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- Another Cynthia: The Adventures of Cynthia, Lady Ffulkes (1780-1850), reconstructed from her hitherto unpublished memoirs (1939)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
References
