Josephine Hart, Baroness Saatchi (1 March 1942 – 2 June 2011
''The Daily Telegraph'', 3 June 2011), was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

writer, theatrical producer and television presenter who lived in London. Lady Saatchi wrote the novel ''

Damage Damage is any change in a thing, often a physical object, that degrades it away from its initial state. It can broadly be defined as "changes introduced into a system that adversely affect its current or future performance".Farrar, C.R., Sohn, H., ...

'', which was the basis for the 1992 film of the same name, directed by

Louis Malle Louis Marie Malle (; 30 October 1932 – 23 November 1995) was a French film director, screenwriter, and producer who worked in both French cinema and Hollywood. Described as "eclectic" and "a filmmaker difficult to pin down," Malle's filmogr ...

and starring

Jeremy Irons Jeremy John Irons (; born 19 September 1948) is an English actor and activist. After receiving classical training at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Irons began his acting career on stage in 1969 and has appeared in many West End theatre ...

Juliette Binoche Juliette Binoche (; born 9 March 1964) is a French actress and dancer. She has appeared in more than sixty feature films and has been the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Silver Bear, ...

and

Rupert Graves Rupert Simeon Graves (born 30 June 1963) is an English film, television, and theatre actor. He is known for his roles in ''A Room with a View'', '' Maurice'', '' The Madness of King George'' and '' The Forsyte Saga''. From 2010 to 2017 he star ...

Early years

Born at

Mullingar Mullingar ( ; ) is the county town of County Westmeath in Ireland. It is the third most populous town in the Midland Region, with a population of 20,928 in the 2016 census. The Counties of Meath and Westmeath Act 1543 proclaimed Westmeath ...

County Westmeath "Noble above nobility" , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Westmeath.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = , subdivis ...

, she attended a convent school at

Carrickmacross Carrickmacross () is a town in County Monaghan, Ireland. The town and environs had a population of 5,032 according to the 2016 census, making it the second-largest town in the county. Carrickmacross is a market town which developed around a c ...

County Monaghan County Monaghan ( ; ga, Contae Mhuineacháin) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Ulster and is part of Border strategic planning area of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Monaghan. Monaghan County C ...

, where she was encouraged by the nuns to recite verse at Irish festivals. She moved to London in 1964.

Career

Formerly a director of

Haymarket Publishing Haymarket Media Group is a privately held media company headquartered in London. It has publications in the consumer, business and customer sectors, both print and online. It operates exhibitions allied to its own publications, and previously on ...

, Hart was a founder of Gallery Poets and West End Poetry Hour. She produced several West End plays, including the ''Evening Standard'' Award winner ''The House of Bernarda Alba'' by

Federico García Lorca Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca (5 June 1898 – 19 August 1936), known as Federico García Lorca ( ), was a Spanish poet, playwright, and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblemat ...

. She appeared on television as the presenter for the

Thames TV Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a franchise holder for a region of the British ITV television network serving London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until the night of 31 December 1992. Thames Television broa ...

series ''Books by My Bedside''. Her papers are currently housed at the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center at

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original cam ...

Books

*''

'', Vintage Books, 1991 *''Sin'', Vintage Books, 1992 *''Oblivion'', Vintage Books, 1995 *''The Stillest Day'', Chatto & Windus, 1998 *''The Reconstructionist'', Chatto & Windus, 2001 *''Catching Life by the Throat: Poems from Eight Great Poets'', W. W. Norton, 2008 *''The Truth About Love'', Virago, 2009

Personal life

Hart was married to Maurice Saatchi, advertising magnate and former political advisor with whom she had one son,

Edward Saatchi Edward Saatchi (born 19 February 1985) is a British businessman and filmmaker. He is the chief executive officer (CEO) of artificial intelligence-powered virtual being company Fable. He was formerly a producer at Oculus Story Studio and the CEO ...

. Maurice was granted a peerage and became Baron Saatchi and as a result, she was entitled to the title The Lady Saatchi. She also had a son Adam Buckley from a previous marriage.

Death

Lady Saatchi died, aged 69, from

primary peritoneal cancer Primary peritoneal cancer or carcinoma is also known as serous surface papillary carcinoma, primary peritoneal carcinoma, extra-ovarian serous carcinoma, primary serous papillary carcinoma, and psammomacarcinoma. It was historically classified und ...

on 2 June 2011.

Legacy

Interest in Hart's poetry is maintained by the Josephine Hart Poetry Foundation, a

registered charity A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definition of a ch ...

under English law.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hart, Josephine 1942 births 2011 deaths 20th-century British novelists 21st-century British novelists 20th-century Irish writers 20th-century Irish novelists 21st-century Irish novelists British women television presenters British theatre managers and producers Women theatre managers and producers Deaths from peritoneal cancer Irish theatre managers and producers Deaths from cancer in England People from County Westmeath Place of death missing Saatchi family Spouses of life peers Saatchi Irish women television presenters