PF
was the author of three biographies, a short-story writer, and much admired novelist of the later twentieth century, who began publishing at almost sixty. Apart from one mystery, her eight novels fall into two groups: those of contemporary life, which draw on situations of which she had direct experience, and historical novels which turn a spotlight on some intensely-imagined, precise place and moment in history. A volume of her literary essays and reviews is in print and a volume of letters is expected.