Caitlin Davies (born 6 March 1964) is an English author, historian, journalist and teacher. She has written several books about

social history Social history, often called history from below, is a field of history that looks at the lived experience of the past. Historians who write social history are called social historians. Social history came to prominence in the 1960s, spreading f ...

and

women's history Women's history is the study of the role that Woman, women have played in history and Historiography, the methods required to do so. It includes the study of the history of the growth of woman's rights, women's rights throughout recorded history, ...

. Her historical works have focused on

swimmers Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

, female

prisoner A prisoner, also known as an inmate or detainee, is a person who is deprived of liberty against their will. This can be by confinement or captivity in a prison or physical restraint. The term usually applies to one serving a Sentence (law), se ...

s, female

criminal In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definiti ...

s, and female

private investigator A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI; also known as a private detective, an inquiry agent or informally a wikt:private eye, private eye) is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. ...

Family and early life

Caitlin Davies was born on 6 March 1964, the daughter of Hunter Davies and Margaret Forster, both well-known writers.BBC: Author Margaret Forster dies from cancer aged 77
(accessed 8 February 2016) Hunter Davies wrote regularly about Caitlin and her brother Jake and sister Flora in a weekly ''Punch'' magazine column which ran in the 1970s, giving a broad insight into their upbringing. In her youth she was also frequently referred to by

Auberon Waugh Auberon Alexander Waugh ( ; 17 November 1939 – 16 January 2001) was a British journalist and novelist, and eldest son of the novelist Evelyn Waugh. He was widely known by his nickname "Bron". After a traditional classical education at Downsid ...

in his ''

Private Eye ''Private Eye'' is a British fortnightly satirical and current affairs (news format), current affairs news magazine, founded in 1961. It is published in London and has been edited by Ian Hislop since 1986. The publication is widely recognised ...

'' diary.

Life in Botswana

Davies was associated with

Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...

from 1990 when she met her husband, the former Botswana MP Ronald Ridge, while studying for a

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in English at

Clark University Clark University is a private research university in Worcester, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1887 with a large endowment from its namesake Jonas Gilman Clark, a prominent businessman, Clark was one of the first modern research uni ...

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Massachusetts, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the list of United States cities by population, 113th most populous city in the United States. Named after Worcester ...

. Relocating to Botswana and working as a teacher, and then a freelance journalist, she wrote for Botswana's first tabloid newspaper ''The Voice'' and then as editor of ''The Okavango Newspaper''. She was twice arrested as a journalist, once for "causing fear and alarm", and acquitted. In 2000, she received an award from the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) "in recognition for consistent and outstanding journalistic work". While living in Botswana, Davies wrote the novel ''Jamestown Blues'' and the historical work ''The Return of El Negro''. The victim of a brutal assault and rape, she was active in research concerning

domestic violence Domestic violence is violence that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes r ...

in Botswana. She was a founder member of Women Against Rape (WAR) in Maun.

Return to England

Davies returned to England with her daughter after divorcing her husband and published a memoir about her experiences, called ''Place of Reeds'' (2005) . For several years she wrote education and careers features for ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

''. Davies is the author of six novels; ''Jamestown Blues'' (1996), ''Black Mulberries'' (2008), ''Friends Like Us'' (2009), ''The Ghost of Lily Painter'' (2011), ''Family Likeness'' (2013), and ''Daisy Belle: Swimming Champion of the World'' (2018). Davies wrote an illustrated non-fiction book on the bathing ponds and lido on

Hampstead Heath Hampstead Heath is an ancient heath in London, spanning . This grassy public space sits astride a sandy ridge, one of the highest points in London, running from Hampstead to Highgate, which rests on a band of London Clay. The heath is rambling ...

, ''Taking the Waters: a swim around Hampstead Heath'', and a

of Camden Lock (2013). Her work has appeared in ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

'', ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'', ''

The Mail on Sunday ''The Mail on Sunday'' is a British conservative newspaper, published in a tabloid format. Founded in 1982 by Lord Rothermere, it is the biggest-selling Sunday newspaper in the UK. Its sister paper, the ''Daily Mail'', was first published i ...

