Purves won a scholarship to St Anne's College, Oxford, where she was awarded a first class degree in English.[2] She was elected Librarian of the Oxford Union. In 1971, she joined the BBC as a studio manager. By the mid-1970s she was a regular presenter on BBC Radio Oxford where she could be frequently heard on the station's early morning shows. In 1976, she joined the BBC Radio 4's Today programme as a reporter and became the programme's first woman presenter, alongside Brian Redhead and John Timpson, two years later.[3][4]
In 1983 she was editor of Tatler magazine for six months.[5]
Later career
For her column in The Times newspaper, Purves was named columnist of the year in 1999 and in the same year was appointed an OBE for services to journalism.[citation needed] She has written books on childcare, twelve novels including Mother Country, a memoir of religious upbringing, Holy Smoke (1998), and a travel book, One Summer's Grace (1989), about a 1,700-mile sailing journey round Britain with children aged three and five.[citation needed]
In February 2010 she was appointed The Times drama critic, succeeding Benedict Nightingale,[7] but her work for The Times in this area ended in September 2013.[8] In a press statement she released after she was fired, she said that "I have to tell you that the acting editor of The TimesMr Witherow has decreed that he does not want me to continue as Chief Theatre Critic. This is not my decision in any way. At all. … I carry on reviewing and maintaining the lists until 11 October."[9]
Two days after she finished at The Times, she announced in the London Evening Standard that her commitment to, and interest in, theatre commentary was so great that she intended to continue through theatrecat.com, a theatre review website.[10]
Purves is in favour of equal rights for gay people, and has written articles supporting this position.[11][12] However, she has spoken out against the "coercive liberalism, one-note righteousness" of the National Trust following its "outing" of Robert Wyndham Ketton-Cremer, saying that "Crassly reducing any human being to a sexuality, posthumously enlisting him or her in a phantom regiment under your orders, is almost as belittling as persecution itself."[13]
In 2009, Purves debated at the Cambridge Union against Glenn Wilson and Rupert Myers on the motion This House Would Rather Be Gay.[14] Following a column on the anti-gay policies of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Greek businessman Demetri Marchessini took out a quarter-page advertisement in The Daily Telegraph on 28 January 2014 to criticise her views on homosexuality and religion. According to Purves, while Marchessini is "free to approve of the beatings and hangings of young men across the world in the name of what he considers religion" she is also "free to say he is a loony."[15]
On BBC Radio 4 Purves also presented Midweek for 33 years (1984–2017) and the educational programme The Learning Curve for 10 years (1998–2008).[16]
Since leaving the BBC, she has been critical of several aspects of the corporation: equal pay for newsreaders,[17] sexism and agism,[18] and "woke" comedy shows.[19]
Personal life
Purves is married to broadcaster Paul Heiney. The couple has one surviving child.[citation needed] Their first child, Nicholas, died on 26 June 2006, at age 23. A collection of his poems and sea-logs of a Pacific journey under square rig, The Silence at the Song's End, has been published, inspired a song cycle by Joseph Phibbs (2008),[20] and was broadcast on Radio 4.[21]
Bibliography
Britain at Play (1982)
Adventures Under Sail (1982)
Sailing Weekend Book (with Paul Heiney, 1985)
How Not to Be a Perfect Mother (1986)
One Summer's Grace (1989)
How Not to Raise a Perfect Child (1991)
How Not to Be a Perfect Family (1994)
Casting Off (1995)
A Long Walk in Wintertime (1996)
Home Leave (1997)
More Lives Than One (1998)
Holy Smoke (1998)
Regatta (1999)
Passing Go (2000)
A Free Woman (2001)
Mother Country (2002)
Continental Drift (2003)
Acting Up (2004)
Love Songs and Lies (2005)
Shadow Child (2007)
That Was Midweek That Was: The Story of a Radio Programme 1979-2017 (2017)
References
^. BBC. Archived from the original on 19 August 2007.
^"Passed/Failed:Libby Purves". The Independent. 10 October 1996. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
^Donovan, Paul (1997). All Our Todays. Jonathan Cape. p. 64. ISBN0-224-04358-7.
^Seán Street (21 April 2015). Historical Dictionary of British Radio. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. pp. 265–. ISBN978-1-4422-4923-3.
^"300 years of Tatler: Former Editor Libby Purves tells of her time at the top".
^"The British Art Music Series - BAM Series". bamseries.com. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
^Preston, Peter (7 February 2010). "A cinema critic who's making her big-screen debut (Organ Grinder blog)". The Guardian.
