Libby Purves

Infobox_Person
name = Libby Purves

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birth_date = birth date and age|1950|2|2|df=y
birth_place = London, England.
death_date =
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occupation = Radio presenter, journalist and author
known_for =
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children = Nicholas Heiney (died in 2003)
Rose Heiney
spouse = Paul Heiney
salary =
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website = "For the Australian actress and writer, see Libby Purvis."

Libby Purves OBE (born February 2 1950 in London, England) is a radio presenter, journalist and author. A diplomat's daughter, she was educated at convent schools in Bangkok (Thailand), South Africa and France, and then Beechwood Sacred Heart School in Tunbridge Wells. [cite web |url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/presenters/libby_purves.shtml |title = Presenters: Libby Purves |publisher = BBC]

Purves won a scholarship to St Anne's College, Oxford, where she was awarded a First in the Final Honour School of English Language and Literature (BA). She was elected Librarian (effectively Vice President) of the Oxford Union. In 1971, she joined the BBC as a studio manager. In 1976, at the age of 28, she joined Brian Redhead on the BBC's "Today" programme, becoming the show's first female presenter. She currently presents "Midweek" on BBC Radio 4 and the education programme "The Learning Curve". Purves also writes a column for "The Times" newspaper. She was named columnist of the year in 1999 and in the same year was appointed an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to journalism.

She has written a series of books on childcare, eleven well-regarded novels (e g "Mother Country", 2002, the most recent being "Love Songs and Lies" , 2007), and a travel book, "One Summer's Grace", about a 1700-mile sailing journey round Britain with children aged three and five.

She is married to Paul Heiney and they live near Leiston in Suffolk, close to her mother's home in Southwold. They have one living child, Rose Heiney, an actress and writer, who graduated from the University of Oxford in 2006 and who has also been an occasional columnist for "The Times" newspaper. Their first child, Nicholas Heiney was an Oxford graduate, and died on 26th June 2006 at the age of 23. He hanged himself in the family home after a struggle with serious mental illness. A collection of his sea-logs of a Pacific journey under square-rig, and of his poetry, has been published. [ [http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/book_extracts/article2771943.ece A testament of youth] , "The Times", 31 October 2007, accessed 15 November 2007]

Despite her Roman Catholic faith, she is outspokenly in favour of gay rights, and has written many articles supporting this position. [http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&ct=res&cd=2&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.timesonline.co.uk%2Ftol%2Fcomment%2Fcolumnists%2Flibby_purves%2Farticle1089112.ece&ei=znJHR4X2NomGjAH7orXrAQ&usg=AFQjCNG27ANypFX3rxo4Bi7wgc2IdALo9g&sig2=EfeivaiFUOa9PJEUzhDc4Q] [http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&ct=res&cd=3&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftimesonline.typepad.com%2Ffaith%2F2007%2F11%2Fgay-bashers-bas.html&ei=znJHR4X2NomGjAH7orXrAQ&usg=AFQjCNEFGQrXep7rX_t7_-IrKeUo3MZA_g&sig2=-2c946tqcoixaOS1d-4Btg]

References

* [http://timesonline.typepad.com/faith/ Libby 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 Oct 2007) ISBN 0955708508

Persondata
NAME= Purves, Libby
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION= Radio presenter, journalist and author
DATE OF BIRTH= 2 February 1950
PLACE OF BIRTH= London, England.
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=