Doris Leslie

Doris Leslie (née Oppenheim, later Lady Fergusson Hannay) (9 March 1891 – 30 May 1982), was a British novelist and historical biographer. Her novel Peridot Flight (1956) was serialised in 10 episodes by BBC TV in October–December 1960.

A number of her books had dust jackets with illustrated designs by period artists such as Philip Gough and Arthur Barbosa.

She was married three times: in 1914 to John Leslie Isaacson (1889–1919); in 1930 to Reginald Vincent Cookes (1894–1948); and in 1936 to Walter Fergusson Leisrink Hannay, who was knighted in 1951 and died in 1961.

Works

 * The Starling (1927)
 * Fools in Mortar (1928)
 * The Echoing Green (1929)
 * Terminus (1931)
 * Puppets Parade (1932)
 * Full Flavour (1934)
 * Fair Company (1936)
 * Concord in Jeopardy (1938)
 * Another Cynthia: The Adventures of Cynthia, Lady Ffulkes (1780-1850), reconstructed from her hitherto unpublished memoirs (1939)
 * Royal William: the Story of a Democrat (1940); life of William IV
 * House in the Dust (1942)
 * Polonaise (1942); a romance of Chopin
 * Folly's End (1944)
 * The Peverills (1946)
 * Wreath for Arabella (1948); life of Lady Arabella Stuart
 * That Enchantress (1950); life of Abigail Hill, Lady Marsham
 * The Great Corinthian (1952); portrait of the Prince Regent
 * A Toast to Lady Mary (1954); life of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu
 * Peridot Flight: a novel reconstructed from the memoirs of Peridot, Lady Mulvarnie 1872-1955 (1956)
 * Tales of Grace and Favour (comprising Another Cynthia, Folly's End, & The Peverills) (1956)
 * As the Tree Falls(1958); later published as The King's Traitor (1971), based on the life of King Henry VIII
 * The Perfect Wife (1960); based on the life of Mary Anne Disraeli
 * I Return: The Story of François Villon (1962)
 * This for Caroline (1964); about Lady Caroline Lamb
 * Paragon Street (1965)
 * The Sceptre and the Rose (1967); life of Charles II and Catherine of Braganza
 * The Marriage of Martha Todd (1968)
 * House in the Dust (1969)
 * The Rebel Princess (1970); about Sophia Dorothea of Celle
 * A Young Wives' Tale (1971)
 * The Desert Queen (1972); about Lady Hester Stanhope
 * Dragon's Head (1973)
 * The Incredible Duchess (1974); life and times of Elizabeth Chudleigh
 * Call Back Yesterday (1975)
 * Notorious Lady (1976); life and times of the Countess of Blessington
 * The Warrior King (1977); the reign of Richard the Lionheart
 * Crown of Thorns (1979); life and reign of Richard II