# Judith Mackrell

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**Judith Mackrell** is an English non-fiction writer.

## Early life and education

Mackrell graduated from the [University of York](/source/University_of_York) and the [University of Oxford](/source/University_of_Oxford). She was a part-time lecturer at Oxford, [Oxford Polytechnic](/source/Oxford_Polytechnic) and the [University of Roehampton](/source/University_of_Roehampton).[1]

## Writing

Mackrell was *[The Guardian](/source/The_Guardian)'*s dance critic for 23 years up to 2019, when a writer in *Dance Magazine* said "There was always something to learn from Mackrell’s clear-eyed elegance".[2]

She co-authored [Darcey Bussell](/source/Darcey_Bussell)'s 1998 *Life in Dance*.

In 2000, she co-authored with [Debra Craine](/source/Debra_Craine) the *Oxford Dictionary of Dance*; the two authors produced a second edition of the work in 2010.[3]

*[Bloomsbury Ballerina](/source/Bloomsbury_Ballerina)*, her 2008 biography of [Lydia Lopokova](/source/Lydia_Lopokova), the wife of economist [John Maynard Keynes](/source/John_Maynard_Keynes), was shortlisted for the 2008 [Costa Book Award for Biography](/source/Costa_Book_Award_for_Biography).[4]

Her 2013 *Flappers* considered the lives of six women of the [Jazz Age](/source/Jazz_Age): [Diana Cooper](/source/Lady_Diana_Cooper), [Nancy Cunard](/source/Nancy_Cunard), [Tallulah Bankhead](/source/Tallulah_Bankhead), [Josephine Baker](/source/Josephine_Baker), [Tamara de Lempicka](/source/Tamara_de_Lempicka) and [Zelda Fitzgerald](/source/Zelda_Fitzgerald).[5] In contrast, her 2021 *Going with the Boys*, published in the United States as *The Correspondents*, covered five women [war correspondents](/source/War_correspondent) and a war photographer who worked during [the Second World War](/source/World_War_II): [Virginia Cowles](/source/Virginia_Cowles), [Clare Hollingworth](/source/Clare_Hollingworth), [Sigrid Schultz](/source/Sigrid_Schultz), [Martha Gellhorn](/source/Martha_Gellhorn), [Lee Miller](/source/Lee_Miller), and [Helen Kirkpatrick](/source/Helen_Kirkpatrick).[6][7]

Her 2017 *The Unfinished Palazzo* tells the story of the [Palazzo Venier dei Leoni](/source/Palazzo_Venier_dei_Leoni) in Venice, and of three women involved in it in the early 20th century: [Luisa Casati](/source/Luisa_Casati), [Doris Castlerosse](/source/Doris_Castlerosse) and [Peggy Guggenheim](/source/Peggy_Guggenheim); the palazzo now houses the [Peggy Guggenheim Collection](/source/Peggy_Guggenheim_Collection).

*Artists, Siblings, Visionaries*, her 2026 joint biography of sibling artists [Gwen John](/source/Gwen_John) and [Augustus John](/source/Augustus_John), was shortlisted for the 2026 [Women's Prize for Non-Fiction](/source/Women's_Prize_for_Non-Fiction).[8]

## Selected publications

- Mackrell, Judith (1992). *Out of line: the story of British new dance*. London: Dance Books. ISBN 9781852730383.
- Mackrell, Judith (1997). *Reading dance*. London: Michael Joseph. ISBN 9780718138516.
- Bussell, Darcey & Mackrell, Judith (1998). *Life in dance*. London: Century. ISBN 978-0712680660.
- Craine, Debra & Mackrell, Judith (2000). *The Oxford dictionary of dance*. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press. ISBN 9780198604006. (2nd ed, 2010: ISBN 9780199563449)
- Mackrell, Judith (2008). *[Bloomsbury Ballerina: Lydia Lopokova, Imperial Dancer and Mrs John Maynard Keynes](/source/Bloomsbury_Ballerina)*. Orion. ISBN 9781780227085.
- Mackrell, Judith (2014). *Flappers: six women of a dangerous generation*. New York: Sarah Crichton Books/Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 978-0374156084.
- Mackrell, Judith (2017). *The unfinished Palazzo: life, love and art in Venice: the stories of Luisa Casati, Doris Castelrosse and Peggy Guggenheim*. London: Thames and Hudson. ISBN 978-0500518663.
- Mackrell, Judith (2021). *Going with the boys: six extraordinary women writing from the front line*. London: Pan Macmillan. ISBN 978-1509882939.
- Mackrell, Judith (2025). *Artists, siblings, visionaries: the lives and loves of Augustus and Gwen John*. London: Picador. ISBN 978-1529095845.

## References

1. ["The Oxford Dictionary of Dance - Second Edition - Debra Craine and Judith Mackrell"](https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-oxford-dictionary-of-dance-9780199563449?cc=us&lang=en&). *Oxford University Press*. Retrieved 25 April 2026.

1. Cappelle, Laura (7 August 2019). ["Five Major Dance Critics Stepped Down Last Season. What Does That Mean for the Future of the Field?"](https://dancemagazine.com/5-major-dance-critics-put-down-the-pen/#gsc.tab=0). *Dance Magazine*. Retrieved 24 April 2026.

1. ["The Oxford Dictionary of Dance: Defining Dance"](https://www.whatsonstage.com/news/the-oxford-dictionary-of-dance-defining-dance_11716/). *What's On Stage*. 26 September 2010. Retrieved 26 April 2026.

1. Flood, Alison (18 November 2008). ["Another chance for Sebastian Barry as Costa shortlists are announced"](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2008/nov/18/costa-book-award-fiction). *The Guardian*. Retrieved 24 April 2026.

1. Hughes, Kathryn (1 June 2013). ["Flappers: Six Women of a Dangerous Generation by Judith Mackrell – review"](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/jun/01/flappers-judith-mackrell-review). *The Guardian*. Retrieved 24 April 2026.

1. Cairncross, Frances (24 April 2026). ["They Fought to Report"](https://literaryreview.co.uk/they-fought-to-report). *Literary Review*. Retrieved 24 April 2026.

1. Gorton, Stephanie (3 February 2022). ["A Necessary, Hazardous Calling: On Judith Mackrell’s “The Correspondents: Six Women Writers on the Front Lines of World War II”"](https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/a-necessary-hazardous-calling-on-judith-mackrells-the-correspondents-six-women-writers-on-the-front-lines-of-world-war-ii/). *Los Angeles Review of Books*. Retrieved 24 April 2026.

1. ["Revealing the 2026 Women's Prize for Non-Fiction Shortlist"](https://womensprize.com/revealing-the-2026-womens-prize-for-non-fiction-shortlist/). *Women's Prize*. 25 March 2026. Retrieved 24 April 2026.

## External links

- ["In conversation with Judith Mackrell"](https://womensprize.com/in-conversation-with-judith-mackrell/) on Women's Prize website, 2026

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Judith Mackrell](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judith_Mackrell) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judith_Mackrell?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.