British writer who published over 90 highly popular novels which have been translated into twenty languages, among others into Finnish (over 30 works). In the 1990s Cookson's books have sold 90 million copies. Cookson became especially famous for her family sagas set against the backdrop of England in the 19th century. She wrote under the pseudonym Catherine Marchant, and produced three different series of books: the Bill Bailey series, the Mary Ann series, and the Mallen series.

"I was a story-teller from the time I could talk, and if I could get an audience, if I could get someone to listen to me... I used to pass the time, telling myself wonderful stories about us living in a nice house with lino on the stairs... one of the best ones I've ever told was about the wee folk, the little green men talking to me." (from Richard Joseph's Bestsellers, 1997)

Catherine Cookson was born in Tyne Dock, South Shields, in an industrial region in the northeast of England. Unlike so many leading writers, she started life with many disadvantages. She was born illegitimate and was raised by her grandparents, Rose and John McMullen. Her mother, Kate Fawcett, who worked as a barmaid, was poverty-stricken, at times an alcoholic and occasionally violent. Cookson had only the minimum of education, and from the age of thirteen she suffered from hereditary hemorrhage telangiectasia. For many years Cookson believed that she had been abandoned as a baby and that her mother was actually her older sister.

From an early age Cookson was determined to become a writer. She was an avid reader and penned her first short story, 'The Wild Irish Girl', when she was eleven, and sent it off to the South Shields Gazette, which returned it after three days. At the age of thirteen Cookson left school. She began working as a maid in the houses of the rich and powerful, witnessing the great class barrier inside wealthy society. From 1924 to 1929 she worked in a laundry and saved enough money to establish an apartment hotel in Hastings. One of the tenants was the schoolmaster Tom Cookson, whom she married in 1940, at the age of 34. After several miscarriages she fell into a depression. To recover, she started writing and joined the local writers' group for encouragement. During this period she changed from play writing to short stories. Cookson's first book, Kate Hannigan (1950), was partly autobiographical. Her neighbors tried to stop its publication because Cookson dared in the first pages to write in detail about a baby being born. In the story Kate, a working-class girl, becomes pregnant by an upper-middle-class man. The child is brought up by Kate's parents and she believes them to be her real parents, and Kate to be her sister.

Colour Blind (1953) was a story of a woman who marries a black man. Later their daughter suffers at the hands of classmates and a bitter uncle. The background is realistic, and offers an understanding picture of the British working class. In these early works as in the following books Cookson dealt with such social issues as class tensions and unemployment, among them The Black Candle (1989), set in the 19th-century and depicting a clash between two families.

Her first sixteen books Cookson wrote longhand, but started then to use a tape recorder, acting the parts of the characters she is writing about. Her husband worked as her private secretary and helped with grammar and spelling – Cookson's dialect was so strong that many outsiders had difficulties in understanding what she said. In 1968 her novel The Round Tower won an award as the best regional novel of the year. Cookson's autobiography, Our Kate, came out in 1969. Other autobiographical works include Catherine Cookson Country (1986), Let Me Make Myself Plain (1988), and Plainer Still (1995).

Many of Cookson's novels concern the poverty in the North East of England, and are set in mines and shipyards, or the farms and surrounding countryside in various periods from the nineteenth century onwards. The historical background is generally carefully researched. She also used her own experiences as material and recollections of her family and friends. Several novels are serialized, tracing events in the life of a single character or a family. Mary Ann Shaughnessy, a brave and warm-hearted heroine, appears in many books. Her other major series are The Mallen Family, The Tilly Trotter trilogy, The Hamilton series, and The Bill Bailey series.

