Elizabeth Kate Picard (née Sleigh; 11 October 1927 – 8 April 2022) was an English lawyer and historian. After retiring as a solicitor at the Inland Revenue, she turned to writing history as a hobby. In 1997 she published ''Restoration London'', the first of several works on the social history of London.

Early life and education

Picard was born in Dedham, Essex, the youngest of three daughters born to James Sleigh, a doctor, and Hilda Scott. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

she was evacuated to

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire (; ) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Aberdeenshire (historic), Aberdeenshire, which had substantial ...

. As a teenager she cycled around southern France reporting on the situation of young displaced persons for the Red Cross. She read law at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

Career

Legal career

Picard was called to the bar by

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

when she was 21, but did not practise as a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

. She began her career by writing a book in 1948 called ''Questions and Answers on Private International Law'', for which she was paid . During the 1950s she worked as a lawyer for the Colonial Office in

Dar es Salaam Dar es Salaam (, ; from ) is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of the Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over 7 million people, Dar es Salaam is the largest city in East Africa by population and the ...

. Picard later worked in the Office of the Solicitor of the Inland Revenue until her retirement in 1987. She also chaired the Social Security Appeal Tribunal in

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

in the 1990s, where, as ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' recalled, "she dispensed as much public money as she dared".

Writing career

Upon retirement Picard began researching the history of seventeenth-century

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 ...

, publishing a book entitled '' Restoration London'' in 1997. Three years later, she published a similar volume entitled '' Dr. Johnson's London''; '' Elizabeth's London'' followed in 2003, and '' Victorian London'' in 2005. Her last book, ''Chaucer's People'', a social history of England in the fourteenth century, was published in October 2017. Picard told ''The Guardian'', "I am not a properly trained historian. I am a lawyer by trade, and an inquisitive, practical woman by character".

Personal life and death

She was married to Philip Picard, a barrister, from 1963 until his death in 1984, and they had one son. In Picard's later years, she lived in Hackney and Oxford, before moving to west London at the end of her life. She died on 8 April 2022, aged 94.

Selected publications

*''Questions and Answers on Private International Law''. 1948 *''Restoration London''. Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, 1997. *''Dr. Johnson's London''. Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, 2000. *''Elizabeth's London''. Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, 2003. *''Victorian London''. Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, 2005. *''Chaucer's People''. Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, 2017.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Picard, Liza 1927 births 2022 deaths 20th-century English lawyers 20th-century English historians 20th-century English women lawyers 20th-century English women writers 21st-century British women lawyers 21st-century English historians 21st-century English women writers Alumni of the London School of Economics British social historians English women historians English solicitors Historians of London Members of Gray's Inn People from Dedham, Essex Writers from Essex