Evelyn Bridgett Patricia Ward-Thomas, née Stephens (3 July 1926 – 25 September 2018),[1][2][3] better known by the pen name Evelyn Anthony, was a British writer. Anthony was born in the Lambeth district of London.
She had a very prolific writing career, translated into at least 19 languages and her 1971 The Tamarind Seed was adapted for a film in 1974, starring Julie Andrews as Judith Farrow.
She was born Evelyn Bridget Patricia Stephens to Henry and Elizabeth (née Sharkey).[1] Her father had a fortune which came from the indelible ink invented by his grandfather Dr. Henry Stephens.[1] She was a keen reader as a child and attended the Convent of the Sacred Heart school in Roehampton.[1] She was evacuated to the West Country during World War II.[4]
Her parents‘ marriage was not happy and by the time she was 12 they had divorced.[1] She was close to her father and when his health deteriorated within two years of the divorce she cared for him at home.[1]
She met Michael Ward-Thomas on a double date in The Dorchester and both were attracted to each other.[1] He worked for the Consolidated African Selection Trust.[1] They switched partners and were married a few months later.[1]
They bought Horham Hall in 1968 but found that it was costly and sold it in 1976 and moved to Naas, County Kildare where she had relatives.[1] Increased income from her writing allowed her to buy Horham Hall back in 1982.[1]
In 1994 she became the first female High Sheriff of Essex.[1][4]
In 1995 her daughter Kitty died of a heroin overdose, leading Evelyn to not write for another seven years.[1]
In 2004 her husband died of a stroke.[1]
She died at 92, on 25 September 2018, she was survived by her children Susan, Anthony, Ewan, Christian and Luke as well as 16 grandchildren.[1]
Her pen name is derived from the name of St. Anthony of Padua, patron saint of lost things.[1]
Her writing career began with short stories that she submitted to women's magazines after the second world war.[1][4]
Anthony's first historical novel, Rebel Princess (1953), focused on Catherine the Great. Other Anthony historical novels depicted Anne Boleyn (Anne Boleyn 1957) and Queen Victoria (Victoria and Albert 1958).[1] Her historical novels Far Fly The Eagles and Valentina were both set during Napoleon's invasion of Russia. The later novels had a theme of espionage.[5]
Her 1971 The Tamarind Seed was adapted for a film in 1974, starring Julie Andrews as Judith Farrow, a British Home Office functionary and Omar Sharif as Feodor, a Soviet air attaché-lovers involved in Cold War intrigue.[6]
Her books were translated into at least nineteen languages.[4]
The following bibliography includes both historical novels and thrillers.
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