Beryl Bainbridge

A photo of the author Beryl Bainbridge at the Swan Hellenic Oldie of the Year Awards on March 22, 2005. The location: Simpsons-in-the-Strand in London, England.

Bainbridge was "a famous personality in England's literary world, a petite prankster and chain-smoker who was frequently described (to her chagrin) as 'eccentric.'" Her most famous book is probably the 1989 memoir "An Awfully Big Adventure." Bainbridge died in 2012.

Photo: Vince Maher/ WENN