Ursula Bentley

Ursula Bentley (1945-2004) was a British writer. She studied English at Manchester University. After marrying the geologist Alan Bruce Thompson, she moved to Switzerland where she composed her first novel The Natural Order. The success of this book led her to being named in the inaugural "Best of British Young Novelists" list by Granta magazine. Her second book Private Accounts came out in 1986. She had two children but a botched operation put an end to her chances of further pregnancies, her marriage and also her stay in Switzerland. She returned to the UK and published more novels: The Angel Of Twickenham (1996) and The Sloping Experience (1999). Living in Suffolk, she took part in local politics. She died after a quick bout of cancer in 2004.

Her brother was the actor Paul Bentley.