'', ''Town and Country'' and ''Tate Etc.'' In 2015, Davies' non-fiction book ''Downstream: a history and celebration of swimming the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

'' was published. It was described by ''The Independent'' as "a fascinating

cultural history Cultural history records and interprets past events involving human beings through the social, cultural, and political milieu of or relating to the arts and manners that a group favors. Jacob Burckhardt (1818–1897) helped found cultural history ...

". It resulted in a three-week Thames swimming showcase at the

Museum of London London Museum (known from 1976 to 2024 as the Museum of London) is a museum in London, covering the history of the city from prehistoric to modern times, with a particular focus on social history. The Museum of London was formed in 1976 by ama ...

. Davies' non-fiction book, ''Bad Girls'', is a history of Holloway Prison in north London, formerly the largest women's prison in Western Europe. It was longlisted for the

Orwell Prize The Orwell Prize is a British prize for political writing. The Prize is awarded by The Orwell Foundation, an independent charity (Registered Charity No 1161563, formerly "The Orwell Prize") governed by a board of trustees. Four prizes are award ...

for Political Writing 2019. Davies' book ''Queens of the Underworld: a journey into the lives of female crooks'' was published in October 2021. She received a grant from The Author's Foundation, administered by the

Society of Authors The Society of Authors (SoA) is a United Kingdom trade union for professional writers, illustrators and literary translators, founded in 1884 to protect the rights and further the interests of authors. Membership of the society is open to "anyon ...

, to research the book. Her latest book is ''Private Inquiries: The Secret History of Female Sleuths'', published by

The History Press The History Press is a British publishing company specialising in the publication of titles devoted to local and specialist history. It claims to be the United Kingdom's largest independent publisher in this field, publishing approximately 300 ...

in 2023. From 2014 to 2017, Davies worked as a Royal Literary Fund Fellow at the

University of Westminster The University of Westminster is a public university, public university based in London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1838 as the Royal Polytechnic Institution, it was the first Polytechnic (United Kingdom), polytechnic to open in London. The Po ...

. She worked as an RLF Fellow at the Victoria & Albert Museum and the Science Museum from 2019-2020. She is currently a Writing Fellow at Kent & Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust.

Bibliography

*''Jamestown Blues''. London; New York: Penguin, 1996. *''The Return of El Negro: the compelling story of Africa's unknown soldier''. Penguin Books (South Africa), 2003. Thorold's Africana Books istributor*''Summer Magic''. London: Bloomsbury, 2003. (short story contributor) *''Place of Reeds''. London: Simon & Schuster, 2005. *''Black Mulberries''. London: Pocket, 2008. *''Friends like us''. London: Pocket, 2009. *''Grandparents''. London: Ebury, 2009. (short story contributor) *''The Ghost of Lily Painter''. London: Hutchinson, 2011. London : Windmill, 2012. *''Taking the Waters: a Swim around Hampstead Heath''. London: Frances Lincoln, 2012. *''Camden Lock and the Market''. London: Frances Lincoln, 2013 *''Family Likeness''. London: Hutchinson, 2013. London: Windmill, 2014, inspired in part by the life of Dido Elizabeth Belle. *''Downstream: a history and celebration of swimming the River Thames''. London: Aurum, 2015. *''Bad Girls: a History of Rebels and Renegades''. London: John Murray, March 2018. *''Daisy Belle: Swimming Champion of the World''. London: Unbound, September 2018. *''Botswana Women Write''. South Africa: University of KwaZulu-Natal Press, January 2020. *''Queens of the Underworld''. London: The History Press, October 2021.

References

External links

www.caitlindavies.co.uk Author's website

Museum of London blog

Profile at the National Portrait Gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davies, Caitlin 1964 births Living people 20th-century English journalists 20th-century English novelists 21st-century English novelists 20th-century English women writers 21st-century English women writers 21st-century English memoirists 21st-century English historians English women novelists Clark University alumni Botswana journalists Botswana women journalists English women memoirists Botswana women writers Botswana novelists English women non-fiction writers British emigrants to Botswana The Independent people British social historians The Sunday Times people The Daily Telegraph people Daily Mail and General Trust people Women's historians