Elizabeth Woodcraft was born and grew up on a council estate in Essex. At the age of 13 she became a mod, and started a job as a Saturday girl in the local milk bar. She saved up her wages, bought a suede coat and on Saturday nights she and her best friend, Christine, went to the Corn Exchange in Chelmsford to see acts such as the Animals, Wilson Picket, Chris Farlowe and Goldie and the Gingerbreads. At the same time she was a member of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and from Easter 1963 she took part in the annual Aldermaston March.
She went to Birmingham University and studied Philosophy. She then taught in Leicestershire and Tours in France. She moved to London where she worked for Women’s Aid, the organisation which supports women who suffer domestic violence. Her experiences there led her to become a barrister. While at the Bar she published two crime novels featuring barrister Frankie Richmond, one of which was shortlisted for the John Creasey Award for Best First Crime Novel (Crime Writers Association New Blood Dagger award) and in the US won the Lambda Literary Award.
But she had always wanted to write about her experiences as a mod girl and the fun she and Christine had in the Sixties. She started by publishing a collection of short stories ‘A Sense of Occasion, the Chelmsford Stories’ which Tommy Steele described as ‘a lovely, lovely’ read (he appears in the story Tea for Tommy). Then came a novel ‘The Saturday Girls’, followed by ‘The Girls from Greenway,’ both books set on the same estate in Chelmsford in the mid-Sixties, when Vespas and Lambrettas roared up and down the road, and Minis and Motown made life thrilling.
In November 2022 ‘The Christmas Kiss and Other Stories’ appeared, a collection of short stories – some of which are just 100 words long – all celebrating the festive season experienced in the Sixties.
Elizabeth is currently writing a book featuring a character who first appeared in ‘The Saturday Girls’ – Sylvie, the shocking, unmarried mother who lived on the estate but who had a Past. She lived in Paris. The new book tells the story of Sylvie’s life on the Left Bank in 1960.
Elizabeth is represented by Annette Green Authors’ Agency.
