Monica Furlong (17 January 1930 – 14 January 2003) was a British author, journalist, and activist. She was born at Kenton near Harrow, north-west of London and died at Umberleigh in Devon. An obituary called her the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

's "most influential and creative

layperson Laypeople or laypersons may refer to: * Someone who is not an expert in a particular field of study ** Lay judge *** Lay judges in Japan * Laity, members of a church who are not clergy ** Lay brother ** Lay sister ** Lay preacher ** Lay apostol ...

of the post-war period."

Career

Many of Furlong's books reflected a deep interest in religion and

spirituality The meaning of ''spirituality'' has developed and expanded over time, and various meanings can be found alongside each other. Traditionally, spirituality referred to a religious process of re-formation which "aims to recover the original shape o ...

. She wrote biographies of

John Bunyan John Bunyan (; 1628 – 31 August 1688) was an English writer and preacher. He is best remembered as the author of the Christian allegory ''The Pilgrim's Progress'', which also became an influential literary model. In addition to ''The Pilgrim' ...

Trappist The Trappists, officially known as the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance (, abbreviated as OCSO) and originally named the Order of Reformed Cistercians of Our Lady of La Trappe, are a Religious order (Catholic), Catholic religious o ...

monk

Thomas Merton Thomas Merton (January 31, 1915December 10, 1968), religious name M. Louis, was an American Trappist monk, writer, theologian, Christian mysticism, mystic, poet, social activist and scholar of comparative religion. He was a monk in the Trapp ...

Thérèse of Lisieux Thérèse of Lisieux (born Marie Françoise-Thérèse Martin; 2 January 1873 – 30 September 1897), religious name, in religion Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, was a French Discalced Carmelites, Discalced Carmelite who is widely v ...

, and

Alan Watts Alan Wilson Watts (6 January 1915 – 16 November 1973) was a British and American writer, speaker, and self-styled "philosophical entertainer", known for interpreting and popularising Buddhist, Taoist, and Hinduism, Hindu philosophy for a Wes ...

, as well as books covering such diverse topics as the spiritual life of aboriginals, medieval women

mystics A mystic is a person who practices mysticism, or a reference to a mystery, mystic craft, first hand-experience or the occult. Mystic may also refer to: Arts, entertainment Books and comics * Ms. Mystic, comic book superheroine * ''Mystic'' (c ...

, and the

. She also wrote a popular series of children's novels set in medieval England and Scotland: ''Wise Child'', its prequel spinoff ''Juniper'', and its immediate sequel ''Colman''. Furlong's autobiography, ''Bird of Paradise'', was published in 1995. Furlong began her writing career in 1956 as a feature writer for ''Truth'' magazine, where she met

Bernard Levin Henry Bernard Levin (19 August 1928 – 7 August 2004) was an English journalist, author and broadcaster, described by ''The Times'' as "the most famous journalist of his day". The son of a poor Jewish family in London, he won a scholarship t ...

, who became a lifelong friend. She then joined ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British political and cultural news magazine. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving magazine in the world. ''The Spectator'' is politically conservative, and its principal subject a ...

'' as its religious correspondent from 1958 until 1960, before moving to the ''

Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily Middle-market newspaper, middle-market Tabloid journalism, tabloid conservative newspaper founded in 1896 and published in London. , it has the List of newspapers in the United Kingdom by circulation, h ...

'', where she remained for the next eight years. In the 1960s, Furlong became involved in religious reform. In her first book, ''With Love to the Church'' (1965), she expressed her beliefs in an inclusive Church and sided with those who felt excluded. She became a supporter of the cause of women in the

Anglican Church Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

. In the 1980s she campaigned for the

ordination of women The ordination of women to Minister of religion, ministerial or priestly office is an increasingly common practice among some contemporary major religious groups. It remains a controversial issue in certain religious groups in which ordination ...

, and when that goal was reached she called for the appointment of women to senior Church positions. While in her 30s Furlong had used

LSD Lysergic acid diethylamide, commonly known as LSD (from German ; often referred to as acid or lucy), is a semisynthetic, hallucinogenic compound derived from ergot, known for its powerful psychological effects and serotonergic activity. I ...

, an experience she described in her book ''Travelling In'' (1971); the work was banned from

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...

bookshops.

Books

Adult non-fiction

* ''With Love to the Church'' (1965) * ''Contemplating Now'' (1971) * ''Travelling In'' (1971) * ''Puritan's Progress: A Study of John Bunyan'' (1975) * ''Merton: A Biography'' (1980) * ''Zen Effects: the Life of Alan Watts'' (1986)
(published in England as ''Genuine Fake: A Biography of Alan Watts'') * ''Therese of Lisieux'' (1987) * ''Birds of Paradise: Glimpses of Living Myth'' (1995) * ''Visions and Longings: Medieval Women Mystics'' (1996) * ''C of E: the State It's in'' (2000) * ''Women Pray: Voices through the Ages, from Many Faiths, Cultures, and Traditions'' (2004) * ' 'Flight of the Kingfisher: Journey Among the Kukatja Aborigines' ' (1997)

Adult fiction

* ''The Cat's Eye'' (1976)

Poetry

* ''God's a good man'' (1974)

Children's fiction

''Wise Child'' trilogy

* ''Wise Child'' (1987) * ''Juniper'' (1990)- prequel spinoff to ''Wise Child'' * ''Colman'' (2003)- sequel to ''Wise Child''

Stand-alone

* ''Robin's Country'' (1994)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Furlong, Monica 1930 births 2003 deaths British activists British women activists British religious writers British spiritual writers British children's writers Daily Mail journalists Place of birth missing People from Kenton, London British women biographers British women children's writers British women religious writers 20th-century British biographers 20th-century British women writers 20th-century British journalists