Deborah Moggach (née Hough; born 28 June 1948) is an English novelist and screenwriter. She has written nineteen novels, including '' The Ex-Wives'' (1993), ''Tulip Fever'' (1999; made into the 2017 film of the same name), ''These Foolish Things'' (2004; made into the 2011 film '' The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel'') and ''Heartbreak Hotel'' (2013). Her film scripts include ''

Pride and Prejudice ''Pride and Prejudice'' is the second published novel (but third to be written) by English author Jane Austen, written when she was age 20-21, and later published in 1813. A novel of manners, it follows the character development of Elizabe ...

'' (2005).

Early life and career

Moggach is one of four daughters of writers Charlotte Hough (née Woodyadd) and Richard Hough. Moggach was brought up in

Bushey Bushey is a town in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire in the East of England. It had a population of 25,328 in the 2011 census, rising to 28,416 in the 2021 census, an increase of 12.19%. This makes Bushey the second most populated town ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

, and

St John's Wood St John's Wood is a district in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden and the City of Westminster, London, England, about 2.5 miles (4 km) northwest of Charing Cross. Historically the northern part of the Civil Parish#An ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, and was educated at Camden School for Girls and

Queen's College, London Queen's College is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day school for girls aged 11–18 with an adjoining prep school for girls aged 4–11 located in the City of Westminster, London. It was founded in 1848 by theologian and social ...

. She graduated from the

University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a public university, public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Br ...

in 1971 with a degree in English,"Alumni , Deborah Moggach"
Honorary graduates 2005, University of Bristol. and then trained as a teacher before going to work at

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

. She lived in

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

for two years in the mid-1970s and in the United States.

Original works

Most of her novels are contemporary, tackling family life,

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganising of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the M ...

, children and the confusions and disappointments of relationships. She has an ear for comedy but has also written a dark thriller set in America, ''The Stand-In'' (1991); a bleak story of

incest Incest ( ) is sexual intercourse, sex between kinship, close relatives, for example a brother, sister, or parent. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by lineag ...

set near

London Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport , also colloquially known as London Heathrow Airport and named ''London Airport'' until 1966, is the primary and largest international airport serving London, the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingd ...

, '' Porky'' (1983); and a novel pitting Muslim versus English family values, ''Stolen'' (1990). Her two historical novels are ''Tulip Fever'' (1999), set in

Vermeer Johannes Vermeer ( , ; see below; also known as Jan Vermeer; October 1632 – 15 December 1675) was a Dutch painter who specialized in domestic interior scenes of middle-class life. He is considered one of the greatest painters of the Dutch ...

’s

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

, and ''In The Dark'' (2007), set in a boarding house during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Her 2015 novel, '' Something to Hide'', is set in

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, London,

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

, and West Africa. The Indian subcontinent has featured frequently in her work. Her other work includes two collections of short stories and a stage play.

Adaptations for film and TV

By Moggach

She has adapted many of her novels as TV dramas. She has written acclaimed adaptations of other people's work, including * Nancy Mitford's '' Love in a Cold Climate'' *'' The Diary of Anne Frank''. *''

'' (2005), starring

Keira Knightley Keira Christina Knightley ( ; born 26 March 1985) is an English actress. Known for her work in independent films and Blockbuster (entertainment), blockbusters, particularly Historical drama, period dramas, she has received List of awards and no ...

, for which she was nominated for a

BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

award, *''Goggle-Eyes'', from Anne Fine's novel, which won a Writers Guild Award.

By other writers of Moggach works

Other writers have adapted novels by Moggach, including *''These Foolish Things'', her comic novel about elderly people moving to India to obtain affordable care, was made into the successful film '' The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel''. *''Tulip Fever'' was made into a film.

Honours

In 2005, she was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Bristol; she is a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820 by King George IV to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 800 Fellows, elect ...

, a former Chair of 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 ...

and was on the executive committee of

English PEN Founded in 1921, English PEN is one of the world's first non-governmental organisations and among the first international bodies advocating for human rights. English PEN was the founding centre of PEN International, a worldwide writers' associa ...

. She was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) in the

2018 New Year Honours The 2018 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Hono ...

for services to literature.

Personal life

, she met the man who became her first husband, Tony Moggach; the couple later divorced. He died in November 2015. For ten years, her partner was the cartoonist

Mel Calman Melville Calman (19 May 1931 – 10 February 1994) was a British cartoonist best known for his "little man" cartoons published in British newspapers including the '' Daily Express'' (1957–63), '' The Sunday Telegraph'' (1964–65), '' The ...

