmunds Borough Council. She was also a member of the Board of Managers of two schools, and a member of the Family Planning Association, of which she served a term as its president.
Her writing career had a slow start. It took her five years to sell the manuscript of her first novel. In the meantime she did not write anything, waiting for the first to sell before starting on her second novel. Lofts was a prolific writer of more than fifty books and sold more than one million copies of her works. She is best remembered for her historical novels, many of which were set in the nineteenth century or had English history as a background, though other nations and eras, including biblical times, were included in her writings. She received critical recognition for her accuracy and her ability to animate history.
Lofts did not make a particular period her speciality, but instead preferred to take a character of interest, for example, Anne Boleyn in The Concubine, Catherine of Aragon in The King’s Pleasure and Isabella of Spain in Crown of Aloes. Then she researched the era, concentrating more on the psychology of her characters rather than the setting. In August, 1980, she broke a hip and became wheelchair-bound. As a result, she employed a researcher to help her gather material.
She also wrote nonfiction and biographies. She wrote several thrillers under the name of Peter Curtis and also wrote under the name of Juliet Ashley. She contributed to various magazines, including Reader’s Digest, Cosmopolitan, the Ladies Home Journal, and the Woman’s Journal. Her short fiction was collected into three separate volumes. Three of her novels were filmed: Jassy, You’re Best Alone (as Guilt is My Shadow) and The Devil’s Own (as The Witches).
Lofts won the American Booksellers Association award for her first novel, I Met a Gypsy, and the Georgette Heyer Award for The Day of the Butterfly. She had one son, Geoffry St. Edmund Clive Lofts. Her first husband died in 1948 and she remarried in 1949, to Robert Jurisch. Lofts died in her sleep on September 10, 1983, at Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, England.