Life of Edinburgh lesbian novelist: Iona McGregor

Iona McGregor (1929-2021) was one of Edinburgh’s first lesbian novelists. Well-known for her YA historical fiction in the 1960s and 70s, she was warned by her publisher never to include queer characters. In 1989 she was finally able to publish a lesbian mystery, set in Edinburgh in 1860 – Death Wore A Diadem.

Recently discovered letters to her editor show how hard she worked to create vivid lesbian characters and portray the city of Edibnburgh, where she lived much of her life. She was also an activist who risked losing her job as a teacher in order to support LGBT people. She sadly died last year, aged 92.

On 25th February, Lavender Menace teamed up up with LGBT Health and Wellbeing, to celebrate her life and work for LGBT History Month, during an online discussion with contributions from lesbian novelist Ellen Galford, Iona’s editor Jen Green, and other friends and readers.