"But he had taught her to love, and that was a different thing; he had taught her that the act of love wasn't merely a physical thing, its pleasure being halved without the assistance of the mind. But it was Mr Burgess, this old man breathing his last here now, who had taught her how to use her mind. Right from the beginning he had warned her that once your mind took you below the surface of mundane things, you would never again know real peace because the mind was an adventure, it led you into strange places and was forever asking why, and as the world outside could not give you true answers, you were forever groping and searching through your spirit for the truth." (from Tilly Trotter Wed, 1981)

Usually Cookson's characters cross the class barrier by the means of education. Tilly Trotter is taught to read and write by the parson's daughter and Kate Hannigan is educated by a kindly employer. Often Cookson's characters are outcasts, as Tilly who is viewed by the local villagers as a witch. During the story, beginning in the reign of the young Queen Victoria, she moves up and down the social scale. She becomes the mistress of a wealthy man, then the wife of his son. Exceptionally Tilly moves to the United States, Texas, which Cookson had never visited. As a source she used Comanches by T. R. Fehrenbach (1975), Sue Flanagan's Sam Houston's Texas (1964) and some other books but emphasized: "... I have tried within my capacity to keep to facts, but like most authors of novels I may have resorted now and again to a little licence; so should this be noted by a Texan I beg his forbearance, for after all I am merely a teller of tales." (from the 'Author's Note' in Tilly Trotter Wed, 1981) The series inspired the film Tilly Trotter (1999), directed by Alan Grant and starring Simon Shepard, Carli Norris, Rosemary Leach, and Gavin Abbot.

The trilogy dealing with the Mallen family saga began with The Mallen Streak (1973), and continued with The Mallen Girl (1974), and The Mallen Lot (1974). The story was set in 19th-century Northumberland, and depicted the affairs of the family against the background of past hidden sins.

Cookson received the Freedom of the Borough of South Shields, and an honorary degree from the university of Newcastle, and the Royal Society of Literature's award for the Best Regional Novel of the Year. The Variety Club of Great Britain named her Writer of the Year, and she was voted Personality of The North-East. In 1933 Cookson was made Dame. She died shortly before her ninety-second birthday, on June 11, 1998, in her home near Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Posthumously published Kate Hannigan's Girl (1999) continues the story of her first novel.

For further information: The Girl from Leam Lane: The Life and Writing of Catherine Cookson by Piers Dudgeon (1984); Twentieth-Century Romance and Historical Writers, ed. by Aruna Vasudevan (1994); Now read on... by Mandy Hicken and Ray Prytherch (1996); Contemporary Popular Writers, ed. by David Mote (1997); 'Catherine Cookson DBE, OBE' in Bestsellers: Top Writers Tell How by Richard Joseph (1997); The Catherine Cookson Companion by Cliff Goodwin (1999); Seeking Catherine Cookson's 'Da by Kathleen Jones (2004) - Note: A third of all fiction borrowed from public libraries in 1988 in the UK was by Catherine Cookson. In 1997 nine of her works were on the list of ten most borrowed books.

Selected works:

The Mary Ann Shaughnessy series:

• A Grand Man, 1954
• The Lord and Mary Ann, 1956
• The Devil and Mary Ann, 1958
• Love and Mary Ann, 1961
• Life and Mary Ann, 1962
• Marriage and Mary Ann, 1964
• Mary Ann's Angels, 1965
• Mary Ann and Bill, 1967

The Mallen novels:

• The Mallen Streak, 1973
  - Mallenin suku (suom. Eva Siikarla, 1974)
  -TV series 1979, prod. Granada Television, starring Caroline Blakiston, Mary Healey and Gillian Lewis
• The Mallen Girl, 1973
  - Mallenin tyttö (suom. Eva Siikarla, 1975)
• The Mallen Litter, 1974
  - Mallenien paluu (suom. Anja Haglund, 1976)

The Tilly Trotter series:

• Tilly Trotter, 1980
  - Tilly Trotter (suom. Marja Heinonen, 1981)
  - TV series 1999, prod. Festival Films, dir. Alan Grint, starring Carli Norris (as Tilly Trotter), Sarah Alexander and Beth Goddard
• Tilly Trotter Wed, 1981
  - Tilly Trotterin uusi elämä (suom. Renne Nikupaavola, Marja Heinonen, 1982)
• Tilly Trotter Widowed, 1982
  - Tilly Trotter, nuori leski (suom. Renne Nikupaavola, 1982)

