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Caitlin Davies | |
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| Born | 6 March 1964 England |
| Occupation | Writer, teacher |
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Caitlin Davies (born 6 March 1964) is an English author, historian, journalist and teacher. She has written several books about social history and women's history. Her historical works have focused on swimmers, female prisoners, female criminals, and female private investigators.
Caitlin Davies was born on 6 March 1964, the daughter of Hunter Davies and Margaret Forster, both well-known writers. [1] Hunter Davies wrote regularly about Caitlin and her brother Jake and sister Flora in a weekly Punch magazine column which ran in the 1970s, giving a broad insight into their upbringing. In her youth she was also frequently referred to by Auberon Waugh in his Private Eye diary.
Davies was associated with Botswana from 1990 when she met her husband, the former Botswana MP Ronald Ridge, while studying for a Master's degree in English at Clark University, Worcester, Massachusetts. Relocating to Botswana and working as a teacher, and then a freelance journalist, she wrote for Botswana's first tabloid newspaper The Voice and then as editor of The Okavango Newspaper. She was twice arrested as a journalist, once for "causing fear and alarm", and acquitted. In 2000, she received an award from the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) "in recognition for consistent and outstanding journalistic work".[ citation needed ]
While living in Botswana, Davies wrote the novel Jamestown Blues and the historical work The Return of El Negro. The victim of a brutal assault and rape, she was active in research concerning domestic violence in Botswana. She was a founder member of Women Against Rape (WAR) in Maun.[ citation needed ]
Davies returned to England with her daughter after divorcing her husband and published a memoir about her experiences, called Place of Reeds (2005) .[ citation needed ] For several years she wrote education and careers features for The Independent . Davies is the author of six novels; Jamestown Blues (1996), Black Mulberries (2008), Friends Like Us (2009), The Ghost of Lily Painter (2011), Family Likeness (2013), and Daisy Belle: Swimming Champion of the World (2018).
Davies wrote an illustrated non-fiction book on the bathing ponds and lido on Hampstead Heath, Taking the Waters: a swim around Hampstead Heath, [2] and a social history of Camden Lock (2013). Her work has appeared in The Sunday Times , The Daily Telegraph , The Mail on Sunday , Town and Country and Tate Etc.[ citation needed ]
In 2015, Davies' non-fiction book Downstream: a history and celebration of swimming the River Thames was published. [3] It was described by The Independent as "a fascinating cultural history".[ citation needed ] It resulted in a three-week Thames swimming showcase at the Museum of London.[ citation needed ] Davies' non-fiction book, Bad Girls, is a history of Holloway Prison in north London, formerly the largest women's prison in Western Europe. It was longlisted for the Orwell Prize for Political Writing 2019. [4]
Davies' book Queens of the Underworld: a journey into the lives of female crooks was published in October 2021. [5] She received a grant from The Author's Foundation, administered by the Society of Authors, to research the book.[ citation needed ] Her latest book is Private Inquiries: The Secret History of Female Sleuths, published by The History Press in 2023.
From 2014 to 2017, Davies worked as a Royal Literary Fund Fellow at the University of Westminster. She worked as an RLF Fellow at the Victoria & Albert Museum and the Science Museum from 2019-2020. [6] She is currently a Writing Fellow at Kent & Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust.
Dame Daphne du Maurier, Lady Browning, was an English novelist, biographer and playwright. Her parents were actor-manager Sir Gerald du Maurier and his wife, actress Muriel Beaumont. Her grandfather was George du Maurier, a writer and cartoonist.
Hampstead Heath is an ancient heath in London, spanning 320 hectares. This grassy public space sits astride a sandy ridge, one of the highest points in London, running from Hampstead to Highgate, which rests on a band of London Clay. The heath is rambling and hilly, embracing ponds, recent and ancient woodlands, a lido, playgrounds, and a training track, and it adjoins the former stately home of Kenwood House and its estate. The south-east part of the heath is Parliament Hill, from which the view over London is protected by law.
Sharron Elizabeth Davies, is an English former competitive swimmer who represented Great Britain in the Olympics and European championships and competed for England in the Commonwealth Games. Davies has attended 12 consecutive Olympic Games, competing in three games and then working in the media for the BBC Sport.
Dame Henrietta Octavia Weston Barnett, DBE was an English social reformer, educationist, and author. She and her husband, Samuel Augustus Barnett, founded the first "University Settlement" at Toynbee Hall in 1884. They also worked to establish the model Hampstead Garden Suburb in the early 20th century.
