Maureen Stephenson Explained

Maureen Stephenson
Birth Name:Maureen Duffy
Birth Date:14 February 1927
Birth Place:Manchester, England
Death Place:Ansley, Warwickshire, England
Known For:Author
Children:3

Maureen Stephenson (b. Manchester, England, 14 February 1927, d. Ansley, England, 5 July 2008) was an author of romantic, gothic and contemporary mysteries.[1]

Personal life

Stephenson was born to father Joseph Duffy, a tailor, and mother Anne, née Byrom. She attended high school in London. She married Louis John Stephenson, an engineer and later Warwickshire County councillor,[2] in 1954. They had three children. She lived at Ansley Mill Farm, Ansley,[2] from 1978 until her death. The mill is thought to be the inspiration for George Eliot's 1860 novel The Mill on the Floss.[2]

Work in film

She worked as a production secretary and in film continuity at several major studios, notably Shepperton Studios from 1944-1947, Pinewood Studios from 1948-1950, Denham Studios from 1950-1952 and Ealing Studios from 1952–1954. Of this work, she said "I found working on film scripts invaluable in learning how to build up a story and a character."[3]

Films on which she worked included:

Writing

Stephenson started writing when her father paid for her to take a correspondence course in fiction writing, about which she said, "In my opinion, such courses are the best way to start."[4] While on holiday in the Yorkshire Dales in 1977 she started writing romantic mysteries. She was influenced by the Brontë sisters, stating that "They achieve a mystical otherworldliness that I admire."[3] The majority of her books were published through Robert Hale.[5]

Legal issue

Unbeknownst to Stephenson – Wath Moor US publication rights were unlawfully "sold" to an American named Elliot as part of a tax evasion scheme in which expenses and purported losses associated with publication were to be used to reduce the buyer's liability for income tax. The plan did not succeed.[6]

Other

She published a small run of A Brief History of Ansley around 2000.[9] She was a featured author as part of the second World Book Day in 1999.[10]

Notes and References

  1. News: 1986-03-26 . Coventry Evening Telegraph . . Radio . 23 . Coventry, England .
  2. News: 1991-09-06 . Tamworth Herald . Mabel Swift . Male masquerade of a great novelist . 29 . Tamworth, England .
  3. Book: 1992 . Lesniak . James G . Trosky . Susan M . Contemporary Authors New Revision Vol 38 . Gale Research . Detroit, USA . 412 . 0810319926.
  4. Book: Evory, Ann . 1981 . Contemporary Authors New Revision Vol 16 . Gale Research . Detroit, USA . 373 . 0810319926.
  5. News: 1983-12-16 . Sandwell Evening Mail . Christine Barker . Best sellers that come right from the heart . 16 . Sandwell, England .
  6. Web site: Elliott v. Comm'r of Internal Revenue . . casetext.com . 2023-09-09.
  7. Book: Lesniak, James G . 1983 . British National Bibliography: A subject catalogue of new British books . British Library . London, UK . 1293 . 0712310126.
  8. News: 1983-12-16 . Black Country Evening Mail . Christine Barker . Best sellers that come right from the heart . 16 . Sandwell, England .
  9. Stephenson . Maureen . July 2010 . Incumbents of St Lawrence Ansley from 1220 . Nuneaton and North Warwickshire Family History Society Journal . 17 . 2023-09-01.
  10. News: 1999-04-28 . Heartland Evening News . . Postman Pat pays a visit . 12 . Nuneaton, England .