Gaia Servadio
Hosting After Dark in 1988
Born
Gaia Cecilia Metella Servadio

13 September 1938
Padua, Italy
Died20 August 2021(2021-08-20) (aged 82)
Rome, Italy
OccupationWriter
Spouse(s)William Mostyn-Owen (c. 1961–1989)
Hugh Myddelton (c. 1995-2021)
Children3, including Allegra Mostyn-Owen

Gaia Cecilia Metella Servadio[1] (13 September 1938 – 20 August 2021) was an Italian writer.[2]

Early life and career

Servadio was born in Padua, the daughter of industrial chemist[3] Luxardo Servadio and wife Bianca Prinzi.[4] Her father was Jewish and her mother was Sicilian and Catholic.[5] She received a bachelor's degree from London's Camberwell School of Art.[4]

Her first novel Tanto gentile e tanto onesta, aka Melinda, was published in 1967 by Feltrinelli in Italy and Weidenfeld & Nicolson in the UK, and was "a runaway success".[4]

Personal life

Servadio was married to the British art historian William Mostyn-Owen c. 1961–1989, and they had three children, Owen (b. 1962), Allegra (b. 1964) and Orlando (b. 1973).[6] In 1968, they were living in "23 rooms or so" of one wing of Aberuchill Castle, Perthshire, Scotland.[7]

Their daughter Allegra, an art teacher, was the first wife of the politician Boris Johnson.[8] Their son Orlando is an artist and a painter.[9]

Servadio lived in Belgravia, London.[10] Following her divorce from Mostyn-Owen, in 1995 Servadio married Hugh Robert Myddelton, of Chirk Castle in Wales, another former Etonian.[11] In 2001 their surname was changed to Myddelton Biddulph, and they became Hugh Robert Myddelton Biddulph and Gaia Servadio Myddelton Biddulph.[12] They remained married until her death.[13] She died on 20 August 2021.[14][15]

Works

Fiction

Music

Non-fiction

Curatorial

References

  1. ^ The International Author's Who's Who, ed. Ernest Kay, Melrose Press Ltd, 1986, p. 799
  2. ^ Burke's Landed Gentry 18th ed., vol. 2, ed. Peter Townend, 1969, p. 482
  3. ^ "Gaia Servadio obituary". 23 September 2023 – via www.thetimes.co.uk.
  4. ^ a b c Andrew and Suzanne Edwards (16 February 2013). "From Designer to Journalist: An Interview with Gaia Servadio". Times of Sicily. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
  5. ^ Pugliese, Associate Professor of Modern European History Stanislao (22 August 2002). The Most Ancient of Minorities: The Jews of Italy. Greenwood Press. ISBN 9780313318955 – via Google Books.
  6. ^ Burton, Humphrey (20 July 2011). "William Mostyn-Owen obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
  7. ^ LIFE. Time Inc. 7 June 1968. pp. 83–84. ISSN 0024-3019. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
  8. ^ Helyer-Donaldson, Rachel (8 January 2010). "Boris Johnson's first wife marries again". Theweek.co.uk. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
  9. ^ "Orlando Mostyn Owen | The Royal Drawing School". The Royal Drawing School. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
  10. ^ "Alain Elkann Interviews Gaia Servadio writer, historian and broadcaster". Alainelkanninterviews.com. 27 May 2015. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
  11. ^ "Gaia: A Celebration". Italian Cultural Institute. 4 April 2022. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
  12. ^ "Change of Name and/or Arms". The Gazette. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
  13. ^ evening standard 21 September 1994 article Neroli Lawson "English men are hopeless but i married two of them
  14. ^ "Gaia Servadio obituary". The Times. 21 August 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2021. (subscription required)
  15. ^ "Morta la scrittrice Gaia Servadio, una vita tra romanzi, saggi e documentari". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). 20 August 2021. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
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