Editing Catherine Cookson

{{Short description|British novelist}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox writer/doc]] -->
| honorific_prefix = [[Dame]]
| name         = Catherine Cookson
| honorific_suffix = [[Order of the British Empire|DBE]]
| image        = Catherine Cookson.jpg
| pseudonym    = Catherine Cookson<br/>Catherine Marchant<br/>Katie McMullen
| birth_name    = Catherine Ann McMullen
| birth_date    = {{birth date|1906|06|20|df=y}}
| birth_place   = [[South Shields]], Tyne Dock, England
| death_date    = {{death date and age|1998|06|11|1906|06|27|df=y}}
| death_place   = [[Newcastle upon Tyne]], England
| occupation   = Novelist
| period       = 1950–1998
| spouse       = {{marriage|Tom Cookson|June 1940<!--|11 June 1998|end=her death-->}}
}}
'''[[Dame]] Catherine Ann Cookson''' (''née'' '''McMullen'''; 20 June 1906 – 11 June 1998), was a British writer. She is in the top 20 of the most widely read British novelists, with sales [[List of best-selling fiction authors|topping 100 million]], while she retained a relatively low profile in the world of celebrity writers. Her books were inspired by her deprived youth in [[South Shields]] (historically part of [[County Durham]]), North East England, the setting for her novels. With 104 titles written in her own name or two other [[pen name]]s, she is one of the most prolific British novelists.

==Early life==
Cookson, registered as '''Catherine Ann Davies''', was born on 20 June 1906<ref>{{Cite news|date=12 June 1998|title=Catherine Cookson|page=27|work=[[The Times]]|issue=66266}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Cookson, Dame Catherine (Ann), (20 June 1906–11 June 1998), author, since 1950|url=https://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/10.1093/ww/9780199540891.001.0001/ww-9780199540884-e-177701|access-date=2020-06-11|website=WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO|year=2007|language=en|doi=10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u177701|isbn=978-0-19-954089-1 }}</ref> at 5 Leam Lane<ref>{{Cite ODNB|title=Cookson [née Davies], Dame Catherine Ann (1906–1998), writer|url=https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-70039|access-date=2020-06-11|year = 2004|language=en|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/70039}}</ref> in [[Tyne Dock]], [[South Shields]], [[County Durham]], England. She was known as "Katie" as a child.<ref name=Cookson>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-44579701|title=Show remembers Catherine Cookson two decades after death|date=23 June 2018|work=BBC.co.uk|publisher=BBC News}}</ref> She moved to [[Jarrow|East Jarrow]], which would become the setting for one of her best-known novels, ''The Fifteen Streets''. The illegitimate child of an [[alcoholism|alcoholic]] named Kate Fawcett, she grew up thinking her unmarried mother was her sister, as she was brought up by her grandparents, Rose and John McMullen.<ref name="visitsouthtyneside.co.uk">{{cite web|url=http://www.visitsouthtyneside.co.uk/article/12662/catherine-cookson|title=Catherine Cookson|website=www.visitsouthtyneside.co.uk|access-date=15 January 2018|archive-date=16 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180116101127/http://www.visitsouthtyneside.co.uk/article/12662/catherine-cookson|url-status=dead}}</ref> Biographer Kathleen Jones tracked down her father, whose name was Alexander Davies, a [[Bigamy|bigamist]] and gambler from [[Lanarkshire]], Scotland.<ref name="shields gazette">{{cite news|url=https://www.shieldsgazette.com/news/16-facts-about-dame-catherine-cookson-on-her-110th-birthday-1-7984312|title=16 facts about Dame Catherine Cookson on her 110th birthday|date=27 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180629022447/https://www.shieldsgazette.com/news/16-facts-about-dame-catherine-cookson-on-her-110th-birthday-1-7984312|archive-date=29 June 2018|work=Shields Gazette|url-status=dead}}</ref>

