Lady Rachel Mary Billington OBE (born 11 May 1942) is a British author, the daughter of the Earl and Countess of Longford,[1] who were both eminent writers. She is the sister of Lady Antonia Fraser DBE and Thomas Pakenham (the present Earl of Longford), also writers. Her husband is the film director Kevin Billington.[2]
She has published 19 adult novels and 7 children's books since her first novel, All Things Nice, came out in 1969. Her novel A Woman's Age was a bestseller. Other works include Bodily Harm and Loving Attitudes, as well as television plays, screenplays and journalism.
Lady Rachel was formerly President (now Vice-President) of English PEN, the writers' organisation,[3] and contributes to Inside Time the 'not for profit' national newspaper for prisoners.
Lady Rachel was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2012 New Year Honours for her services to literature.[4]