Eldest child of Frederick Edwin Smith, Conservative politician and Lord Chancellor, who was created Earl of Birkenhead in 1922, for his political services. Eleanor Smith worked for some years as a society reporter and cinema reviewer, before travelling more widely as a publicist for circus companies. She believed that her paternal great-grandmother was a gypsy, and she spent much of her short life researching Romany culture - albeit from a very romanticised point of view. She wrote a number of popular novels and short stories, often using historical or Spanish gypsy themes. Many were adapted for the screen by Gainsborough Films. Show less «