. After Calman's death in 1994, she lived for seven years with Hungarian painter Csaba Pásztor. From 2013-2021 she was married to Mark Williams, a journalist, editor and magazine publisher. They lived in the Welsh border town of

Presteigne Presteigne (; : the church of St. Andrew) is a town and community (Wales), community on the south bank of the River Lugg in Powys, Wales. The town is located on the England–Wales border, which surrounds it to the north, east and south. Nearby ...

, and also had a maisonette in

Kentish Town Kentish Town is an area of northwest London, England, in the London Borough of Camden, immediately north of Camden Town, close to Hampstead Heath. Kentish Town likely derives its name from Ken-ditch or Caen-ditch, meaning the "bed of a waterw ...

, north London. As of 2024 Moggach had been single for three years. She has two adult children: Tom, a teacher, and Lottie, a journalist and novelist. In 1985, Moggach's mother was sent to prison for helping a terminally ill friend kill herself. Moggach is a patron of Dignity in Dying and campaigns for a change in the law on

assisted suicide Assisted suicide, sometimes restricted to the context of physician-assisted suicide (PAS), is the process by which a person, with the help of others, takes actions to end their life. Once it is determined that the person's situation qualifie ...

Habits

Moggach writes for 3 hours every morning, and smokes 3 roll-up cigarettes per day.

Works

Novels

* ''You Must Be Sisters'' (1978) * '' Close to Home'' (1979) * '' A Quiet Drink'' (1980) * '' Hot Water Man'' (1982) * '' Porky'' (1983) * '' To Have and to Hold'' (1986) * '' Driving in the Dark'' (1988) * ''Stolen'' (1990) * ''The Stand-In'' (1991) * '' The Ex-Wives'' (1993) * '' Seesaw'' (1996) * ''Close Relations'' (1997) * ''Tulip Fever'' (1999) * ''Final Demand'' (2001) * ''These Foolish Things'' (2004) (was adapted into the movie '' The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel'') ** Also available as a "movie tie-in" book, with the same title as the movie. * ''In the Dark'' (2007) * ''Heartbreak Hotel'' (2013) * '' Something to Hide'' (2015) * '' The Carer'' (2019) * '' The Black Dress'' (2021)

Short story collections

* ''Smile and Other Stories'' (1987) * ''Changing Babies and Other Stories'' (1995)

Screenplays

* '' Pride & Prejudice'' (2005) * '' Tulip Fever'' (2017)

Teleplays

* ''To Have and to Hold'' (mini-series) (1986) * ''Goggle Eyes'' (adaptation of an Anne Fine novel) (1993) (winner of a Writers' Guild Award for Best Adapted TV Serial) * ''Seesaw'' (adaptation of her own novel) (1998) * ''Close Relations'' (adaptation of her own novel) (1999) * '' Love in a Cold Climate'' (adaptation of two

Nancy Mitford Nancy Freeman-Mitford (28 November 1904 – 30 June 1973) was an English novelist, biographer, and journalist. The eldest of the Mitford family#Mitford sisters, Mitford sisters, she was regarded as one of the "bright young things" on the ...

novels) (2001) * ''Final Demand'' (adaptation of her own novel) (2003) * '' The Diary of Anne Frank'' (2009) * ''Stolen'' (adapted from her own novel) (1991)

Stage play

* ''Double-Take'' * ''The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel'' (based on her novel ''These Foolish Things'')

References

External links

*
Author's website

University of Bristol announcement about Moggach's receipt of honorary degree

"Deborah Moggach in conversation with Alistair Owen"

Writers' Guild of Great Britain The Writers' Guild of Great Britain (WGGB), established in 1959, is a trade union for professional writers. It is affiliated with both the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and the International Affiliation of Writers Guilds (IAWG). History The u ...

, 17 November 2021.
"Deborah Moggach: Why we all come back home to Camden"
'' Camden New Journal'', 9 March 2023. {{DEFAULTSORT:Moggach, Deborah 1948 births Living people 20th-century English novelists 20th-century English women writers 21st-century English novelists 21st-century English screenwriters 21st-century English women writers Alumni of the University of Bristol English expatriates in Pakistan English women screenwriters English screenwriters English women novelists Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature People educated at Camden School for Girls People educated at Queen's College, London People from Bushey People from Kentish Town People from Middlesex People from Powys People from St John's Wood Writers from the City of Westminster Writers from the London Borough of Camden