She left school at 14 and, after a period of domestic service,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/lifestyle/nostalgia/south-shields-author-catherine-cookson-4303749|title=Remember When: The Death of South Shields author Catherine Cookson|first=David|last=Morton|date=12 June 2013|access-date=15 January 2018}}</ref> took a [[laundry]] job at Harton [[Workhouse]]<ref name="visitsouthtyneside.co.uk"/> in [[South Shields]]. In 1929, she moved south to run the laundry at [[Hastings]] Workhouse, saving every penny to buy a large Victorian house, and then taking in lodgers to supplement her income.<ref name="shields gazette"/>

In June 1940, at the age of 34, she married Tom Cookson, a teacher at [[Hastings Grammar School]]. After experiencing four [[miscarriage]]s<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/06/12/books/catherine-cookson-91-prolific-british-author.html|title=Catherine Cookson, 91, Prolific British Author|first=Robert McG Jr.|last=Thomas|date=12 June 1998|access-date=15 January 2018|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> late in pregnancy, it was discovered she was suffering from a rare [[Blood vessel|vascular]] disease,<ref name=Cookson/> [[telangiectasia]], which caused bleeding from the nose, fingers, and stomach and resulted in [[anemia|anaemia]]. A [[mental breakdown]] followed the miscarriages, from which it took her a decade to recover.<ref name="shields gazette"/>

==Writing career==
She took up writing as a form of therapy in order to tackle her [[depression (mood)|depression]], and she became a founding member of the [[Hastings Writers' Group]]. Her first novel, ''Kate Hannigan'', was published in 1950.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp10660/dame-catherine-ann-cookson|title=Catherine Cookson - Person - National Portrait Gallery|website=www.npg.org.uk|access-date=15 January 2018}}</ref> Though it was labelled a [[romance novel]], she expressed discontent with the stereotype. Her books were, she said, [[historical novel]]s about people and conditions she knew. Cookson had little connection with the London literary circle.{{Citation needed|date=October 2023}}

Cookson wrote almost 100 books, which sold more than 123 million copies, her novels being translated into at least 20 languages. She also wrote books under the [[pseudonym]]s Catherine Marchant<ref>{{cite web|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/18278111?q&versionId=21453523|title=Heritage of folly / Catherine Marchant (the pseudonym of Catherine Cookson)|work=NLA.gov.au|publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref> and a name derived from her childhood name, Katie McMullen.<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fIZ-BwAAQBAJ&q=Katie+mcmullen+pseudonym&pg=PT17 |title = Catherine Cookson: A Biography|isbn = 9781614644705|last1 = Jabbour|first1 = Debbie|date = 22 May 2012| publisher=Hyperink }}</ref> She remained the most borrowed author from [[public libraries]] in the UK for 17 years,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.plr.uk.com/mediaCentre/chartToppers/2001-2002ChartToppers.pdf|title=Public Lending Right|access-date=15 January 2018}}</ref> up until four years after her death, losing the top spot to [[Jacqueline Wilson|Dame Jacqueline Wilson]] only in 2002.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bl.uk/britishlibrary/~/media/bl/global/services/plr/pdfs/charttoppers/2002-2003charttoppers.pdf|title=Public Libraries' Chart Toppers 2002 – 2003|publisher=Public Lending Right}}</ref>

==Books in film, on television and on stage==
Many of Cookson's novels have been adapted for film, radio, and the stage. The first film adaptation of her work was ''[[Jacqueline (1956 film)|Jacqueline]]'' (1956), directed by [[Roy Ward Baker]], based on her book ''A Grand Man''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049377/|title=Jacqueline|date=5 June 1956|access-date=15 January 2018|via=www.imdb.com}}</ref> It was followed by ''[[Rooney (film)|Rooney]]'' (1958), directed by [[George Pollock (director)|George Pollock]], based on her book ''Rooney''. Both films starred [[John Gregson]]. For commercial reasons, the action of both films was transferred from South Shields to Ireland.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052147/|title=Rooney|date=14 March 1958|access-date=15 January 2018|via=www.imdb.com}}</ref>

