British novelist noted for her precise use of language and scrupulously understated style.

Her first novel, At Mrs Lippincote's, was published in 1945; like most of her work, it has a largely uneventful plot but portrays with unerring accuracy the behaviour of women in contemporary society. Among her other works are A Wreath of Roses (1950), A Game of Hide and Seek (1951), The Sleeping Beauty (1953), and The Wedding Group (1968). Volumes of short stories include A Dedicated Man (1965) and The Devastating Boys (1972). She frequently contributed to The New Yorker magazine.