{{Short description|Irish writer (1942–2011)}} {{for|the American judge|Josephine L. Hart}} {{Use British English|date=August 2011}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}
'''Josephine Hart''' (1 March 1942 – 2 June 2011), also known as '''Lady Saatchi''', was an Irish writer, theatrical producer, and television presenter, who lived in London, England. She is known for her novels ''Damage'' (1991) and ''Sin'' (1992), and for founding The Poetry Hour at the British Library, which continues to be held monthly. The Josephine Hart Poetry Prize is awarded by the Josephine Hart Foundation, which was founded by her husband Maurice Saatchi in her honour.
==Early life and education== Josephine Hart was born on 1 March 1942 at Mullingar, County Westmeath and she attended St. Louis Convent School at Carrickmacross, County Monaghan, where she was encouraged by the nuns to recite verse at Irish festivals. By the age of 12, she was able to recite Shakespeare's sonnets, and poems by W. B. Yeats, T. S. Eliot, and W. H. Auden.<ref name="Telegraph">[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/film-obituaries/8555567/Josephine-Hart.html Obituary: Josephine Hart], ''The Daily Telegraph'', 3 June 2011</ref>
She had three siblings who all died in various ways, when she was aged between 6 and 17.<ref name="Telegraph"/>
She moved to London in 1964, and attended acting classes at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama at night while working in the telesales department of Thomson Newspapers.<ref name="Telegraph"/><ref name=pp2020/>
==Career== Hart was appointed director of Haymarket Publishing and launched several trade magazines during her time there.<ref name="Telegraph"/>
===Poetry readings=== She organised a public poetry reading for the first time in 1987, at a gallery in Cork Street in the West End of London, at which actor Gary Bond read poetry by Auden.<ref name="Telegraph"/>
In 1993 she presented the inaugural T. S. Eliot Prize to Ciaran Carson, upon request by Eliot's widow Valerie. She read Eliot's favourite poem, "Eyes That Last I Saw In Tears", at the event.<ref name="Telegraph"/>
In 2004, she organised poetry readings at the British Library.<ref name="Telegraph"/> Hart was a founder of Gallery Poets in the mid-1980s,<ref name=tph>{{cite web |title=Josephine Hart |website=The Poetry Hour |url=https://www.thepoetryhour.com/foundation/ |access-date=18 November 2024}}</ref> which was later renamed Josephine Hart Poetry Hour, which is held monthly.<ref name=flood2011>{{cite web |last=Flood |first=Alison |title=Josephine Hart, novelist and poetry promoter, dies aged 69 |website=The Guardian |date=3 June 2011 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/jun/03/josephine-hart-novelist-dies-67 |access-date=18 November 2024}}</ref>
===Plays and television=== Hart produced several West End plays, including ''The House of Bernarda Alba'' by Federico García Lorca.<ref name=booker/>
She appeared on television as the presenter for the Thames TV series ''Books by My Bedside''.<ref name=booker/>
===Fiction=== Hart wrote the novel ''Damage'' (published in 1991), in six weeks. The main character is a government minister who becomes obsessed with his son's girlfriend.<ref name="Telegraph"/> The book, which was translated into around 30 languages,<ref name="Telegraph"/> was the basis for the 1992 film of the same name, directed by Louis Malle and starring Jeremy Irons, Juliette Binoche, and Rupert Graves.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/06/arts/josephine-hart-author-of-best-selling-damage-dies.html?ref=deathsobituaries|title=Josephine Hart, Author of Best-Selling 'Damage,' Dies|author=Margalit Fox|work=The New York Times|date=5 June 2011}}</ref> The novel also formed the basis for the Netflix miniseries ''Obsession'' which premiered in 2023.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Williams |first1=Zoe |date=2023-03-31 |title='The all-consuming orgasm': how erotic thriller Obsession takes sex to the next level |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/mar/31/obsession-netflix-richard-armitage-charlie-murphy-interview |access-date=2023-04-01 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>
She also wrote ''Sin'', published in 1992. This novel was about a woman who seduces her adopted sister's husband.<ref name="Telegraph"/>
==Personal life== Hart first married publisher Paul Buckley, with whom she had a son.<ref name="Telegraph"/>
