Daisy Louisa Dominica Waugh (born 19 February 1967) is an English novelist and journalist.

Early life

A member of a literary dynasty, Waugh is the second daughter of the writer and journalist

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 ...

, by his marriage in 1961 to the novelist and translator

Lady Teresa Waugh Lady Teresa Lorraine Waugh (''née'' Onslow; born 26 February 1940) is a British novelist and translator. Early life Waugh was born at 11 Ormonde Gate, Chelsea, London, the daughter of William Onslow, 6th Earl of Onslow (then Viscount Cranley) ...

, daughter of the 6th Earl of Onslow. Her brother, Alexander Waugh, was a writer. They are grandchildren of the author

Evelyn Waugh Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires ''Decli ...

and great-grandchildren of the publisher and literary critic

Arthur Waugh Arthur Waugh (27 August 1866 – 26 June 1943) was an English author, literary critic and publisher. He was the father of the authors Alec Waugh and Evelyn Waugh. Early life Waugh was born in Midsomer Norton, Somerset, in 1866, elder son of ...

. Waugh grew up from the age of four at Combe Florey House, in

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

, of which she has written: "It's an impressive-looking place: big and quite grand and pleasingly symmetrical, set at the top of a long, winding drive, with an

Elizabethan The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The Roman symbol of Britannia (a female per ...

gatehouse at the bottom and a small lake with a private island halfway up... With forbidden attics and vast cellars chock-a-block with hidden treasures, there was never any need for a nursery... My memories are of a house, underheated (to put it mildly), but always full of noisy cousins and glamorous, clever people, eating well and talking quickly."

Career

At the age of 21, she published her first book, ''What Is the Matter with Mary Jane?'' (1988). She pursued an ambition to become a

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

screenwriter, which turned into a weekly newspaper column from

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. Her other journalism includes working as a restaurant critic and as an

agony aunt An advice column is a column in a question and answer format. Typically, a (usually anonymous) reader writes to the media outlet with a problem in the form of a question, and the media outlet provides an answer or response. The responses are wr ...

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 ...

'', and

travel writing The genre of travel literature or travelogue encompasses outdoor literature, guide books, nature writing, and travel memoirs. History Early examples of travel literature include the '' Periplus of the Erythraean Sea'' (generally considered a ...

. On television, she has presented

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

's ''

Travelog The genre of travel literature or travelogue encompasses outdoor literature, guide books, nature writing, and travel memoirs. History Early examples of travel literature include the ''Periplus of the Erythraean Sea'' (generally considered a 1s ...

'' show and was a contributor to the

BBC Radio Four BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of Talk radio, spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at B ...

programme ''Afternoon Shift''.Daisy Waugh
at fantasticfiction.co.uk. Retrieved 25 May 2010 ''A Small Town in Africa'' (1994), a book about Waugh's experiences while living for six months at

Isiolo Isiolo is a town in Isiolo County, of which it is the capital. It is located in the upper eastern region of Kenya and is geographically considered the center of the country Kenya. It lies 285 kilometers north of the capital Nairobi. The town gr ...

in the Eastern Province of

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

, was well received. In 1995, she spent three months travelling in the United States with Samantha Weinberg. In 2005, the ''

Literary Review ''Literary Review'' is a British literary magazine founded in 1979 by Anne Smith, then head of the Department of English at the University of Edinburgh. Its offices are on Lexington Street in Soho. The magazine was edited for fourteen years b ...

'' described Waugh's novel ''Bed of Roses'' as "''

Cold Comfort Farm ''Cold Comfort Farm'' is a comic novel by English author Stella Gibbons, published in 1932. It parodies the romanticised, sometimes doom-laden accounts of rural life popular at the time, by writers such as Mary Webb. The novel was awarded the ...

'' meets ''

Goodbye, Mr Chips ''Goodbye, Mr. Chips'' is a novella about the life of a school teacher, Mr. Chipping, written by English writer James Hilton and first published by Hodder & Stoughton in October 1934. It has been adapted into two feature films and two televi ...

''". From about 2005 to 2007, Waugh lived in the country and wrote an anonymous column for ''

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 ...

'' called "Country/City Mole in Home". This phase came to an end when she gave up the rural idyll and returned to London to write ''The Desperate Diary of a Country Housewife'' (2008). Waugh has published several novels, as well as works of non-fiction, and has written for British national newspapers including ''

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 Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'', and ''

''.

Family

Waugh married Peter de Sales la Terrière in 1995. Their first child, a daughter, was born on 22 September 1997, a son three years later, and a second daughter in 2006. She lives in London with her husband and children.

Books

*''What is the Matter with Mary Jane? A Cautionary Tale'' (London, 1988) *''A Small Town in Africa'' (London: Heinemann, 1994) *''The New You Survival Kit: An Essential Guide to Etiquette, Rites and Customs among the Modern Elite'' (London: HarperCollins, 2002) *''Ten Steps to Happiness (In a Safe and Healthy World)'' (London: HarperCollins, 2003, ) *''Bed of Roses'' (2005) *''Bordeaux Housewives'' (London: Harper, 2006) *''The Desperate Diary of a Country Housewife'' (London: HarperCollins, 2008, ) *''Last Dance with Valentino'' (London: HarperCollins, 2011 )''Last Dance with Valentino''
via books.google.co.uk. Retrieved 26 May 2010. *''Melting the Snow on Hester Street'' (London: HarperCollins, 2013, *''The Kids Will Be Fine: Guilt-Free Motherhood for Thoroughly Modern Women'' (Metropolitan, 2014) *''In the Crypt with a Candlestick'' (Piatkus, 2020)

References

External links

*
Daisy Waugh
at standpointmag.co.uk * Daisy Waugh Website: https://daisywaugh.com/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Waugh, Daisy 1967 births Living people British restaurant critics English columnists English satirists 20th-century English novelists 21st-century English novelists Daisy People educated at Taunton School People from Taunton Deane (district) The Sunday Times people The Times people Daisy Writers from Somerset