In 1983 ''[[Eric Boswell (songwriter)#Musical theatre: Catherine Cookson's "Katie Mulholland"|Katie Mulholland]]'' was adapted into a stage musical by composer [[Eric Boswell (songwriter)|Eric Boswell]] and writer-director [[Ken Hill (playwright)|Ken Hill]]. Cookson attended the première.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002240/19830930/003/0001|title=What Katie did ...|date=30 September 1983|work=Newcastle Journal|access-date=30 October 2018|page=1|url-access=subscription |via=[[British Newspaper Archive]]}}</ref>

It was on television, however, that she had her greatest media success, with a series of dramas that appeared over the course of a decade on [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] and achieved huge ratings. Eighteen books were adapted for television between 1989 and 2001.<ref name="shields gazette"/> They were all produced by Ray Marshall from [[Festival Film & TV]] who was given permission by Cookson in 1988 to bring her works to the screen. The first film to be made, ''The Fifteen Streets''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097352/|title=The Fifteen Streets|date=20 August 1989|access-date=15 January 2018|via=www.imdb.com}}</ref> starring [[Sean Bean]] and [[Owen Teale]], was nominated for an [[Emmy]] award in 1990. The second production, ''[[The Black Velvet Gown]]'',<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106422/|title=The Black Velvet Gown|date=4 April 1993|access-date=15 January 2018|via=www.imdb.com}}</ref> won an International [[Emmy]] for Best Drama in 1991. The mini series regularly attracted over 10 million audiences and are still showing in the UK on Drama and the Yesterday Channel.

==Philanthropy==
In 1985, Cookson pledged more than £800,000 to the [[University of Newcastle upon Tyne|University of Newcastle]]. In gratitude, the university set up a lectureship in [[hematology]]. Some £40,000 was given to provide a laser to help treat bleeding disorders and £50,000 went to create a new post in ear, nose, and throat studies, with particular reference to the detection of [[deafness]] in children. She had already given £20,000 towards the university's [[Hatton Gallery]] and £32,000 to its library. In recognition of this generosity, a building in the university medical faculty has been named after her.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ncl.ac.uk/alumni/assets/documents/Advance4.pdf|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110617064320/http://www.ncl.ac.uk/alumni/assets/documents/Advance4.pdf|url-status=dead|title=''Advance: Philanthropy at Newcastle University''|archivedate=17 June 2011|accessdate=5 April 2023}}</ref> Her foundation continues to make donations to worthy causes in the UK, particularly those offering services to young people and cultural ventures, such as the [[Tyneside Cinema]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.teesdalehalls.co.uk/funding-info.asp?FID=7|title=Catherine Cookson Charitable Trust|access-date=15 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070818110115/http://www.teesdalehalls.co.uk/funding-info.asp?FID=7|archive-date=18 August 2007|url-status=usurped}}</ref>

==Honours==
She was created an [[Order of the British Empire|Officer of the Order of the British Empire]] in 1985, and was elevated to [[Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire]] in 1993.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-16581839|title=Council drops Cookson link signs|work=BBC News |date=15 January 2018|access-date=15 January 2018}}</ref>

Cookson received the [[Freedom of the Borough]] of [[South Tyneside]], and an [[honorary degree]] from the [[University of Newcastle upon Tyne|University of Newcastle]].<ref name="chronicle live">{{cite news|url=https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/wor-kates-life-story-like-1611740|title=Wor Kate's life story like one of her books|work=Chronicle Live|date=28 March 2004}}</ref> The [[Variety, the Children's Charity|Variety Club of Great Britain]] named her Writer of the Year, and she was voted Personality of the North East.

