Annabel Davis-Goff (born 19 February 1942) is an Irish novelist, academic, screenwriter and advocate, active in the United States.

Early life

Davis-Goff was born to a

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

family in Ireland to

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the State rel ...

parents. Her father was Sir Ernest William Davis-Goff, 3rd Bt; her mother was Alice Cynthia Sainthill Woodhouse. She left Ireland in her teens and worked in England in television and film (she was listed as 'Continuity' in the credits for the films ''

Walkabout Walkabout is a term dating to the pastoral era in which large numbers of Aboriginal Australians were employed on cattle stations. During the tropical wet season, when there was little work on the stations, many would return to their traditional ...

'' and ''

Performance A performance is an act or process of staging or presenting a play, concert, or other form of entertainment. It is also defined as the action or process of carrying out or accomplishing an action, task, or function. Performance has evolved glo ...

'') before moving to the United States. She lived for a while in California and then moved to

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

upon her marriage.

Literary career

Davis-Goff is best known for her family memoir ''Walled Gardens'' (1990; new edition by Eland in 2008). She has published several lesser-known books since, including ''The Dower House'' (1997), ''This Cold Country'' (2002) and ''The Fox’s Walk'' (2005). She has edited ''The Literary Companion to Gambling'' and has reviewed books for ''The New York Times'' and ''Entertainment Weekly''. ''The New Yorker'' and ''The Washington Post'' have labelled her work "exquisite" and "brilliant".

Advocacy

Davis-Goff teaches at

Bennington College Bennington College is a private liberal arts college in Bennington, Vermont, United States. Founded as a women’s college in 1932,

Bennington, Vermont Bennington is a New England town, town in Bennington County, Vermont, United States. It is one of two shire towns (county seats) of the county, the other being Manchester (town), Vermont, Manchester. As of the 2020 United States Census, US Cens ...

. She has worked for more than 30 years with organizations that serve homeless families in New York City and is an advocate for prison reform.

Personal life

Davis-Goff was married to Hollywood film director

Mike Nichols Mike Nichols (born Igor Mikhail Peschkowsky; November 6, 1931 – November 19, 2014) was an American film and theatre director and comedian. He worked across a range of genres and had an aptitude for getting the best out of actors regardless of ...

for 11 years, from 1975 to 1986, until the marriage ended in divorce. They had 2 children together; Max Nichols (married to Rachel Alexander) and Jenny Nichols. Mike Nichols died of a heart attack in 2014, after which Davis-Goff divided her time between Manhattan and

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

. Her niece, Sarah Davis-Goff, is also an author, focusing on Ireland-based post-apocalyptic drama, and is a founder of the publishing company

Tramp Press Tramp Press is a publishing company founded in Dublin in 2014 by Lisa Coen and Sarah Davis-Goff. It is an independent publisher that specialises in Irish fiction. The company is named after John Millington Synge's tramp, a reference to the bold ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis-Goff, Annabel 1942 births Living people 20th-century Irish women writers 21st-century Irish women writers Writers from County Waterford Irish women memoirists 20th-century Irish novelists 20th-century Irish memoirists 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers