Diana's Fans (15)

Diana Athill

Author profile

born

in Norfolk, The United Kingdom

December 21, 1917

About this author

edit data

Diana Athill was born in Norfolk in 1917 and educated at home until she was fourteen. She read English at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford and graduated in 1939. She spent the war years working at the BBC Overseas Service in the News Information Department. After the war she met André Deutsch and fell into publishing. She worked as an editor, first at Allan Wingate and then at André Deutsch, until her retirement at the age of 75 in 1993.

Her books include An Unavoidable Delay, a collection of short stories published in 1962 and two 'documentary' books After A Funeral and Make Believe. Stet is a memoir of Diana Athill's fifty-year career in publishing. Granta has also reissued a memoir Instead of a Letter and her only novel Don't Look at Me Like T...more

combine editions
Diana Athill's Books

Average rating: 3.76 · 1,734 ratings · 414 reviews · 17 distinct works · Similar authors

	Somewhere Towards the End 3.58 of 5 stars 3.58 avg rating — 701 ratings — published 2008 — 10 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Stet: An Editor's Life 3.9 of 5 stars 3.90 avg rating — 288 ratings — published 2000 — 6 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Instead of a Letter: A Memoir 3.73 of 5 stars 3.73 avg rating — 214 ratings — published 1962 — 10 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Yesterday Morning 3.96 of 5 stars 3.96 avg rating — 57 ratings — published 2002 — 6 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	After A Funeral 3.75 of 5 stars 3.75 avg rating — 52 ratings — published 1986 — 8 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Life Class: The Selected Memoirs 4.11 of 5 stars 4.11 avg rating — 37 ratings — published 2010 — 2 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Midsummer Night in the Workhouse 3.53 of 5 stars 3.53 avg rating — 30 ratings — published 2011 — 3 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Letters to a Friend by Diana Athill, Edward Field (Goodreads Author) (Introduction) 3.53 of 5 stars 3.53 avg rating — 34 ratings — published 2011 — 8 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Make Believe: A True Story 3.57 of 5 stars 3.57 avg rating — 21 ratings — published 1993 — 5 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Don't Look at Me Like That 3.45 of 5 stars 3.45 avg rating — 20 ratings — 2 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Diana Athill…

Upcoming Events

No scheduled events. Add an event.

Quotes by Diana Athill

“An important aspect of the ebbing of sex was that other things became interesting. Sex obliterates the individuality of young women more often than it does that of young men, because so much more of a woman than a man is used by sex.”
― Diana Athill, Somewhere Towards the End

tags: aging, life, sex, somewhere-towards-the-end, women

5 people liked it

“I am not sure that digging in our past guilts is a useful occupation for the very old, given that one can do so little about them. I have reached a stage at which one hopes to be forgiven for concentrating on how to get through the present.”
― Diana Athill, Somewhere Towards the End

4 people liked it

“Dwindling energy is one of the most boring things about being old. From time to time you get a day when it seems to be restored, and you can't help feeling that you are 'back to normal', but it never lasts. You just have to resign yourself to doing less--or rather, taking more breaks than you used to in whatever you are doing. In my case I fear that what I most often do less of is my duty towards my companion rather than indulgence of my private inclinations.”
― Diana Athill, Somewhere Towards the End

2 people liked it

See all Diana Athill's quotes »

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
The Seasonal Read...: Winter Challenge 2010-2011 Completed Tasks (do not delete any posts)	2596	733	Feb 28, 2011 09:05pm
Reading with Style: 20.5 - Making History	42	68	Jun 26, 2012 02:39am
Reading with Style: * Rws Completed Tasks - Summer 2012	1022	132	Aug 31, 2012 09:01pm
The Seasonal Read...: Summer Challenge 2012: Completed Tasks - DO NOT DELETE ANY POSTS IN THIS TOPIC	2662	601	Aug 31, 2012 09:02pm

More…

Is this you? Let us know. If not, help out and invite Diana to Goodreads.