Gillian White was the pen name of Georgina Fleming, a British novelist and journalist. She has written sixteen suspense novels under her pseudonym and historical romance under her birth-given name. Several of her works were adapted for television.
Georgina Fleming was born in Streatham, south London, and was adopted as a baby by Ted and Lily Smith of Wirral, Merseyside, where she grew up.
Her childhood was filled with challenges, leading to her expulsion from three schools. She moved to London, seeking a fresh start. Gillian White became a junior reporter at a newspaper located in Harlow, Essex.
There she met journalist Ron White, and they tied the knot in 1967. In the 1970s, the couple relocated to Cornwall, where they pursued a life in farming. As her children grew up, she started writing.
In 1988, she released a series of books with Rainbow Romances. One of her notable works, The Plague Stone, was published in 1989.
Her fourth book, Rich Deceiver (1992), caught the attention of the BBC, which decided to adapt it into a two-part television series in 1995. Directed by Gurinder Chadha, the show featured actors Lesley Dunlop and John McCardle.
Gina McKee starred in the 1997 television version of Mothertime (1996), and Keeley Hawes in the 1997 adaptation of the 1996 book The Beggar Bride, The Sleeper (2000), in two parts, starring Eileen Atkins, Anna Massey, and George Cole.
According to her husband's obituary in The Guardian, the themes explored in her writing included jealousy, revenge, greed, and despair. She delved into class conflict, dysfunctional families, domestic violence, poverty, and lack of opportunity in society.
Gillian White lived in Totnes till the end of her life and died in July 2020. She had four children, thirteen grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren
