Elizabeth Young

Elizabeth Jesse Young (6 February 1950 – 18 March 2001) was a London-based literary critic and author, who wrote principally on cult writers for a range of British newspapers and magazines. In particular she championed transgressive fiction, for which she received some criticism in the press, not least for her defence of A. M. Homes' The End of Alice, which dealt with themes of paedophilia from what was seen as an uncomfortably neutral perspective. Biography Born to Scottish parents in Lagos, Nigeria where her father was an executive for Rowntrees, Elizabeth Young's parents were members of the Free Church of Scotland (sometimes referred to as the Wee Frees) and she was educated at The Mount School, York where she boarded. Young discovered at the age of 11 the works of Nelson Algren, Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac when an uncle sent her some books by these writers. The enduring fascination with the Beats was to stay with her. Young studied English at York University. She moved to London in the 1970s to attend a demonstration and never left. Before becoming a literary critic, Young worked in Compendium Books in Camden Town and was noted for her Goth appearance. In addition to literary criticism, Young's attraction to the counterculture saw her pen articles on drugs, music and pornography. She also appeared as Ray Gange's girlfriend in Rude Boy, the 1980 film about a roadie for The Clash.