Nieves Mathews (1917–2003) was a British translator and writer best known for her biography of

Sir Francis Bacon Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626) was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General for England and Wales, Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England under James VI and I, King ...

Family

Born Nieves Hayat de Madariaga Archibald in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, on 3 December 1917,International Who's Who of Authors and Writers 2004
19th ed. (London), p. 375. Retrieved 3 March 2020. she was the elder daughter of the Spanish diplomat and writer

Salvador de Madariaga Salvador de Madariaga y Rojo (23 July 1886 – 14 December 1978) was a Spanish "eminent liberal", diplomat, writer, historian and pacifist who was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature and the Nobel Peace Prize and awarded the Charl ...

and the Scottish economic historian Constance Helen Margaret (née Archibald). Her younger sister was the historian

Isabel de Madariaga Isabel Margaret de Madariaga (27 August 1919 – 16 June 2014) was a British historian who specialised on Russia in the 18th century and Catherine the Great. She published six books on Russia and is credited for changing the perception of Cather ...

. She studied French and Spanish at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

. On 23 April 1939, she married Paul William Mathews and had two children.

Career and writings

Mathews began her career at the

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lang ...

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

and later worked as a translator and report writer for various international organisations in

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

and

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, including over 20 years spent with the

Food and Agriculture Organization The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; . (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition and food security. Its Latin motto, , translates ...

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

agency headquartered in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

). In 1956, she published a crime novel, entitled ''She Died Without Light''. Her biography of

, entitled ''Francis Bacon: The History of a Character Assassination'', was published by

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

in 1996. She claimed in the acknowledgements that the book was suggested and blessed by "my teacher, Osho" (

Rajneesh Rajneesh (born Chandra Mohan Jain; 11 December 193119 January 1990), also known as Acharya Rajneesh, Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, and later as Osho (), was an Indian Godman (India), godman, philosopher, Mysticism, mystic and founder of the Rajnees ...

), "who thought highly of Sir Francis Bacon and gave the book his blessing". She was also deeply influenced by the works of

Immanuel Velikovsky Immanuel Velikovsky (; rus, Иммануи́л Велико́вский, p=ɪmənʊˈil vʲɪlʲɪˈkofskʲɪj; 17 November 1979) was a Russian-American psychoanalyst, writer, and catastrophist. He is the author of several books offering Pseudohi ...

. Mathews also contributed poems, articles and stories to periodicals, including '' Encounter'', '' Cambridge Literary Review'', ''

Botteghe Oscure ''Botteghe Oscure'' was a literary journal that was founded and edited in Rome by Marguerite Caetani (Princess di Bassiano) from 1948 to 1960. History and profile ''Botteghe Oscure'' was established in 1948. The magazine was named after Rome� ...

'', and ''Baconiana''.

References

External links

Nieves on Francis Bacon
1917 births 2003 deaths Scottish women novelists Spanish women novelists Spanish people of Scottish descent British women biographers Spanish women biographers 20th-century British women writers 20th-century British biographers 20th-century Scottish novelists 20th-century Scottish women {{scotland-writer-stub