Catherine Gavin

Catherine Irvine Gavin (13 May 1907 – 27 December 1999) was a Scottish academic historian, war correspondent, and historical novelist.

Early life Gavin was born in Aberdeen in 1907, and studied history and English at the University of Aberdeen, graduating with first-class honours.

Career Gavin held positions as a history lecturer at Aberdeen and at the University of Glasgow.

Most of Gavin's literary output was in the genre of historical romance. "Her characters are attractive flesh-and-blood people, her narrative adventurous and suspenseful, and her use of history skillful and unerring," reported one American reviewer in 1957. The University of Aberdeen awarded her an honorary DLitt in 1986.

Gavin appeared as a castaway on the BBC Radio programme Desert Island Discs on 24 June 1978.

Selected works Gavin's works of historical fiction include the following titles: Clyde Valley (1938) The Hostile Shore (1940) The Black Milestone (1941) The Mountain of Light (1944) Madeleine (1957) The Cactus and the Crown (1962) The Fortress (1964) The Moon into Blood (1966) The Devil in Harbour (1968) Give Me the Daggers (1972) The Snow Mountain (1973) Traitors' Gate (1976) None Dare Call It Treason (1978) How Sleep the Brave (1980) The Sunset Dream (1984) A Light Woman (1986) A Dawn of Splendour (1989) The French Fortune (1991) One Candle Burning (1996)

Personal life In 1948, Gavin married American advertising executive John Ashcraft and moved to the United States with him. She was widowed in 1998, and died in 1999, aged 92.