^Nicola Merrifield "Times axes theatre critic Libby Purves", The Stage, 16 September 2013
^"Libby Purves, Chief Theatre Critic of the Times in London, Fired". 17 September 2013.
^"Libby Purves 'axed' as lead theatre critic of The Times", What's on Stage, 16 September 2013
^Rejoice! Bring out the pink champagne, The Times, 12 December 2006.
^Purves, Libby (7 August 2017). "National Trust chases rainbows to its cost". The Times. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
^"This House Would Rather Be Gay : Free Download & Streaming : Internet Archive". 22 January 2009. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
^"Pro-gay Libby Purves gets a ticking off from Ukip", London Evening Standard, 28 January 2014
^"The Learning Curve". BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
^"Male BBC presenters are vain and greedy, says Libby Purves". The Guardian. 16 January 2018. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
^Spyro, Steph (22 September 2020). "BBC discriminates against older women: Libby Purves hits out at bosses". Daily Express. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
^Purves, Libby. "The BBC's smug lefties won't be laughing now". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
^A testament of youth, The Times, 31 October 2007. Retrieved 15 November 2007.
External links
The Silence at the Song's End by Nicholas Heiney, Libby Purves, Duncan Wu (editor), Alan Parker (illustrator), Song's End Books (31 October 2007) ISBN0-9557085-0-8
libby, purves, australian, actress, writer, libby, purvis, this, biography, living, person, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, adding, reliable, sources, contentious, material, about, living, persons, that, unsourced, poorly, sourced, mu. For the Australian actress and writer see Libby Purvis This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification Please help by adding reliable sources Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately especially if potentially libelous or harmful Find sources Libby Purves news newspapers books scholar JSTOR August 2017 Learn how and when to remove this template message Elizabeth Mary Purves OBE born 2 February 1950 is a British radio presenter journalist and author Libby PurvesOBEBornElizabeth Mary Purves 1950 02 02 2 February 1950 age 73 London England UKOccupation s Radio presenter journalist and authorSpousePaul HeineyChildrenNicholas Heiney died 2006 Rose Heiney Contents 1 Early life and career 2 Later career 3 Personal life 4 Bibliography 5 References 6 External linksEarly life and career EditBorn in London a diplomat s daughter Purves was raised in her mother s Catholic faith and educated at convent schools in Israel Bangkok South Africa and France and at Beechwood Sacred Heart School Royal Tunbridge Wells 1 Purves won a scholarship to St Anne s College Oxford where she was awarded a first class degree in English 2 She was elected Librarian of the Oxford Union In 1971 she joined the BBC as a studio manager By the mid 1970s she was a regular presenter on BBC Radio Oxford where she could be frequently heard on the station s early morning shows In 1976 she joined the BBC Radio 4 s Today programme as a reporter and became the programme s first woman presenter alongside Brian Redhead and John Timpson two years later 3 4 In 1983 she was editor of Tatler magazine for six months 5 Later career EditFor her column in The Times newspaper Purves was named columnist of the year in 1999 and in the same year was appointed an OBE for services to journalism citation needed She has written books on childcare twelve novels including Mother Country a memoir of religious upbringing Holy Smoke 1998 and a travel book One Summer s Grace 1989 about a 1 700 mile sailing journey round Britain with children aged three and five citation needed Purves has a monthly column in the sailing magazine Yachting Monthly and is a contributor to The Oldie magazine She was appointed a patron of the British Art Music Series Trust 6 along with James MacMillan and John Wilson She served ten years as a Trustee of the National Maritime Museum In February 2010 she was appointed The Times drama critic succeeding Benedict Nightingale 7 but her work for The Times in this area ended in September 2013 8 In a press statement she released after she was fired she said that I have to tell you that the acting editor of The Times Mr Witherow has decreed that he does not want me to continue as Chief Theatre Critic This is not my decision in any way At all I carry on reviewing and maintaining the lists until 11 October 9 Two days after she finished at The Times she announced in the London Evening Standard that her commitment to and interest in theatre commentary