Frances Harris (8 January 195017 February 2021), was a British historian known for her focus on the Stuart period.
Biography
Frances Harris was born in
Victoria, Australia
Victoria is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state with a land area of , the second most populated state (after New South Wales) with a population of over 6.5 million, and the most densely populated state in ...
to the commercial artist Esther Hall and Laurence Harris, a civil servant. Harris was educated in
Methodist Ladies' College, Melbourne
("For God and for Home")
, established =
, type = Independent, single-sex, day and boarding school
, denomination = Uniting
, slogan = "MLC girls become world-ready women" . Her father's job took the family to Britain in 1967 and Harris remained to attend
Westfield College
Westfield College was a small college situated in Hampstead, London, from 1882 to 1989. It was the first college to aim to educate women for University of London degrees from its opening. The college originally admitted only women as students and ...
, London University where she graduated with a degree in English in 1971. Harris completed her PhD in 1975. She followed up the doctorate with a diploma in library and information studies through
University College London
, mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £143 million (2020)
, budget = � ...
. Harris then took up a position in the
British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the Briti ...
. Harris wrote three books on the
Stuart period
The Stuart period of British history lasted from 1603 to 1714 during the dynasty of the House of Stuart. The period ended with the death of Queen Anne and the accession of King George I from the German House of Hanover.
The period was plagu ...
beginning in 1991. In 2004 Harris's second book won a
Wolfson History Prize
The Wolfson History Prizes are literary awards given annually in the United Kingdom to promote and encourage standards of excellence in the writing of history for the general public. Prizes are given annually for two or three exceptional works ...
. When Harris retired in 2010 she was the head of modern historical manuscripts.
Private life
Harris was in a civil partnership with Elfrida Roberts. She was diagnosed with a myeloma in December 2020 and died on 17 February 2021.
Bibliography
* ''A Passion for Government: The Life of Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough'', 1991
* ''Transformations of Love:The Friendship of John Evelyn and Margaret Godolphin'', 2003
* ''The General in Winter:The Marlborough-Godolphin Friendship and the Reign of Anne'', 2017
Sources
1950 births
2021 deaths
Deaths from multiple myeloma
Alumni of the University of London
Alumni of University College London
People educated at Methodist Ladies' College, Melbourne
British historians
British women biographers
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