M. D. R. Leys Explained

Mary Dorothy Rose Leys (8 October 1890^[1] – 6 September 1967) was a British historian and academic, who was involved in the work of the Catholic Social Guild and the Catholic Record Society.^[2]

Leys was born in Tylers Green, Buckinghamshire.^[3] Her obituary in The Times states that she was educated at home because her family were too poor to afford school fees.^[4] Her Scottish father, John Kirkwood Leys, was a novelist and died in 1909.^[5]

In 1911, she was awarded a scholarship to Somerville College, Oxford. She taught history at St Anne's College, Oxford, from 1919 until her retirement in 1955.

Works

• An Introduction to Political Economy, Catholic Social Guild, 1934.
• Men, Money and Markets, Cobden-Sanderson, 1936; reissued with a new chapter, Longmans, 1940.
• European Catholics and the Social Question, Catholic Social Guild, 1943; completely revised ed., 1956.
• A History of the English People, with R. J. Mitchell, Longmans, 1950; reissued by Pan Books, 1967.
• Between Two Empires: a history of French politicians and people between 1814 and 1848, Longmans, 1955.
• A History of London Life with R. J. Mitchell, Longmans, 1958; reissued by Penguin, 1963.
• Catholics in England, 1559-1829: a social history, Longmans, 1961.

Notes and References

1. 1939 England and Wales Register
2. http://archive.thetablet.co.uk The Tablet Archive
3. 1901 England Census
4. Obituary, The Times, Friday 8 September 1967.
5. At the circulating library: a database of Victorian fiction, 1837-1901: Author: John Kirkwood Leys (1847–1909)