Catherine Cookson
Catherine Cookson (1906-1998) was an English author of historical fiction novels and the author of the Mary Ann Shaughnessy series. She grew up the illegitimate daughter of an impoverished woman named Kate, whom she was led to believe was her older sister. Catherine was known as a regional writer, writing specifically for readers from the North of England. Of all of her many accolades, undoubtedly the greatest of all of them is being named a Dame of the British Empire in 1993.