She was the subject of ''[[This Is Your Life (British TV series)|This Is Your Life]]'' in 1982 when she was surprised by [[Eamonn Andrews]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0721528/ | title="This is Your Life" Catherine Cookson (TV Episode 1982) - IMDb | website=[[IMDb]] }}</ref>

Cookson was awarded an [[honorary fellowship]] at [[St Hilda's College, Oxford]] in 1997 after donating £100,000 to the college, although she was too ill to travel to receive it.<ref>{{cite news |author1=Anna Thomas |title=Good fellow |work=[[Cherwell (newspaper)|Cherwell]] |volume=220 |issue=4 |date=5 February 1998 |page=3}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Catherine Cookson |url=https://www.penguin.com.au/authors/catherine-cookson |website=[[Penguin Books|Penguin Books Australia]] |access-date=22 November 2023}}</ref>

==Later life and death==
In later life, Cookson and her husband, Tom, returned to the North East and settled first in Haldane Terrace, [[Jesmond]], [[Newcastle upon Tyne]]. They then moved to [[Corbridge]], a [[market town]] near Newcastle, and later to [[Langley, Northumberland]],<ref name="chronicle live"/> a small village nearby. As her health declined, they moved for a final time, back to Jesmond in 1989 to be nearer to medical facilities.<ref name="shields gazette"/> For the last few years of her life she was bed-ridden,<ref>{{cite news|title=British novelist Catherine Cookson dies at 91 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] | date=12 June 1998 | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1998/06/12/british-novelist-catherine-cookson-dies-at-91/6e0315fb-7de7-4403-9a58-d1e2f68707e6/ | access-date=5 April 2023}}</ref> and she gave her final TV interview to ''[[North East Tonight]]'', the regional [[ITV Tyne Tees]] news programme, from her sickbed. It was conducted by [[Mike Neville (anchorman)|Mike Neville]].

Cookson died at the age of 91, nine days before her 92nd birthday, at her home in Newcastle. Her novels, many written from her sickbed, continued to be published posthumously until 2002. Her husband Tom died just 17 days later, on 28 June 1998.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.hastingschronicle.net/cookson.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723142633/http://www.hastingschronicle.net/cookson.html|url-status=dead|title=Hastings Chronicle page dedicated to Catherine Cookson|archivedate=23 July 2011|accessdate=5 April 2023}}</ref> He had been [[hospital]]ised for a week and the cause of his death was not announced. He was 86 years old. The couple was married for 50 years.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Catherine Cookson Week - Tom and Catherine |url=https://audioboom.com/posts/7016446-catherine-cookson-week-tom-and-catherine |access-date=2024-07-06 |website=Audioboom |language=en}}</ref>

==Legacy==

In 1992, the inaugural Catherine Cookson Prize took place and was won by author [[Val Wood]] and her debut novel, ''The Hungry Tide'', which subsequently went on to become a best-seller. 

In March 2008, the Dame Catherine Cookson Memorial Garden was unveiled in the grounds of [[South Tyneside District Hospital]] in [[South Shields]], based on the theme of a [[Serpentine shape|serpentine]] symbol, commonly used to symbolise health and caring. The hospital occupies the site of the Harton Workhouse, where Cookson worked from 1924 to 1929. The project was partly funded by the Catherine Cookson Trust.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.sthct.nhs.uk/newsEvents/mediaReleases/march08/The_Dame_Catherine_Cookson_Memorial_Garden.pdf|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080911013507/http://www.sthct.nhs.uk/newsEvents/mediaReleases/march08/The_Dame_Catherine_Cookson_Memorial_Garden.pdf|url-status=dead|title=Beech.netpresto.co.uk|archivedate=11 September 2008|website=www.sthct.nhs.uk|accessdate=5 April 2023}}</ref>

''Tom and Catherine'', a musical about the couple's life, was written by local playwright Tom Kelly and opened in 1999. It played to sell-out crowds at the [[Customs House, South Shields|Customs House]] in South Shields.

===Portrayals in fiction===
Cookson was portrayed by actress Kerry Browne in the 2018 award-winning film ''Our Catherine'', co-written by Tom Kelly.

