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Elizabeth Coxhead
Born	Eileen Elizabeth Coxhead 1909 Hinckley, Leicestershire, England
Died	1979 Buckinghamshire
Occupation	Novelist

Elizabeth Coxhead (Author)

Elizabeth Coxhead was an author, she wrote Novels and Biographies. She wrote eight novels and was also known as a distinguished critic after writing many articles and features for many of the major broadsheets. She was born in 1909 in Hinckley, Leicestershire, as Eileen Elizabeth Coxhead. Her Father, Mr G.E.S Coxhead, was the Headmaster at Hinckley Grammar School. Elizabeth was also considered as a feminist, speaking out against old ways of thinking. She was known and respected for her works depicting married couples.

Childhood

Elizabeth was raised in Hinckley, a small market town in Leicestershire. She lived with her father in the private quarters at the grammar school. Elizabeth herself, when old enough, became a pupil at Hinckley Grammar school, being the first girl to attend.

Education

Following Hinckley grammar Elizabeth studied at Somerville College, Oxford, gaining a first in French, a rare achievement for the women of the 1930s.

Career

After Graduating from Somerville College, Oxford, she began a career in Journalism; her first employment was working at The Lady in London. She then became a Freelancer working at the fleet street offices of the Liverpool Daily Post and The Manchester Guardian. Her career was divided between writing novels and biographies.

Novels

Elizabeth became a distinguished writer.She wrote 10 Novels consisting of two pre-war novels but her success came in the 1950s. Her classic One Green Bottle, written in 1951, centred around Elizabeth's hobby of rock climbing, with a hidden meaning of social forces after World War Two. One Green Bottle was wildly acclaimed and went into several editions on both sides of the Atlantic.[1] However, The novel later received criticism from Rt Rev Douglas Henry Crick, an Anglican Minister, condemning the One Green Bottle, calling it explicit. Elizabeths novel, A Friend in Need, was used as the basis for a film called A Cry from the Streets, portraying orphan children living in one of the poorest neighbourhoods in London. Many of her novels are still being sold on Amazon (company),AbeBooks and World books [2].

Elizabeth Coxhead list of Novels

• June in Skye(London,Cassell (publisher)1938)
• The Street of Shadows(London,Cassell (publisher)1934)
• A Wind in the West(London,Faber and Faber1949)
• One Green Bottle(London,Faber and Faber1951)
• A play towards(London,Faber and Faber1952)
• The Midlanders(London,HarperCollins1953)
• The figure in the mist(LondonHarperCollins1955)
• A Friend in need(LondonHarperCollins1957)
• The house in the heart(LondonHarperCollins1959)
• The Thankless Muse(LondonHarvill Secker1967)[3]

Biographies

Elizabeth Coxhead also wrote Nine Biographies. In the 1960s, she became interested in the Irish Renaissance, writing a biography on [4], 'The Daughters of Erin' five Women of the Irish Renascence. Elizabeth wrote several Biographies on Lady Gregory, one of Dublin's Abbey theatre founders. Elizabeth wrote a biography on Constance Spry, a British Author and florist. She also, through her love of gardening, wrote her biography called,' One Woman's Garden' [5]

Mounting Climbing

Mountaineers, circa 1900

Elizabeth had a passion for Mountaineering, starting in 1936 with her sister Alison on holiday in Wasdale,a walking holiday that gave her a the thrill for climbing and would go climbing every weekend. Her Novel One Green Bottle was written about an 18-year-old mountain climber.

Later life

Elizabeth sadly after an accident in 1979, had a fail while climbing, causing a broken femur. In September, she took her own life after realising she wouldn't end her day as a burden to others; she was 70 years old. In 2009 a Blue plaque was placed in Mount Grace High School[6] (previously Hinckley Grammar School), honouring her link to Hinckley town. In commemorating G E S Coxhead, a previous headmaster and father to Elizabeth, a past pupil. Robert Chesshyre, her nephew, carried out the unveiling. Elizabeth was also remembered in her home town, after having new homes built, named after the town's celebrity from the past, Elizabeth Coxhead.