Charlotte Hough

Charlotte Hough (24 May 1924 – 31 December 2008) (pronounced "how") was the British author of over thirty illustrated children's books.

Personal life

Charlotte Hough was born Charlotte Woodyadd in Brockenhurst, Hampshire. Her father, aged 50, was a doctor in General Practise, and whose lineage went back to William the Conqueror. Her mother, an actress, singer and pianist, was widowed in World War I with a son. Charlotte was thus almost exclusively raised by her mother.^[1]

Charlotte's first husband was the author Richard Hough; the couple had five children (one stillborn) including the author Deborah Moggach. Her children's books were published by major imprints, and her one book for adults, a detective novel The Bassington Murder (1980).^[1] In 1985, she was convicted of attempted murder, and sentenced to nine months imprisonment, serving six, for assisting the suicide of a friend who was terminally ill.^[1][2] In June 1987 Hough made an extended appearance on the Channel 4 discussion programme After Dark, alongside Ilora Finlay, Lord Soper, John Finnis and others.

In 1997, Charlotte married Dr Louis Ackroyd, a widower formerly in the Colonial Engineering Service and Nottingham University.^[1]

References