==Bibliography==
{{Div col}}

===Written as Catherine Cookson===
* ''The Fifteen Streets'' (1952)
* ''Colour Blind'' (1953)
* ''Maggie Rowan'' (1954)
* ''Rooney'' (1957)
* ''The Menagerie'' (1958)
* ''Fanny McBride'' (1959)
* ''Fenwick Houses'' (1960)
* ''The Garment'' (1962)
* ''The Blind Miller'' (1963)
* ''The Wingless Bird'' (1964) aka ''A Marriage of Scandal''
* ''Hannah Massey'' (1964)
* ''The Mists of Memory'' (1965)
* ''The Long Corridor'' (1965)
* ''Matty Doolin'' (1965)
* ''The Unbaited Trap'' (1966)
* ''Slinky Jane'' (1967)
* ''Katie Mulholland'' (1967)
* ''The Round Tower'' (1968)
* ''The Nice Bloke'' (1969) aka ''The Husband'' (1969)
* ''The Glass Virgin'' (1969)
* ''The Invitation'' (1970)
* ''The Dwelling Place'' (1971)
* ''Feathers in the Fire'' (1971) aka ''Her Secret Son''
* ''Pure as the Lily'' (1972)
* ''The Invisible Cord'' (1975)
* ''The Gambling Man'' (1975)
* ''The Tide of Life'' (1976)
* ''The Girl'' (1977)
* ''[[The Cinder Path]]'' (1978)
* ''The Man Who Cried'' (1979)
* ''The Whip'' (1983) aka ''The Spaniard's Gift'' (1989)
* ''The Black Velvet Gown'' (1984)
* ''The Bannaman Legacy'' (1985) aka ''A Dinner of Herbs'' (1985)
* ''The Moth'' (1986) a.k.a. ''The Thorman Inheritance'' (1989)
* ''The Parson's Daughter'' (1987)
* ''The Harrogate Secret'' (1988) aka ''The Secret'' aka ''The Smuggler's Secret''
* ''The Cultured Handmaiden'' (1988)
* ''The Spaniard's Gift'' (1989) aka ''The Whip'' (1983)
* ''The Black Candle'' (1989)
* ''The Thorman Inheritance'' (1989) aka ''The Moth'' (1986)
* ''The Gillyvors'' (1990) aka ''The Love Child'' (1991)
* ''My Beloved Son'' (1991)
* ''The Rag Nymph'' (1991) aka ''The Forester Girl'' (1993) aka ''The Rag Maid (2017)
* ''The House of Women'' (1992)
* ''The Maltese Angel'' (1992)
* ''The Golden Straw'' (1993) aka ''The Hatmaker's Gift''
* ''The Forester Girl'' (1993) aka ''The Rag Nymph'' (1991)
* ''The Year of the Virgins'' (1993)
* ''The Tinker's Girl'' (1994)
* ''Justice Is a Woman'' (1994)
* ''A Ruthless Need'' (1995)
* ''The Bonny Dawn'' (1996)
* ''The Branded Man'' (1996) aka ''The Wayward Daughter'' (2022)
* ''The Lady on my Left'' (1997) aka ''The Mists of Memory'' (1965)
* ''The Obsession'' (1995)
* ''The Upstart'' (1998)
* ''The Blind Years'' (1998)
* ''Riley'' (1998)
* ''Solace of Sin'' (1998)
* ''The Desert Crop'' (1999) aka ''An Unsuitable Match''
* ''The Thursday Friend'' (1999)
* ''My Land of the North'' (1999)
* ''A House Divided'' (2000)
* ''Rosie of the River'' (2000)
* ''The Simple Soul and Other Stories'' (2001)
* ''The Silent Lady'' (2002)

====The Kate Hannigan series====
* ''Kate Hannigan'' (1950)
* ''Kate Hannigan's Girl'' (2001)

====The Mary Ann stories====
* ''A Grand Man'' (1954)
* ''The Lord and Mary Ann'' (1956)
* ''The Devil and Mary Ann'' (1958)
* ''Love and Mary Ann'' (1961)
* ''Life and Mary Ann'' (1962)
* ''Marriage and Mary Ann'' (1964)
* ''Mary Ann's Angels'' (1965)
* ''Mary Ann and Bill'' (1967)

====The Mallen Novels====
* ''The Mallen Streak'' (1973)
* ''The Mallen Girl'' (1974)
* ''The Mallen Litter'' (1974)

