Catherine Gavin

Catherine Irvine Gavin (1907–2000) was a Scottish academic historian, war correspondent, and historical novelist.[1]

Life

Gavin was born in Aberdeen in 1907, and studied history and English at the University of Aberdeen, graduating with first-class honours.[1] After obtaining a doctorate on Louis Philippe of France, in 1931, she took up positions as a history lecturer at Aberdeen and at the University of Glasgow.[1] She stood as a Unionist candidate in two parliamentary elections in the 1930s, but without success.[1]

During World War II, she worked in France and the Netherlands for Kemsley Newspapers.[1] after the war, she married American advertising executive John Ashcraft and moved to the United States with him.[1] they were together until his death in 1998.

She appeared as a "castaway" on the BBC Radio programme Desert Island Discs on 24 June 1978.[2]

The University of Aberdeen awarded her an honorary D Litt in 1986.[1] The Catherine Gavin Room there is named in her honour.[1] The university has a 1940 portrait of her, in oil, by Elizabeth Mary Watt.[3]

She died in 2000, aged 92.[1]

Works

Gavin's works (described by FictionDB as "historical romances") include the following:

  • Clyde Valley (1938)
  • The Hostile Shore (1940)
  • The Black Milestone (1941)
  • The Mountain of Light (1944)
  • Madeleine (1957)
  • The Cactus and the Crown (1962)
  • The Fortress (1964)
  • The Moon Into Blood (1966)
  • The Devil in Harbour (1968)
  • The House of War (1970)
  • Give Me the Daggers (1972)
  • The Snow Mountain (1973)
  • Traitors' Gate (1976)
  • None Dare Call It Treason (1978; set during World War II)
  • How Sleep the Brave (1980)
  • The Sunset Dream (1984)
  • A Light Woman (1986)
  • A Dawn of Splendour (1989)
  • The French Fortune (1991)

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Alexander, Flora (1 April 2000). "Catherine Gavin". Herald Scotland. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
  2. ↑ "Desert Island Discs - Castaway : Dr Catherine Gavin". BBC Online. BBC. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
  3. ↑ "BBC - Your Paintings - Catherine Gavin". Your Paintings. BBC. Retrieved 18 August 2014.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.