Hilary Bailey

British writer, critic and editor (1936–2017) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hilary Bailey (19 September 1936 – 11 January 2017) was a British writer, critic and editor. She edited volumes 7–10 of the New Worlds Quarterly science-fiction series, and was co-author of The Black Corridor (1969) with Michael Moorcock, to whom she was married from 1962 to 1978. She was the author of numerous other works of fiction, including Polly Put the Kettle On (1975), Mrs Mulvaney (1978), All the Days of My Life (1984) and Hannie Richards, Or, The Intrepid Adventures of a Restless Wife (1985), in addition to a 1987 biography of Vera Brittain. Bailey's work characteristically has a focus on women, including sequels and reimaginings of classic novels by Mary Shelley and Charlotte Brontë.^[1]

Born19 September 1936

Hayes, Bromley, Kent, England

Died11 January 2017 (aged 80)

OccupationWriter, critic and editor

AlmamaterNewnham College, Cambridge

Quick facts Born, Died ...

Hilary Bailey
Born	(1936-09-19)19 September 1936 Hayes, Bromley, Kent, England
Died	11 January 2017(2017-01-11) (aged 80)
Occupation	Writer, critic and editor
Alma mater	Newnham College, Cambridge
Notable works	Frankenstein's Bride (1995); Mrs Rochester (1997); Fifty-First State (2008)
Spouse	Michael Moorcock (m. 1962; div. 1978)
Children	3

Life

Hilary Bailey was born in Hayes, Bromley, Kent, England.^[2] She attended Newnham College, Cambridge, where she was a founder-member of the Cambridge University Women's Union.^[3]

Bailey's books include Polly Put the Kettle On (1975), Mrs Mulvaney (1978), Hannie Richards (1985) and All the Days of My Life (1984), with a heroine who suffers the fate of all women who step away from what is expected of them. She wrote a biography of Vera Brittain, and sequels to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, to Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre (the 1997 novel Mrs Rochester) and to Henry James's The Turn of the Screw, with a novel called Miles and Flora, which takes place some time after the original and resurrects one of the main characters.

As a critic, Bailey reviewed chiefly for The Guardian, she was active in the so-called New Wave of science fiction and edited volumes 7–10 of the New Worlds Quarterly series, and was co-author of The Black Corridor (1969) with Michael Moorcock, to whom she was married from 1962 to 1978.^[4]^[5]

Two of Bailey's science fiction short stories appeared in anthologies edited by Terry Carr. The anthology titles are On Our Way to the Future^[6] (1970) and Universe 5^[7] (1974). She was a prominent and much-anthologised writer associated with the science fiction New Wave.^[8]

She was working on the final edit of North Sea Island, the sequel to her dystopian novel Fifty-First State (2008), when she died.^[2]

Bailey had three children, Sophie, Kate and Max, as well as three grandchildren Alex, Tom and Bobby.^[3]

Books

Polly Put the Kettle On (1975)^[10]
Mrs. Mulvaney (1978)^[11]
All the Days of My Life (1984)^[12]
Hannie Richards, Or, The Intrepid Adventures of a Restless Wife (1985)^[13]
The Giant Book of Stories (1986)^[14]
Vera Brittain: The Story of the Woman Who Wrote Testament of Youth (non-fiction) (1987)^[15]
As Time Goes By (1988)^[16]
A Stranger to Herself (1989) ^[17](aka She Was a Dreadful Woman)^[18]
In Search of Love, Money and Revenge (1990)^[19]
The Cry from Street to Street (1992)^[20]
Cassandra: Princess of Troy (1993)^[21]
Frankenstein's Bride: The Sequel to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1995)^[22]
Miles and Flora: A Sequel to Henry James' The Turn of the Screw (1997)^[23]
Mrs. Rochester: A Sequel to Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre (1997)^[24]
Elizabeth and Lily (1997)^[25]
After the Cabaret (1998)^[26]
Connections (2000)^[27]
Fifty-First State (2008)^[28]
Diana: The Ghost Biography (2009)^[29]
Strange Adventures of Charlotte Holmes (2012)^[30]
Did We Meet on Grub Street?: A Publishing Miscellany (2014)^[31]

Short stories

Breakdown (1963)^[32]
The Fall of Frenchy Steiner (1964)^[33]
In Reason's Ear (1965) (as Pippin Graham)^[34]
Be Good Sweet Man (1966)^[35]
Devil of a Drummer (1967)^[36]
The Little Victims (1967)^[37]
Dr. Gelabius (1968)^[38]
Agatha Blue (1970)
Dogman of Islington (1970)
Twenty-Four Letters from Underneath the Earth (1971)
A Chronicle of Blackton (1972)
Bella Goes to the Dark Tower (1973)
On Board the Good Ship Venus (1974)
The Ramparts (1974)
Sisters (1976)
Everything Blowing Up: An Adventure of Una Persson, Heroine of Time and Space (1980) (aka Everything Blowing Up: An Adventure of Una Persson, Heroine of Space and Time and Everything Blowing Up)
How Maxine Learned to Love her Legs: And Other Tales of Growing Up (1995)