====The Tilly Trotter trilogy====
* ''Tilly Trotter'' aka ''Tilly'' (1980)
* ''Tilly Trotter Wed'' aka ''Tilly Wed'' (1981)
* ''Tilly Trotter Widowed'' aka ''Tilly Alone'' (1982)

====The Hamilton series====
* ''Hamilton'' (1983)
* ''Goodbye Hamilton'' (1984)
* ''Harold'' (1985)

====The Bill Bailey trilogy====
* ''Bill Bailey'' (1986)
* ''Bill Bailey's Lot'' (1987) aka ''Bill Bailey's Litter''
* ''Bill Bailey's Daughter'' (1988)
* ''The Bondage of Love'' (1997)

====Children's stories====
* ''Joe and the Gladiator'' (1968)
* ''The Nipper'' (1970)
* ''Blue Baccy'' (1972) aka ''Rory's Fortune'' (1988)
* ''Our John Willie'' (1974)
* ''Mrs Flannagan's Trumpet'' (1976)
* ''Go Tell It to Mrs Golightly'' (1977)
* ''Lanky Jones'' (1981)
* ''Nancy Nutall and the Mongrel'' (1982)
* ''Rory's Fortune'' (1988) aka ''Blue Baccy'' (1972)
* ''Bill and The Mary Ann Shaughnessy'' (1991)

====Autobiographies====
* ''Our Kate'' (1969)
* ''Catherine Cookson Country'' (1986) aka ''My Land of the North'' (1999)
* ''Let Me Make Myself Plain'' (1988)
* ''Plainer Still'' (1995)
* ''Just A Saying'' (2002)

===Written as Catherine Marchant===
* ''Heritage of Folly'' (1961) aka ''Heritage of Folly'' (1961) by Katie McMullen
* ''The Fen Tiger'' (1963) aka ''The House on the Fens'' (1963)
* ''House of Men'' (1963)
* ''The Mists of Memory'' (1965) aka ''The Lady on my Left'' (1997) by Catherine Cookson
* ''The Iron Facade'' (1965) aka ''Evil at Rodgers Cross'' (1965)
* ''Miss Martha Mary Crawford'' (1975)
* ''The Slow Awakening'' (1976)

===Written as Katie McMullen===
* ''Heritage of Folly'' by Catherine Marchant

{{Div col end}}

==Biographies==
* ''To Be a Lady: Biography of Catherine Cookson'' by Cliff Goodwin (1994)
* ''The Girl From Leam Lane: The Life and Writing of Catherine Cookson'' by Piers Dudgeon (1997)
* ''Catherine Cookson'' by [[Kathleen Jones (writer)|Kathleen Jones]] (1999)
* ''Kate's Daughter: The Real Catherine Cookson'' by Piers Dudgeon (2003)
* ''Seeking Catherine Cookson's Da'' by Kathleen Jones (2004)

==Documentary==
* ''The Storyteller'' (1999) narrated by [[Mike Neville (newsreader)|Mike Neville]]