The Hamilton novels:

• Hamilton, 1983
• Goodbye Hamilton, 1984
• Harold, 1985

The Bill Bailey novels:

• Bill Bailey, 1986
• Bill Bailey's Lot, 1987
• Bill Bailey's Daughter, 1988
• The Bondage of Love, 1997

Others:

• Kate Hannigan, 1950
  - Katie - kaidan tien kulkija (suom. Inkeri Pitkänen, 2002)
• The Fifteen Streets, 1952
  - Kadun kaunein tyttö (suom. Inkeri Pitkänen, 2010)
  -TV film 1989, prod. Tyne Tees Television, World Wide International Television, screenplay Rob Bettinson, dir. David Wheatley, starring Owen Teale, Sean Bean, Anny Tobin
• Colour Blind, 1953
  - TV mini-series 1998, teleplay Gordon Hann, dir. Alan Grint, starring Sue Holderness, Niamh Cusack, Tony Armatrading, Joe Caffrey
• Maggie Rowan, 1954
• Jacqueline, 1956 (screenplay, with others)
  - Prod. George H. Brown Productions, dir. Roy Ward Baker, starring John Gregson, Kathleen Ryan and Jacqueline Ryan
• Rooney, 1957
  - Film 1958, prod. George H. Brown Productions, screenplay Patrick Kirwan, dir. George Pollock, starring John Gregson, Muriel Pavlow and Barry Fitzgerald
• The Menagerie, 1958
  - Isosisko (suom. Inkeri Pitkänen, 2007)
• Fanny McBride, 1959
  - Leskiäidin lapset (suom. Inkeri Pitkänen, 2005)
• Fenwick Houses, 1960
• Heritage of Folly, 1961 (as Katie Mullen; Heritage of Folly, as Catherine Marchant, 1961)
  
• The Garment, 1962
  - Lukittu lähde (suom. Inkeri Pitkänen, 2008)
• Heritage of Folly, 1962 (as Catherine Marchant)
• The Blind Miller, 1963
• The Fen Tiger, 1963 (as Catherine Marchant)
• House of Men, 1963 (as Catherine Marchant)
  - TV film 1977, in Romance, prod. Thames Television, dir. Piers Haggard, starring Mary Larkin, Michael Kitchen and James Laurenson
• Hannah Massey, 1964
• The Wingless Bird, 1964
  
• The Mists of Memory, 1965 (as Catherine Marchant)
  
• Matty Doolin, 1965
• The Iron Facade, 1965 (as Catherine Marchant; as Evil at Rodgers Cross, 1965)
  - - Rautainen julkisivu (suom. Ritva Wederholm, 1995)
• The Long Corridor, 1965
• The Unbaited Trap, 1966
• Slinky Jane, 1967
  - Yötaivas ja sarastus (suom. Kaarina Sonck, 2008)
• Katie Mulholland, 1967
  - Greenwallin kartanon piikatyttö (suom. Marja Heinonen, 1980); Greenvallin kartanon valtiatar (suom. Marja Heinonen, 1980)
• The Round Tower, 1968
  - Vanessa (suom. Tutteli Lindberg, 1979)
  - TV film 1998, prod. Festival Film & Television Production, Festival Films, dir. Alan Grint, starring Isabelle Amyes, Keith Barron and Robert Cole
• Joe and the Gladiator, 1968
• Our Kate, 1969
  - Äitini Kate (suom. Marja Haapio, 1996)
• The Glass Virgin, 1969
  - TV mini-series 1995, prod. Festival Films, Tyne Tees Television, World Wide International Television, dir. Sarah Hellings, starring Jan Graveson, Darren Newton and Ford Prefect
• The Nice Bloke, 1969 (as The Husband, 1969)
• The Nipper, 1970
• The Invitation, 1970
• The Dwelling Place, 1971
  - Tyttö ja kartanonherra (suom. Eva Siikarla, 1973)
  - TV series 1994, prod. Festival Film & Television Production, Festival Films, Tyne Tees, teleplay Gordon Hann, dir. Gavin Millar, starring Tracy Whitwell, Lucy Cohu and Edward Rawle-Hicks
• Feathers in the Fire, 1971
• Pure as the Lily, 1972
  - Puhdas kuin lilja (suom. Satu Leveelahti, 2006)
• Blue Baccy, 1972 (as Rose's Fortune in 1988)
• Our John Willie, 1974
  - Veljeni John Willie (suom. Paula Karlsson, 1978)
• Miss Martha Mary Crawford, 1975 (as Catherine Marchant)
  
