Elizabeth Longford
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Elizabeth Pakenham, Countess of Longford, better known as Elizabeth Longford (August 30, 1906 – October 23, 2002) was a British author, born Elizabeth Harman in Harley Street, London.
She took her Master's degree at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford. On November 3, 1931, she married Francis Pakenham, 7th Earl of Longford. Her books include Victoria R.I. (1964), Eminent Victorian Women (1981), Royal Throne: The Future of the Monarchy (1993), a two-volume biography of the Duke of Wellington, whom she numbered among her ancestors, and a memoir, The Pebbled Shore (1986).
She and her husband (who died in August 2001 at the age of 95) were both devout Roman Catholic converts, Lady Longford having been raised a Unitarian, and avid social reformers. A lifelong socialist, she made several attempts to win election to the House of Commons as a Labour MP but was unsuccessful, unlike her niece Harriet Harman, a minister in Tony Blair's government. They had eight children, among them the writers Antonia Fraser, Rachel Billington, and Thomas Pakenham.
