Biography of Shelagh Delaney

Shelagh Delaney was an English playwright, writer, and screenwriter.

Born in Salford, Lancashire to an Irish father and English mother, Delaney wrote her first and most notable play, A Taste of Honey, when she was nineteen. The play debuted in 1958 and went on to have a successful run and critical success, leading to a 1961 film adaptation that Delaney co-wrote. While her second play, The Lion in Love, didn't get the same acclaim, Delaney continued her writing career with short stories and scripts for television, radio plays, and films.

With her focus on the gritty lives of working-class characters, Delaney has been credited as a pioneer of the British cultural movement known as kitchen sink realism.


Study Guides on Works by Shelagh Delaney

Shelagh Delaney's A Taste of Honey is a play about a working-class schoolgirl's dysfunctional relationship with her mother. First staged in 1958, the play is a pioneering work in the British cultural movement known as kitchen sink realism.

The...