Wesley, Mary (1912–2002)

English novelist. Her novels are characterized by the ironic and detached treatment of her middle-class characters. She wrote children's books before turning to adult fiction (at the age of 70) with Jumping the Queue (1983). Her other works include The Camomile Lawn (1984) (televised in 1991) set in World War II, A Sensible Life (1990), An Imaginative Experience (1994), and Part of the Furniture (1997).

Mary Wesley was born near Windsor and educated at the London School of Economics. During World War II she worked in the War Office.