Journalist, author and social campaigner Claire Rayner was born in London, England on January 22, 1931. She trained as a nurse at the Royal Northern Hospital School of Nursing and worked as a midwife. She was considered an authority on child care and medical subjects and wrote numerous articles and books on such topics as sex education, home nursing, and family health. She also wrote fiction novels including the Poppy Chronicles, the Performers series, the Dr. George Barnabas Mystery series, and the Quentin Quartet series. As a journalist, she wrote an agony column and contributed to newspapers, magazines, and medical journals. In 1996, she received an OBE for her service to women's and health issues. She died on October 11, 2010 at the age of 79.
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