Betty Askwith

Betty Ellen Askwith (26 June 1909 – 10 April 1995) was an English writer and biographer.

Personal life Betty Ellen Askwith was born on 26 June 1909 in Chelsea, London, the only daughter of the first Lord Askwith and Ellen Graham (née Peel). Ruari McLean described the first of these as being "two of the funniest books published in England before the Second World War".

During the Second World War, Askwith worked at the Ministry of Information.

Askwith's most lauded work was A Tangled Web (1960). Her last novel, A Step out of Time, was published in 1966. In 1969, she published a biography of Lady Dilke. Two Victorian Families (1971) explored the lives of the Benson and Strachey families. Gillian Wagner described her treatment of them as "admirable":One can respect Edward White Benson, Headmaster of Wellington, Bishop of Truro, Archbishop of Canterbury, but one cannot like him. His treatment of his wife and family was dreadful - his three sons, A.C., R.H. and E.F., grew up emotionally crippled. Yet Askwith did him absolute justice. Two further biographical works followed: The Lytteltons: a family chronicle of the 19th century (1975), and Piety and Wit: the biography of Harriet, Countess Granville 1785-1862 (1982).

Death and legacy Betty Askwith died on 10 April 1995. Her obituary in The Times stated that "Although she never attained real literary celebrity, her life was full of interest, warm friendship and solid achievement.