• The Invisible Cord, 1975
• The Gambling Man, 1975
  - TV series 1995, prod. Festival Films, Tyne Tees Television, World Wide International Television, dir. Norman Stone, starring Robson Green, Ian Cullen and Sylvestra Le Touzel
• The Slow Awakening, 1976 (as Catherine Marchant)
• The Tide of Life, 1976
  - Emily: romaani (suom. Marja Heinonen, 1978)
  -TV mini-series 1996, teleplay Gordon Hann, dir. David Wheatley, starring Diana Hardcastle, Gillian Kearney and John Bowler
• The Girl, 1977
  - Hannah (suom. Anja Haglund, 1979)
  - TV film 1996, prod. Festival Film & Television Production, dir. David Wheatley, starring Siobhan Flynn, Jonathan Cake and Mark Benton
• Go Tell It to Mrs Golightly, 1977
• Mrs Flannagan's Trumpet, 1977
• The Cinder Path, 1978
  -TV series 1994, prod. Festival Film & Television Production, Tyne Tees Television, dir. Simon Langton, starring Catherine Zeta-Jones, Victoria Scarborough and Lloyd Owen
• The Man Who Cried, 1979
  - Onnen kulkurit (suom. Tutteli Lindberg, 1981)
  - TV movie 1993, teleplay Stan Barstow, dir. Michael Whyte, starring Ciarán Hinds, Kate Buffery, Amanda Root, Daniel Massey
• The Mallen Novels, 1979
• Lanky Jones, 1981
• The Mary Ann Omnibus, 1981
• Nancy Nutall and the Mongrel, 1982
• The Whip, 1982 (as The Spaniard's Gift, 1989)
  - Ruoska (suom. Anna-Paula Menna, 1984)
• The Black Velvet Gown, 1984
  - Mustaa samettia (suom. Inkeri Pitkänen, 1989)
  - TV film 1991, prod. Portman Productions, Tyne Tees Television, World Wide International Television, dir. Norman Stone, starring Bob Peck, Janet McTeer and Geraldine Somerville
• A Dinner of Herbs, 1985 (as The Bannama Legacy, 1985)
  - Liekehtivät vuodet (suom. Renne Nikupaavola, 1986)
  - TV mini-series 2000, dir. Alan Grint, starring Tom Goodman-Hill, Jonathan Kerrigan and Melanie Clark Pullen
• The Moth, 1986 (as The Thorman Inheritance, 1989)
  - Yöperhonen (suom. Renne Nikupaavola, 1987)
  - TV film 1997, prod. Festival Production, teleplay Gordon Hann, dir. Roy Battersby, starring Juliet Aubrey, Alan Bird and David Bradley
• Catherine Cookson Country, 1986
• The Parson's Daughter, 1987
  - Pastorin tytär (suom. Inkeri Pitkänen, 1988)
• The Cultured Handmaiden, 1988
  - Jinnyn valinta (suom. Inkeri Pitkänen, 1990)
• Let Me Make Myself Plain, 1988
• The Harrogate Secret, 1989
  - Uhkaava salaisuus (suom. Inkeri Pitkänen, 1990)
  - TV drama 2000, The Secret, prod. Festival Films, Tyne Tees Television, Yorkshire Television (YTV), dir. Alan Grint, starring Colin Buchanan, Clare Higgins and Hannah Yelland
• The Black Candle, 1989
  - Kohtalon liekki (suom. Sari Luhtanen, 1991)
  - TV film 1991, prod. Portman Productions, World Wide International Television, dir. Roy Battersby, starring Cathy Sandford, Nathaniel Parker and James Gaddas
• The Gillyvors, 1990 (as The Love Child, 1991)
  - Kohtalon lapset (suom. Inkeri Pitkänen, 1992)
• The Wingless Bird, 1990
  - Siivetön lintu (suom. Inkeri Pitkänen, 1991)
  - TV series 1997, prod. Festival Films, Tyne Tees Television, teleplay Alan Seymour, dir. David Wheatley, starring Moira Redmond, Amanda Royle and Claire Skinner
• The Gillyvors, 1991
  - Rakas poikani (suom. Inkeri Pitkänen, 1992)
• The Rag Nymph, 1992 (as The Forester Girl, 1993)
  - Laitakaupungin lilja (suom. Inkeri Pitkänen, 1992)
  - TV mini-series 1997, prod. Tyne Tees Television, dir. David Wheatley, starring Honeysuckle Weeks, Alec Newman and Val McLane
• The House of Women, 1992
  - Naisten talo (suom. Anna-Liisa Laine, 1993)
• The Maltese Angel, 1992
  - Maltan enkeli (suom. Inkeri Pitkänen, 1994)
• The Year of the Virgins, 1993
  - Haavoittunut neitsyt (suom. Inkeri Pitkänen, 1994)
• The Golden Straw, 1993
  - Emilyn olkihattu (suom. Inkeri Pitkänen, 1996)
• Justice Is a Woman, 1994
  - Rakkaus on sokea (suom. Sirkka Suomi, 1995)
• The Tinker's Girl, 1994
  - Jinnie, läkkisepän tytär (suom. Inkeri Pitkänen, 1997)
• The Obsession, 1995
  - Kätketyt tunteet (suom. Sari Karhulahti, 1999)
• Plainer Still: A New Personal Anthology, 1995
• A Ruthless Need, 1995
  - Kasvattitytär (suom. Inkeri Pitkänen, 2001)
• The Obsession, 1995
• Three Complete Novels, 1996 (The Love Child; The Maltese Angel; The Year of the Virgins)
  