was so great that she intended to continue through theatrecat com a theatre review website 10 Purves is in favour of equal rights for gay people and has written articles supporting this position 11 12 However she has spoken out against the coercive liberalism one note righteousness of the National Trust following its outing of Robert Wyndham Ketton Cremer saying that Crassly reducing any human being to a sexuality posthumously enlisting him or her in a phantom regiment under your orders is almost as belittling as persecution itself 13 In 2009 Purves debated at the Cambridge Union against Glenn Wilson and Rupert Myers on the motion This House Would Rather Be Gay 14 Following a column on the anti gay policies of Russian President Vladimir Putin Greek businessman Demetri Marchessini took out a quarter page advertisement in The Daily Telegraph on 28 January 2014 to criticise her views on homosexuality and religion According to Purves while Marchessini is free to approve of the beatings and hangings of young men across the world in the name of what he considers religion she is also free to say he is a loony 15 On BBC Radio 4 Purves also presented Midweek for 33 years 1984 2017 and the educational programme The Learning Curve for 10 years 1998 2008 16 Since leaving the BBC she has been critical of several aspects of the corporation equal pay for newsreaders 17 sexism and agism 18 and woke comedy shows 19 Personal life EditPurves is married to broadcaster Paul Heiney The couple has one surviving child citation needed Their first child Nicholas died on 26 June 2006 at age 23 A collection of his poems and sea logs of a Pacific journey under square rig The Silence at the Song s End has been published inspired a song cycle by Joseph Phibbs 2008 20 and was broadcast on Radio 4 21 Bibliography EditBritain at Play 1982 Adventures Under Sail 1982 Sailing Weekend Book with Paul Heiney 1985 How Not to Be a Perfect Mother 1986 One Summer s Grace 1989 How Not to Raise a Perfect Child 1991 How Not to Be a Perfect Family 1994 Casting Off 1995 A Long Walk in Wintertime 1996 Home Leave 1997 More Lives Than One 1998 Holy Smoke 1998 Regatta 1999 Passing Go 2000 A Free Woman 2001 Mother Country 2002 Continental Drift 2003 Acting Up 2004 Love Songs and Lies 2005 Shadow Child 2007 That Was Midweek That Was The Story of a Radio Programme 1979 2017 2017 References Edit Presenters Libby Purves BBC Archived from the original on 19 August 2007 Passed Failed Libby Purves The Independent 10 October 1996 Retrieved 2 March 2019 Donovan Paul 1997 All Our Todays Jonathan Cape p 64 ISBN 0 224 04358 7 Sean Street 21 April 2015 Historical Dictionary of British Radio Rowman amp Littlefield Publishers pp 265 ISBN 978 1 4422 4923 3 300 years of Tatler Former Editor Libby Purves tells of her time at the top The British Art Music Series BAM Series bamseries com Retrieved 13 April 2015 Preston Peter 7 February 2010 A cinema critic who s making her big screen debut Organ Grinder blog The Guardian Nicola Merrifield Times axes theatre critic Libby Purves The Stage 16 September 2013 Libby Purves Chief Theatre Critic of the Times in London Fired 17 September 2013 Libby Purves axed as lead theatre critic of The Times What s on Stage 16 September 2013 Rejoice Bring out the pink champagne The Times 12 December 2006 Gay bashers bashed The Times 1 November 2007 Purves Libby 7 August 2017 National Trust chases rainbows to its cost The Times Retrieved 7 August 2017 This House Would Rather Be Gay Free Download amp Streaming Internet Archive 22 January 2009 Retrieved 13 April 2015 Pro gay Libby Purves gets a ticking off from Ukip London Evening Standard 28 January 2014 The Learning Curve BBC Radio 4 Retrieved 2 March 2019 Male BBC presenters are vain and greedy says Libby Purves The Guardian 16 January 2018 Retrieved 15 December 2020 Spyro Steph 22 September 2020 BBC discriminates against older women Libby Purves hits out at bosses Daily Express Retrieved 15 December 2020 Purves Libby The BBC s smug lefties won t be laughing now The Times ISSN 0140 0460 Retrieved 15 December 2020 Premiere Sylvia O Brien soprano Burnham Market Norfolk September 2008 Aldeburgh Premiere Jubilee Hall Aldeburgh September 2008 Bach Cantatas Website Sylvia O Brien A testament of youth The Times 31 October 2007 Retrieved 15 November 2007 External links EditLibby Purves s blog The Silence at the Song s End by Nicholas Heiney Libby Purves Duncan Wu editor Alan Parker illustrator Song s End Books 31 October 2007 ISBN 0 9557085 0 8Media officesPreceded byTina Brown Editor of Tatler1983 Succeeded byMark Boxer Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Libby Purves amp oldid 1125234715, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