Catherine ElizabethMoran is an English journalist, broadcaster, and author at The Times, where she writes two columns a week: one for the Saturday Magazine, and the satirical Friday column "Celebrity Watch".
Jill Craigie was a British documentary filmmaker, screenwriter and feminist. She was one of Britain's earliest female documentary makers. Her early films demonstrate Craigie's interest in socialist and feminist politics, but her career as a film-maker has been "somewhat eclipsed" by her marriage to the Labour Party leader Michael Foot (1913–2010), whom she met during the making of her film The Way We Live (1946).
Edward Hunter Davies is a British author, journalist and broadcaster. His books include the only authorised biography of the Beatles.
Shiplake consists of three settlements: Shiplake, Shiplake Cross and Lower Shiplake. Together these villages form a civil parish situated beside the River Thames 2 miles (3 km) south of Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England. The river forms the parish boundary to the east and south, and also the county boundary between Oxfordshire and Berkshire. The villages have two discrete centres separated by agricultural land. The 2011 Census records the parish population as 1,954 and containing 679 homes. The A4155 main road linking Henley with Reading, Berkshire passes through the parish.
Hampstead Heath Ponds are a series of some thirty bodies of water on or adjacent to Hampstead Heath, a vast open area of woodland and grassland in north London.
Besides referring to the language of the dominant people groups in Botswana, Setswana is the adjective used to describe the rich cultural traditions of the Batswana - whether construed as members of the Setswana ethnic groups or of all citizens of Botswana. the Batswana believe in the rich culture of Botho-Ubuntu, ‘‘People are not individuals, living in a state of independence, but part of a community, living in relationships and interdependence.’ Batswana believe in working together and in being united.
Ragnhild Tove Hveger was a Danish swimmer, who became famous when she won silver medal in the women's 400 m freestyle at the 1936 Summer Olympics. From 1936 to 1943 she set 44 world records, and at one time she held 19 world records in different distances and disciplines. In 1938 she won three gold medals at the European championships.
Caitlin Leverenz Smith is an American competition swimmer who specializes in breaststroke and medley events. She won the bronze medal in the 200-meter individual medley event at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Parliament Hill Lido, located in Hampstead Heath, north London, is next to Gospel Oak railway station. The lido, also known as Hampstead Heath Lido, is a public unheated open air swimming pool, open for 12 months a year. It first opened in 1938.
The Upper Flask was a tavern near the top of Hampstead hill in the 18th century which sold flasks of water from the spa at Hampstead Wells. It was located in Heath Street. It was the summer meeting place of the great literary and political figures of the Kit-Kat Club such as Walpole. The tavern business ceased in the 1750s and the grand house subsequently became the private residence of ladies and gentlemen such as Lady Charlotte Rich, George Steevens and Thomas Sheppard.
Margaret White-Wrixon was the first woman to swim the Thames Estuary from Southend to Kent, a feat she completed in 3 hours 5 minutes on 7 August 1960, aged 16. On 25 June 1961, aged 17, she became the first person to complete the Thames Estuary two-way swim, which she did in 6 hours and 40 minutes She was accompanied on that swim by official observers from Leigh Swimming Club and the historic fishing boat The Endeavour. Also in 1961, she became the youngest person to swim the English Channel, swimming from France to England in 15 hours 8 minutes.
Teddington Pools and Fitness Centre is a public swimming pool and fitness centre owned and operated by the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames located in Vicarage Road, off the A313, in Teddington.
Naomi Ruele is a Botswana swimmer. She competed in the women's 50 metre freestyle event at the 2016 Summer Olympics where she ranked at #47 with a time of 26.23 seconds. She also swims for Florida International University, and has been named the Conference USA swimmer of the year with wins in the 50 free in a time of 22.11, 100 free in a time of 48.45 and 100 back in a time of 52.42.
Agnes Alice Beckwith was an English swimmer.
Walpurga von Isacescu, also seen as Walburga von Isacescu, was an Austrian swimmer, the first woman athlete to attempt a swim across the English Channel.
Millie Hudson was a British diver, open water swimmer, diving coach, and sports journalist. She competed in the women's 3 metre springboard event at the 1924 Summer Olympics. In 1927, she attempted to swim across the English Channel, but had to abandon her attempt after 13 hours in the water. In 1928, she attempted to cross the Strait of Gibraltar, but failed after 8.5 hours due to rough waters. After retiring from long-distance swimming, she continued to coach, and trained British Olympic springboard diver Esme Harris. Hudson was the swimming correspondent for the Evening Standard in London, and became the first woman to be admitted to the Sports Writers' Association in 1949.
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