Nina Epton


Nina Consuelo Epton was a British radio producer, broadcaster and travel writer, particularly active in the 1950s and 1960s. She travelled alone through Spain, North Africa, and Indonesia. In the 1970s she published a number of historical works about royalty, two books about cats, and a novel based on the life of Jane Digby.
Her greatest commercial success was a series of literary, historical and sociological books about amorous relationships: Love and the French, Love and the English, Love and the Spanish. In various combinations these were translated into French, German and Spanish. All three were reprinted by Penguin Books in 1964–1965.

Life

Early life

Epton was born in Hampstead to a Scottish father and a Spanish mother. She was educated partly in England and partly in France, graduated from the University of Paris, and travelled widely.

Career

During the 1950s she was the producer of the BBC's French-Canadian department, with particular responsibility for BBC contributions to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's French-language newsreel, Revue de l'actualité. Between 1953 and 1969 she was also an occasional contributor to the BBC Home Service and the BBC Light Programme as a presenter, interviewer, and panellist.
As a travel writer she was considered something of a novelty in the early 1950s as a good-looking woman who travelled alone and engaged deeply and critically with local conditions.
Nina Epton died on 29 October 2010, her last address having been 58 Vale Road, Seaford, East Sussex.

Publications

Articles