Deric Longden

Deric Longden (29 November 1936 – 22 June 2013) was an English writer and autobiographer.

He married Diana Hill in 1957 and had two children, Sally and Nick. After various jobs he took over a small women's lingerie factory, but began writing and broadcasting in the 1970s for programmes like Does He Take Sugar? and Woman's Hour on BBC Radio 4. Most of his work was based on his own experience. His wife Diana's illness, subsequently believed to be a form of ME, forced him to sell the factory. Afterwards, he worked as a full-time writer, broadcaster and speaker.

The bestselling Diana’s Story, published in 1989, was followed by Lost for Words, The Cat Who Came in from the Cold, I’m a Stranger Here Myself, Enough to Make a Cat Laugh, A Play On Words and Paws in the Proceedings.

Deric Longden's first two books were adapted for television, the first retitled Wide-Eyed and Legless. The second, Lost for Words, was screened in January 1999 and won the Emmy for best foreign drama and a BAFTA for Thora Hird as best actress.

After the death of Diana, he married writer Aileen Armitage in 1990 and they moved to Huddersfield, West Yorkshire.

Deric Longden died of cancer of the oesophagus on Saturday 22 June 2013. He was survived by his wife, children and granddaughter.^[1]

Works

• Diana's Story (1989) described life with his rapidly deteriorating wife, who was suffering from an illness that doctors could not understand. The book was adapted for TV in 1993 under the title Wide-Eyed and Legless starring Julie Walters, Jim Broadbent and Thora Hird. In America this was shown under the title The Wedding Gift.

• Lost For Words (1991) continued the story of Deric's life, describing life with his eccentric mother as she gradually loses her memory. This was also made into a TV movie of the same title starring Thora Hird, but this time with Pete Postlethwaite in the main role, Longden himself has a cameo as a voice on an answerphone.^[2]

His other books describe life with his near-blind second wife Aileen Armitage, also a best-selling author, and their cats:

• The Cat Who Came in from the Cold (1991) introduces kitten Thermal.
• I'm a Stranger Here Myself' (1994) concerns Deric and Aileen's move to Huddersfield.
• Enough to Make a Cat Laugh (1996)
• A Play on Words (2000) describes the making of the TV movies of Diana's Story and Lost For Words, and Longden's reactions to seeing actors play himself and his mother. He wrote how Thora Hird's performance was so powerfully convincing that his memory ended up confusing the two.
• Paws in the Proceedings (2007)

References

External links

• Deric Longden's official website
• Wide-Eyed and Legless at the Internet Movie Database
• Lost for Words at the Internet Movie Database