She later married Maurice Saatchi, who had briefly been her boss at Haymarket Publishing, with whom she had one son,<ref name="Telegraph"/> Edward Saatchi. Maurice was granted a peerage and became Baron Saatchi and as a result, she was entitled to the title Lady Saatchi. She was also known as Baroness Saatchi.<ref name=booker>{{cite web |title=Josephine Hart |website=The Booker Prizes |url=https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/judges/josephine-hart |access-date=18 November 2024}}</ref>
==Recognition== A photograph of Hart taken by British photographer Trevor Leighton in 1992 is held by the National Portrait Gallery in London.<ref>{{cite web |title=Josephine Hart, Lady Saatchi |website=Portrait |date=22 June 1992 |url=https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw79745/Josephine-Hart-Lady-Saatchi |access-date=18 November 2024}}</ref>
Her production of ''The House of Bernarda Alba'' by Federico García Lorca won the ''Evening Standard'' Award.<ref name=booker/>
==Death and legacy== Lady Saatchi died, aged 69, from primary peritoneal cancer on 2 June 2011.<ref name="Telegraph"/>
Her papers are housed at the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center at Boston University.<ref name=booker/>
Interest in Hart's poetry is maintained by the Josephine Hart Poetry Foundation, a registered charity under English law,<ref>{{EW charity|1145062|THE JOSEPHINE HART POETRY FOUNDATION}}</ref> which was established by her husband Maurice Saatchi. Its purpose is "the advancement of arts, culture and education, with a particular focus on poetry, literature, and dramatic performance".<ref name=pp2020/>
The foundation supports The Poetry Hour repertory company, which includes actors Eileen Atkins, Adrian Dunbar, Freddie Fox, Lily James, and Dominic West, all alumni of the Guildhall School of Music & Drama,<ref name=pp2020/> and many others. They present events at which poetry by the great classic poets favoured by Hart is read by some of the members.<ref>{{cite web |title=Home |website=The Poetry Hour |url=https://www.thepoetryhour.com/ |access-date=18 November 2024}}</ref> This is a continuation of her Gallery Poets (founded mid-1980s), which was later renamed Josephine Hart Poetry Hour.<ref name=flood2011/>
The foundation also awards the Josephine Hart Poetry Prize.<ref name=pp2020>{{cite web |title=Guildhall School announces end of year prize winners |website=Guildhall School of Music & Drama |date=31 July 2020 |url=https://www.gsmd.ac.uk/about-guildhall/news/guildhall-school-announces-end-of-year-prize-winners |access-date=18 November 2024}}</ref><!---can't find eligibility, foundation date, or anything else on this one--->
==Books== * {{cite book |last=Hart |first=Josephine |title=Damage |publisher=Vintage Books |year=1991 |author-mask=2}} * {{cite book |last=Hart |first=Josephine |title=Sin |publisher=Vintage Books |year=1992 |author-mask=2}} * {{cite book |last=Hart |first=Josephine |title=Oblivion |publisher=Vintage Books |year=1995 |author-mask=2}} * {{cite book |last=Hart |first=Josephine |title=The Stillest Day |publisher=Chatto & Windus |year=1998 |author-mask=2}} * {{cite book |last=Hart |first=Josephine |title=The Reconstructionist |publisher=Chatto & Windus |year=2001 |author-mask=2}} * {{cite book |last=Hart |first=Josephine |title=Catching Life by the Throat: Poems from Eight Great Poets |publisher=W. W. Norton |year=2008 |author-mask=2}} * {{cite book |last=Hart |first=Josephine |title=The Truth About Love |publisher=Virago |year=2009 |author-mask=2}}
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{IMDb name|0366375|Josephine Hart}} *[https://topnewquotes.com/6-josephine-hart-quotes-that-still-break-your-heart 6 Josephine Hart Quotes That Still Break Your Heart]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hart, Josephine}} Category:1942 births Category:2011 deaths Category:20th-century British novelists Category:21st-century British novelists Category:20th-century Irish writers Category:20th-century Irish novelists Category:21st-century Irish novelists Category:British women television presenters Category:British theatre managers and producers Category:Women theatre managers and producers Category:Deaths from peritoneal cancer Category:Irish theatre managers and producers Category:Deaths from cancer in England Category:Writers from County Westmeath Category:Place of death missing Category:Saatchi family Category:Spouses of life peers Saatchi Category:Irish women television presenters Category:People from Mullingar Category:Broadcasters from County Westmeath Category:People educated at St. Louis Secondary School, Carrickmacross