Author Dame Shirley Conran has died at the age of 91. Her famous son, designer Jasper Conran, confirmed the sad news in an Instagram post this evening.
He penned: “Shirl girl has flown away, a lark ascending. Thank you to all the wonderful doctors and nurses and thank you to all of you kind, dear people who sent her so many beautiful messages that meant so much to her.”
Shirley rose to fame after writing the book Superwoman, and received a damehood in her hospital bed last week for her services to mathematics education, having founded the Maths Anxiety Trust.
The writer began a career in textile design before moving into journalism. Dame Shirley was initially design consultant for the Daily Mail, and then became the publication’s home editor, before taking over as women’s editor and launching the Femail section.
Dame Shirley went on to become women’s editor for the launch of the Observer magazine, and later landed a job as a columnist for Vanity Fair magazine.
Dame Shirley became a household name for her books, one of which was non-fiction title Superwoman, published in 1975, which was since recognised as a feminist practical guidebook.
She began writing books after being diagnosed with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) in her late 30s, meaning she could no longer work full-time.
Her first novel, Lace, was published in 1982 and inspired a TV miniseries in the US starring Bess Armstrong, Brooke Adams and Arielle Dombasle.
Her other famous novels include Savages, Crimson and Tiger Eyes.
Alongside her books, Dame Shirley was well-known for her passion for workplace campaigning, beginning in 1998 when she founded Mothers In Management.
In 2004, Dame Shirley began working towards pushing for better educational resources, after struggling to find a good maths textbook for her goddaughter and decided to write her own course.
In 2009, she founded Maths Action – and five years later she published Money Stuff, a maths course that follows the GCSE syllabus.
In 2018, Dame Shirley founded the Maths Anxiety Trust to “raise public awareness and understanding of the condition known as maths anxiety and to find solutions”.
Her work on maths education led to her being made a dame in the 2023 resignations honours list of former prime minister Liz Truss.
