Margaret Forster
Margaret Forster was an English author born in 1938 in Carlisle, Cumberland, who became a notable figure in literature through her novels and biographies. Growing up in a blue-collar family with limited access to books, she nurtured a passion for reading and writing, inspired by her mother's unfulfilled potential. Forster excelled academically, receiving scholarships to a prestigious high school and later to Somerville College, Oxford, where she studied history. Her literary career began with the publication of her first novel, *Dames' Delight* (1964), but it was *Georgy Girl* (1965) that truly launched her success, later adapted into a film.
Throughout her career, Forster produced a range of popular novels, often focusing on women's experiences and societal themes during the dynamic 1960s, and she experimented with narrative perspectives. In addition to fiction, she explored historical biography, notably in *The Rash Adventurer* (1973), which examined Bonnie Prince Charlie, and wrote about influential figures in literature and feminism. Her work frequently delved into mother-daughter relationships and generational narratives. Forster's final works include novels and an autobiography, with her last novel, *How to Measure a Cow*, published posthumously in 2016, shortly after her passing from cancer complications.
On this Page
Subject Terms
Margaret Forster
- Born: May 25, 1938
- Birthplace: Carlisle, Cumberland, England
- Died: February 8, 2016
- Place of death: London, England
Biography
Margaret Forster was born in 1938 in Carlisle, Cumberland, England, the middle child of three children. Her parents were blue-collar workers who did not have any books in their home. However, Forster developed a passion for reading which was transformed into a passion for writing. She saw her mother as a gifted woman chained by family responsibilities and vowed to live a different life. In 1949, she received a scholarship to a local high school for academically gifted girls, and then received another scholarship to attend Somerville College, Oxford University, where she studied history and graduated in 1960.
That year, she married Hunter Davies, a journalist and writer. They settled in London and had three children. Forster’s first novel, Dames’ Delight (1964), was about her first two terms at Oxford University. Her second novel, Georgy Girl (1965), was an instant best seller and was made into a film the next year; the book launched her writing career. Forster then produced a string of popular novels over the next six years. Most were set in London in the “swinging” 1960s and focused on one or two characters who were often isolated and usually female. She wrote in a clear, unadorned style, experimenting with telling her stories from various points of view.
In 1973, her historical interests combined with her fiction to produce the first of a number of biographies. The Rash Adventurer: The Rise and Fall of Charles Edward Stuart is a biography of Bonnie Prince Charlie, an unsuccessful claimant of the British throne. Forster focused on his character and paid special attention to his attempts to become king. She included many details of his life found in letters, memoirs, and other documents to create a living person who was rather different from his romantic image. Further biographies followed, including books about writers Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Daphne Du Maurier. In Memoirs of a Victorian Gentleman: William Makepeace Thackeray (1978), Forster honored Makepeace Thackeray’s wish not to have a biography by creating a fictive autobiographical memoir. The result is quite postmodern in its playful viewpoint and the question of authorial role. In 1984, she published Significant Sisters: The Grassroots of Active Feminism, 1839–1939, a study of pioneers in the feminist movement. Forster saw herself as a rather inadequate feminist, as evidenced by her book Good Wives? Mary, Fannie, Jennie, and Me, 1845–2001 (2001), a comparison of three career women and herself.
In addition to her nonfiction books, Forster continued to write novels, many of which centered on mother-daughter relationships. She also wrote a memoir about her family, unearthing secrets about her grandparents. Her interest in generational patterns was reflected in her novels and in Rich Desserts and Captain’s Thin: A Family and Their Times, 1831–1931 (1997), an account of Carrs of Carlisle, a famous Quaker biscuit firm. In addition to novels such as Diary of an Ordinary Woman 1914–1995 (2003), Keeping the World Away (2006), Isa and May (2010), and The Unknown Bridesmaid (2013), she also published the autobiography My Life in Houses (2014).
Having fought against cancer at various times throughout her life, she died due to complications from cancer in her spine on February 8, 2016, in London, England, at the age of seventy-seven. Her final novel, How to Measure a Cow (2016), was published shortly after her death.
Bibliography
Davies, Hunter. "Hunter Davies: After Margaret Died, I Had to Sell Our Family Home." The Telegraph, 20 July 2016, www.telegraph.co.uk/men/relationships/after-margaret-i-couldnt-face-living-in-our-family-house-alone/. Accessed 17 Nov. 2017.
Davies, Hunter. "Hunter Davies: My Wife Margaret Forster Valued Privacy—Should I Publish Her Diaries?" The Guardian, 29 July 2017, www.theguardian.com/books/2017/jul/29/margaret-forster-hunter-davies-diaries. Accessed 17 Nov. 2017.
Gorb, Ruth. "Margaret Forster Obituary." The Guardian, 8 Feb. 2016, www.theguardian.com/books/2016/feb/08/margaret-forster-obituary. Accessed 17 Nov. 2017.
Grimes, William. "Margaret Forster, Author of Georgy Girl and More, Dies at 77." The New York Times, 9 February 2016, www.nytimes.com/2016/02/10/books/margaret-forster-author-of-georgy-girl-and-more-dies-at-77.html. Accessed 17 Nov. 2017.
"Margaret Forster, Author—Obituary." The Telegraph, 8 Feb. 2016, www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/12146820/Margaret-Forster-author-obituary.html. Accessed 17 Nov. 2017.