Julia Briggs lived from 1943 to 2007. She was a  literary scholar, writer and critic who brought the study of women's literature and children's writing to the fore in British universities. Born in London on 30 December 1943, she won a scholarship to study English at St Hilda's College, Oxford in 1963. In 1978 she became a fellow of Hertford College, Oxford, where she taught for the best part of 20 years and in 1995 she took up the position of Professor of Literature and Women's Studies at De Montfort University. Published works include The Stage-Play World: Texts and Contexts 1580-1625, A Woman of Passion: the Life of Edith Nesbit and Virginia Woolf: an Inner Life. In 2006, she was awarded the OBE for her services to English literature and education.