==Books in film and television==
All titles from ''The Mallens'' onwards have been released on DVD in the UK and various other countries.
* ''Jacqueline'' (1956) adaptation of ''A Grand Man'' with [[John Gregson]], [[Kathleen Ryan]], [[Noel Purcell (actor)|Noel Purcell]] and [[Cyril Cusack]]
* ''Rooney'' (1958) with [[John Gregson]], [[Muriel Pavlow]], [[Barry Fitzgerald]] and [[June Thorburn]]
* ''Joe and the Gladiator'' (1971) with [[James Garbutt]], [[Malcolm Terris]] and [[John Cazabon]]
* ''Romance: House of Men'' (1977) with [[Michael Kitchen]], [[James Laurenson]], [[Alun Armstrong]] and [[Joe Gladwin]]
* ''Our John Willie'' (1980) with [[Ian Cullen]], [[David Burke (British actor)|David Burke]], [[James Garbutt]], [[John Malcolm (actor)|John Malcolm]] and [[Malcolm Terris]]
* ''[[The Mallens]]'' (1979–1980) with [[John Hallam]], [[John Duttine]], [[David Rintoul]] and [[Juliet Stevenson]]
* ''The Fifteen Streets'' (1989) with [[Sean Bean]], [[Owen Teale]], [[Clare Holman]] and [[Jane Horrocks]]
* ''The Black Candle'' (1991) with [[Nathaniel Parker]] and [[Samantha Bond]]
* ''[[The Black Velvet Gown]]'' (1991) with [[Janet McTeer]], [[Bob Peck]], [[Geraldine Somerville]] won the [[International Emmy]] award for best drama.<ref>{{cite web|title=Hollywood on Tyne: Catherine Cookson Dramas|work=bbc.co.uk|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/tyne/hollywood_on_tyne/cookson_dramas.shtml|access-date=2007-09-17|archive-date=23 February 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060223064900/http://www.bbc.co.uk/tyne/hollywood_on_tyne/cookson_dramas.shtml|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* ''The Man Who Cried'' (1993) with [[Ciarán Hinds]] and [[Amanda Root]]
* ''[[The Cinder Path (film)|The Cinder Path]]'' (1994) with [[Catherine Zeta-Jones]]  
* ''The Dwelling Place'' (1994) with Tracy Whitwell, [[Julie Hesmondhalgh]] and [[Ray Stevenson]]
* ''[[The Glass Virgin]]'' (1995) with [[Nigel Havers]], [[Emily Mortimer]] and [[Brendan Coyle]]
* ''[[The Gambling Man]]'' (1995) with [[Robson Green]]
* ''The Tide of Life'' (1996) with [[Gillian Kearney]], [[John Bowler (actor)|John Bowler]], [[Ray Stevenson]] and [[James Purefoy]]
* ''The Girl'' (1996) with [[Jonathan Cake]], [[Malcolm Stoddard]], [[Jill Baker]] and Siobhan Flynn
* ''The Wingless Bird'' (1997) with [[Claire Skinner]], [[Anne Reid]] and [[Julian Wadham]]
* ''The Moth'' (1997) with [[Jack Davenport]], [[Juliet Aubrey]] and [[Justine Waddell]]
* ''The Rag Nymph'' (1997) with [[Honeysuckle Weeks]], [[Alec Newman]] and [[Val McLane]]
* ''[[The Round Tower (film)|The Round Tower]]'' (1998) with [[Emilia Fox]], [[Ben Miles]] and [[Denis Lawson]]
* ''Colour Blind'' (1998) with [[Niamh Cusack]], Tony Armatrading, [[Art Malik]], [[Dearbhla Molloy]], and [[Carmen Ejogo]]
* ''Tilly Trotter'' (1999) with [[Carli Norris]], [[Beth Goddard]], [[Sarah Alexander]], [[Amelia Bullmore]], [[Rosemary Leach]] and [[Simon Shepherd]]
* ''The Secret'' (2000) with [[Colin Buchanan (actor)|Colin Buchanan]], [[Hannah Yelland]], [[Elizabeth Carling]], [[Clare Higgins]], and [[Stephen Moyer]]
* ''A Dinner of Herbs'' (2000) with [[Jonathan Kerrigan]], [[Melanie Clark Pullen]], [[Debra Stephenson]], [[David Threlfall]] and [[Billie Whitelaw]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{IMDb name|id=0177541|name=Catherine Cookson}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cookson, Catherine}}
[[Category:1906 births]]
[[Category:1998 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century British novelists]]
[[Category:20th-century British women writers]]
[[Category:20th-century pseudonymous writers]]
[[Category:British Book Award winners]]
[[Category:British historical novelists]]
[[Category:British people of Scottish descent]]
[[Category:Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:People from Corbridge]]
[[Category:Writers from Northumberland]]
[[Category:People from South Shields]]
[[Category:Writers from Tyne and Wear]]
[[Category:Pseudonymous women writers]]
[[Category:British women historical novelists]]
[[Category:Writers of historical fiction set in the modern age]]
]