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From Schaparelli to Amelia Earhart – Frances Farquharson’s Colourful Life
The Fabulous Frances Farquharson tells the story of a flamboyant American fashion editor who became lady of a vast Highland estate. And what popped out during my research was the number of famous names she encountered. Born in Seattle in 1902, Frances Oldham had a burning desire to be a writer and to see the…
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Tracing the life story of a remarkable woman
Remember those long, long months of lockdown in 2020 when everyone was looking for a project to occupy themselves? Well, the result of my time spent housebound – The Fabulous Frances Farquharson – has just been published by The History Press. In between doing online workouts and baking oatmeal and raisin cookies at home in…
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60 years of Baby Jane – how it changed the depiction of women on screen
October 31st marks the sixtieth anniversary of the release of What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? The film not only revived the careers of Joan Crawford and Bette Davis, but spawned a new genre of horror movie which cast older women as demented spinsters. In 1962 American soldiers were preparing to fight in Vietnam, Marilyn…
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“She’s a Star” – an extract from Crazy Old Ladies: The Story of Hag Horror
Joan Crawford made her entrance on stage wielding an axe. In January 1964, at the age of fifty-eight, the Hollywood grande dame began an exhaustive tour across the United States, with personal appearances at big city and small town cinemas to publicize her new horror film, Strait-Jacket, directed by B-movie master William Castle. Attracting huge…
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Crazy Old Ladies: The Story of Hag Horror
My latest book, Crazy Old Ladies: The Story of Hag Horror has just been released, and so I’ve answered some question on what it’s all about. 1. Your book tells the story of the ‘hag horror’ sub-genre, which cast former queens of the Golden Age of Hollywood. What was the inspiration? A couple of years…
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shaping the look of Hitchcock’s Rebecca
With the release of Ben Wheatley’s brand new adaptation of Daphne du Maurier’s gothic romance novel, Rebecca, I wanted to look back at Hitchcock’s classic, to explore his relationship with Joan Fontaine, and how he shaped her image in the film, as he did with so many of his Hitchcock Heroines. As his first American…
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The Glamour Boys of the RAF
The flying aces of the RAF played a vital role in the Battle of Britain 80 years ago, and their stories are told in Kitted Out, my new book on style and youth culture in the Second World War. Read an extract, below. On what would have been her son Richard’s fortieth birthday in April…
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Travels with Coco Chanel
From her Scottish tweed jackets and Breton striped tops to the monochrome colour scheme from her childhood spent in a remote convent, Coco Chanel was inspired by the places she visited. When I was researching my 2019 book Living with Coco Chanel, which explores the homes and landscapes that shaped the ground-breaking designer, I travelled…
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The journey to getting published
I’ve teamed up with Ruth Lewis of New You Nutrition to launch an all-inclusive Wellbeing Writers’ Retreat in Scotland, offering a relaxing and inspiring environment in a beautiful home for writers at all levels and stages. So that you can find out a bit more about me, I’ve answered a few questions from Ruth on…
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The Americans in Rome
The paperback edition of Roman Holiday: The Secret Life of Hollywood in Rome is out now. By the end of the Second World War, Rome may have been brought to its knees, but in its recovery it became a Mecca for wealthy Americans, attracted by the cheap costs of living, the lively nightlife and the…
