Wesley, Mary (1912–2002)
Wesley, Mary (1912–2002)
British novelist. Name variations: Mary Siepmann; Lady Swinfen. Born Mary Aline Mynaors Farmar, June 24, 1912, in Englefield Green, near Windsor, Berkshire, England; died Dec 30, 2002, in Devon, England; dau. of Colonel Harold Mynors Farmar and Violet (Dalby) Farmar; cousin of the duke of Wellington; raised by maternal grandmother, Lady Dalby; attended Queen's College, London, 1928–30, and London School of Economics, 1930–31; m. Charles Swinfen Eady (1883–1977), 2nd baron Swinfen (London barrister who would later marry Averil Humphreys of Co. Cork who would write under the name Lady Swinfen), Jan 1937 (div. 1944); m. Eric Siepmann (journalist), 1952 (died 1970); children: (1st m.) 2 sons (2nd m.) 1 son, William Siepmann.
During World War II, worked in Bletchley Park before moving to Kent; wrote 2 children's books, Speaking Terms (1969) and The Sixth Seal (1969); at age 70, published 1st adult novel, Jumping the Queue (1983), which was an instant success; also wrote Haphazard House (1983), The Chamomile Lawn (1984), Harnessing Peacocks (1985), The Vacillations of Poppy Carew (1986), Not That Sort of Girl (1987), Second Fiddle (1988), A Sensible Life (1990), A Dubious Legacy (1992), An Imaginative Experience (1994), and Part of the Furniture (1997). Made CBE (1995).