Damage author Josephine Hart dies
6th June 2011
Author Josephine Hart, whose 1991 novel Damage was made into a Hollywood film, has died at the age of 69.
Hart was born in Ireland in 1942 and worked in publishing before becoming an author, going on to found West End Poetry Hour at the British Library, which featured famous actors reading major works of poetry.
She presented the ITV series Books By My Bedside in the 1980s, before turning her hand to novel writing and catching the attention of Hollywood producers with her debut, Damage.
It was adapted into a 1992 film starring Jeremy Irons and Juliette Binoche that went on to garner critical acclaim, including an Academy Award nomination for Miranda Richardson in the best supporting actress category.
Speaking recently on the subject of writing novels, Hart told the literary website Book Rabbit her approach is to 'wait for the true voice of your narrator; surrender, totally, during the actual writing and separate, ruthlessly, during the editing'.
She is survived by her husband, the advertising magnate Lord Saatchi, and two sons.