# Doris Leslie > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Doris_Leslie > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Doris_Leslie.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doris_Leslie > Source revision: 1318269001 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) British novelist and biographer **Doris Leslie** (née **Oppenheim**, later **Lady Fergusson Hannay**) (9 March 1891 – 30 May 1982), was a British novelist and historical biographer. Her novel *Peridot Flight* (1956) was serialised in 10 episodes by [BBC](/source/BBC) TV in October–December 1960.[1] ## Life Leslie was born in 1890. She was the last of four children born to a Jewish couple whose family were both involved in the tobacco trade. Her father recognised her talent and sent her to art school. However she wanted to be an actress and after training she appeared in [Twelfth Night](/source/Twelfth_Night) at the [Old Vic](/source/The_Old_Vic) as Viola. She married another actor, who served in the First World War and was then killed in the [flu pandemic in 1919](/source/Spanish_flu).[2] A number of her books had [dust jackets](/source/Dust_jacket) with illustrated designs by period artists such as [Philip Gough](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Philip_Gough_(artist)&action=edit&redlink=1) and [Arthur Barbosa](/source/Arthur_Barbosa). She was married three times:[3] in 1914 to John Leslie Isaacson (1889–1919); in 1930 to Reginald Vincent Cookes (1894–1948); and in 1936 to Walter Fergusson Leisrink Hannay, who was knighted in 1951 and died in 1961. ## Works - *The Starling* (1927) - *Fools in Mortar* (1928) - *The Echoing Green* (1929) - *Terminus* (1931) - *Puppets Parade* (1932) - *Full Flavour* (1934) - *Fair Company* (1936) - *Concord in Jeopardy* (1938) - *Another Cynthia: The Adventures of Cynthia, Lady Ffulkes (1780-1850), reconstructed from her hitherto unpublished memoirs* (1939) - *Royal William: the Story of a Democrat* (1940); life of [William IV](/source/William_IV_of_the_United_Kingdom) - *House in the Dust* (1942) - *Polonaise* (1942); a romance of [Chopin](/source/Chopin) - *Folly's End* (1944) - *The Peverills* (1946) - *Wreath for Arabella* (1948); life of [Lady Arabella Stuart](/source/Lady_Arabella_Stuart) - *That Enchantress* (1950); life of [Abigail Hill](/source/Abigail_Hill), Lady Marsham - *The Great Corinthian* (1952); portrait of [the Prince Regent](/source/The_Prince_Regent) - *A Toast to Lady Mary* (1954); life of [Lady Mary Wortley Montagu](/source/Lady_Mary_Wortley_Montagu) - *Peridot Flight: a novel reconstructed from the memoirs of Peridot, Lady Mulvarnie 1872-1955* (1956) - *Tales of Grace and Favour* (comprising Another Cynthia, Folly's End, & The Peverills) (1956) - *As the Tree Falls*(1958); later published as *The King's Traitor* (1971),[4] based on the life of King [Henry VIII](/source/Henry_VIII) - *The Perfect Wife* (1960); based on the life of [Mary Anne Disraeli](/source/Mary_Anne_Disraeli) - *I Return: The Story of [François Villon](/source/Fran%C3%A7ois_Villon)* (1962)[5] - *This for Caroline* (1964); about [Lady Caroline Lamb](/source/Lady_Caroline_Lamb) - *Paragon Street* (1965) - *The Sceptre and the Rose* (1967); life of [Charles II](/source/Charles_II_of_England) and [Catherine of Braganza](/source/Catherine_of_Braganza) - *The Marriage of Martha Todd* (1968) - *House in the Dust* (1969) - *The Rebel Princess* (1970); about [Sophia Dorothea of Celle](/source/Sophia_Dorothea_of_Celle) - *A Young Wives' Tale* (1971) - *The Desert Queen* (1972); about [Lady Hester Stanhope](/source/Lady_Hester_Stanhope) - *Dragon's Head* (1973) - *The Incredible Duchess* (1974); life and times of [Elizabeth Chudleigh](/source/Elizabeth_Chudleigh) - *Call Back Yesterday* (1975) - *Notorious Lady* (1976); life and times of the [Countess of Blessington](/source/Countess_of_Blessington) - *The Warrior King* (1977); the reign of [Richard the Lionheart](/source/Richard_the_Lionheart) - *Crown of Thorns* (1979); life and reign of [Richard II](/source/Richard_II)[6] ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Doris Leslie"](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3897323/filmoseries#tt1650290). *[IMDb](/source/IMDb)*. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Ashley, Leonard R. N. (23 September 2004), ["Leslie \[née Oppenheim\], Doris \[other married name Doris Fergusson Hannay, Lady Fergusson Hannay\] (1891–1982), novelist"](https://www.oxforddnb.com/display/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-56908), *Oxford Dictionary of National Biography*, Oxford University Press, [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1093/ref:odnb/56908](https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fref%3Aodnb%2F56908), [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-19-861412-8](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-19-861412-8), retrieved 18 August 2025{{[citation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Citation)}}: CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_work_parameter_with_ISBN)) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** England & Wales, FreeBMD Marriage Index, 1837-1915: John L Isaacson & Doris Oppenheim, St Marylebone London Sep 1914 Vol 1a Page 1588; Reginald V. Cookes & Doris Leslie, Hampstead Middlesex Mar 1930 Vol 1a Page 1089; Walter F L Hannay & Doris Leslie or Cookes, Westminster Middlesex Dec 1936 Vol 1a Page 1325 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["The king's traitor"](https://search.worldcat.org/title/kings-traitor/oclc/16206362). *www.search.worldcat.org*. Retrieved 9 October 2024. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Leslie, Doris (1962), [*I return : the story of François Villon*](http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/10876348), Hodder & Stoughton, retrieved 3 July 2013 1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["Books by Doris Leslie (Author of the Prime Minister's Wife)"](http://www.goodreads.com/author/list/307149.Doris_Leslie). Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF WorldCat National United States France BnF data Czech Republic Netherlands Norway Poland Israel Belgium Croatia Other IdRef Yale LUX This article about a novelist from the United Kingdom is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information. - [v](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:UK-novelist-stub) - [t](/source/Template_talk%3AUK-novelist-stub) - [e](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:UK-novelist-stub) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Doris Leslie](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doris_Leslie) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doris_Leslie?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.