• The Branded Man, 1996
  - Merkitty mies (suom. Inkeri Pitkänen, 2000)
• The Upstart, 1996
  - Jinnie, läkkisepän tytär (suom. Inkeri Pitkänen, 1997)
• The Bonny Dawn, 1996
  - Aamurusko (suom. Inkeri Pitkänen, 1998)
• The Lady on my Left, 1997 (as Catherine Marchant, The Mists of Memory, 1965)
  - Ikuisesti sinun (suom. Satu Leveelahti, 2001)
• The Bondage of Love, 1997
• The Upstart, 1998
  - Nousukas (suom. Inkeri Pitkänen, 1998)
• The Desert Crop, 1997
• Solace of Sin, 1998
  - Syntien sovitus (suom. Inkeri Pitkänen, 2003)
• Riley, 1998
• The Blind Years, 1998
  - Sokeat vuodet (suom. Satu Leveelahti, 2000)
• A House Divided, 1999
  - Sokaiseva rakkaus (suom. Inkeri Pitkänen, 2004)
• The Thursday Friend, 1999
  - Salainen ystävä (suom. Satu Leveelahti, 2003)
• Kate Hannigan's Girl, 1999
  - Annie - äitinsä tytär (suom. Satu Leveelahti, 2002)
• Rosie of the River, 2000
• The Simple Soul and Other Stories, 2001
• Just A Saying, 2002
  
• Silent Lady, 2002
• The Hamiltons: Two Novels, 2006 (Hamilton and Goodbye Hamilton)