Diana Athill: British-born and Oxford-educated woman of letters who edited some of the most important writers of the 20th century. Worked for many years in the London-based publishing house of André Deutsch, working closely with Philip Roth, Norman Mailer, John Updike, Mordecai Richler, Simone de Beauvoir, Jean Rhys, Gitta Sereny, Brian Moore, V.S. Naipaul, and others. Intellectually vigorous and vibrant woman remarkable for bringing out the best in some of the most difficult and contentious writers. Retired in 1993 at the age of 75 after more than 50 years in publishing. Continues to be an influence in the publishing world through her revealing memoirs about the editing life. Oxford is a city and local government district in Oxfordshire, England, with a population of 134,248 (2001 census). ... Andre Deutsch (1917–2000) was a 20th century British publisher. ... Philip Roth Philip Milton Roth (born March 19, 1933, Newark, New Jersey) is an American novelist. ... Norman Mailer, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1948 Norman Kingsley Mailer (born January 31, 1923) is an American novelist, journalist, playwright, screenwriter and film director who, along with Truman Capote and Tom Wolfe, is considered an innovator of creative nonfiction, a genre sometimes called New Journalism. ... John Updike John Hoyer Updike (born March 18, 1932) is an American writer born in Reading, Pennsylvania. ... Mordecai Richler Mordecai Richler, CC (January 27, 1931 - July 3, 2001) was a Canadian author, scriptwriter and essayist. ... Simone de Beauvoir (January 9, 1908 – April 14, 1986) was a French author and philosopher. ... Jean Rhys (August 24, 1890 - May 14, 1979), originally Ella Gwendolen Rees Williams, was a novelist in the mid 20th century. ... Gitta Sereny is a Hungarian-born British biographer, historian and journalist. ... There have been several notable people called Brian Moore. ... Sir V.S. Naipaul Sir Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul (born August 17, 1932), better known as V. S. Naipaul, is a British novelist of Hindu heritage and East Indian ethnicity from Chaguanas, Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean, which was then a British colony. ...

Born: 1917 Graduated Oxford: 1939

Works (not a comprehensive list):

An Unavoidable Delay (1962) -short stories.

Instead of a Letter(1963) -memoir.

After a Funeral (1987).

Make Believe (1993) -memoir.

Stet (2000) -memoir.

External links

• "Editing Vidia" https://www.granta.com/extracts/468 -full-text article in Granta, 2001, excerpt from "Stet".

• http://www.arlindo-correia.com/121002.html

• http://www.arlindo-correia.com/diana_athill.html

• http://www.complete-review.com/reviews/publish/athilld.htm