References

[1]
"New Catalogue: The Archive of Hilary Bailey". Archives and Manuscripts at the Bodleian Library. Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford. 6 February 2018. Retrieved 11 February 2026.
[2]
Edmonds, Gill (12 February 2017). "Hilary Bailey obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 February 2026.
[3]
Ramsey, P.S. (2007). "Hilary Bailey". Guide to Literary Masters & Their Works (Online resource). Literary Reference Center – via EBSCO.
[4]
Harrison, Andrew (24 July 2015). "Michael Moorcock: 'I think Tolkien was a crypto-fascist'". New Statesman.
[5]
"Bailey, Hilary", The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (SFE), 21 January 2017. Retrieved 11 February 2026.
[6]
Carr, Terry (ed.). On Our Way to the Future. ASIN B000BPRO9O.
[7]
Carr, Terry (ed.). Universe 5. ASIN B00005X280.
[8]
Hartman, Jed (13 December 2020). "Hilary Bailey and New Worlds". Lorem Ipsum | The website of Jed Hartman. Retrieved 11 February 2026.
[9]
"Archive of Hilary Bailey". Bodleian Archives & Manuscripts. Oxford: Bodleian Libraries. Retrieved 11 February 2026.
[10]
Bailey, Hilary (1975). Polly Put the Kettle On. Constable. ISBN 978-0094606500.
[11]
Bailey, Hilary (1978). Mrs. Mulvaney. Constable. ISBN 978-0094619104.
[12]
Bailey, Hilary (1986). All the Days of My Life. Random House Publishing. ISBN 978-0449131541.
[13]
Bailey, Hilary (1985). Hannie Richards, Or, The Intrepid Adventures of a Restless Wife. Random House. ISBN 978-0394550046.
[14]
Bailey, Hilary (1986). The Giant Book of Stories. Galley Press. ISBN 978-0861366835.
[15]
Bailey, Hilary (1987). Vera Brittain: The Story of the Woman Who Wrote Testament of Youth. Lives of Modern Women. ISBN 978-0140080032.
[16]
Bailey, Hilary (1988). As Time Goes By. Constable. ISBN 978-0094646605.
[17]
Bailey, Hilary (1990). A Stranger to Herself. Pan Books. ISBN 978-0330316057.
[18]
Bailey, Hilary (1989). She Was a Dreadful Woman. Macmillan. ISBN 978-0333474624.
[19]
Bailey, Hilary (1990). In Search of Love, Money and Revenge. ISBN 978-0333474617.
[20]
Bailey, Hilary (1992). The Cry From Street to Street. Constable. ISBN 978-0094714502.
[21]
Bailey, Hilary (1993). Cassandra: Princess of Troy. Jonathan Cape. ISBN 978-0224029056.
[22]
Bailey, Hilary (1995). Frankenstein's Bride: The Sequel to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0671719173.
[23]
Bailey, Hilary (1998). Miles and Flora: A Sequel to Henry James' The Turn of the Screw. Touchstone. ISBN 978-0684817316.
[24]
Bailey, Hilary. Mrs. Rochester. ISBN 978-0671516727.
[25]
Bailey, Hilary. Elizabeth and Lily. ISBN 978-0751516722.
[26]
Bailey, Hilary. After the Cabaret. ISBN 978-0316643955.
[27]
Bailey, Hilary. Connections. ISBN 978-0727855718.
[28]
Bailey, Hilary (2024). Fifty-First State. Severn House. ISBN 978-0727866936.
[29]
Tennant, Emma; Hilary Bailey (2024). Diana: The Ghost Biography. Bliss. ISBN 978-1906413002.
[30]
Bailey, Hilary (2012). Strange Adventures of Charlotte Holmes. Bloomsbury USA. ISBN 978-1448209507.
[31]
Bailey, Hilary; Emma Tennant; David Elliot (2024). Did We Meet on Grub Street?: A Publishing Miscellany. Quartet. ISBN 978-0704372986.
[32]
Bailey, Hilary (October 1963). Carnell, John (ed.). "Breakdown". New Worlds. Vol. 35, no. 135.
[33]
Bailey, Hilary (July–August 1964). Moorcock, Michael (ed.). "The Fall of Frenchy Steiner". New Worlds. Vol. 48, no. 143.
[34]
Bailey, Hilary (June 1965). Bonfilioli, Kyril (ed.). "In Reason's Ear". Science Fantasy. No. 73.
[35]
Bailey, Hilary (October 1966). Moorcock, Michael (ed.). "Be Good Sweet Man". New Worlds. Vol. 50, no. 167.
[36]
Bailey, Hilary (1967). Hill, Douglas Arthur (ed.). The Devil His Due.
[37]
Bailey, Hilary (November 1967). Ferman, Edward L. (ed.). "The Little Victims". The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. Vol. 33, no. 5.
[38]
Bailey, Hilary (April 1968). Moorcock, Michael; James Sallis (eds.). "Dr. Gelabius". New Worlds. No. 181.

Hilary Bailey

Life

Archives

Books

Short stories

References

External links

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