Franny Moyle

Franny Moyle is a critically acclaimed biographer whose work focuses on historic cultural figures. Passionate to engage the widest possible audience in tales about British art, she has written about Hans Holbein, J. M. W. Turner and the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. Her work also extends to excavating women whose contribution to their time has been overlooked. Constance, Franny’s exploration of the life of Oscar Wilde’s wife, was her first piece of work in this area. Meanwhile, published in 2025, her account of Mrs Kauffman and Madame Le Brun reveals the story of two eighteenth-century women painters who found international success and produced groundbreaking work, but whose reputations unjustifiably diminished in comparison to their male peers.

BBC Radio 4’s Book of the Week has adapted two of Franny’s books, whilst her tale of the Pre-Raphaelites, Desperate Romantics, was made into a six-part drama for BBC Two.

Before becoming an author, Franny pursued a career in television. Joining the BBC in the early 1990s, she worked her way through its ranks to Creative Director of Arts and ultimately Head of Arts Commissioning. In 2005 she left the corporation for a freelance, portfolio career, executive-producing arts documentaries alongside writing, and taking up trusteeships, most recently at Turner’s House in Twickenham.

In 2022, Franny moved from London’s Hackney to Bristol, with her Bedlington terrier, Minsli, and her film-producer husband. They still keep a Belgian Spitz barge called Anton moored in the capital.