Vivien Mary Noakes (16 February 1937 – 17 February 2011)[1] was a British biographer, editor and critic. She was a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.[2]
Noakes was born Vivien Langley, the daughter of a noted aeronautical engineer, Marcus Langley.[3] She was educated at Dunottar School, but left with A-levels, and it was not until later in life that she took her degree at Manchester College, Oxford, and Somerville College, Oxford, where she was subsequently lecturer.[4] She also lectured at Harvard University and the Yale Center for British Art. She was an expert on Edward Lear[5] and on the literature of World War I.[6]
She was married to the painter Michael Noakes, in collaboration with whom she produced The Daily Life of The Queen: An Artist's Diary (2000). They had three children: Anya, Jonathan and Benedict.[7]
She died of cancer the day after her 74th birthday, a month after suffering a stroke.[8]