Valerie Eliot Valerie Eliot Esmé Valerie Eliot (née Fletcher; 17 August 19269 November 2012) was the second wife and later widow of the Nobel prize-winning poet, T. S. Eliot. She was a major stockholder in the publishing firm of Faber and Faber Limited and the editor and annotator of a number of books dealing with her late husband's writings. The daughter of an insurance manager in Leeds, she was educated at Queen Anne's School, Caversham, where she was reputed to have told her headteacher that she knew precisely what she wanted to become: secretary to TS Eliot. Valerie married Eliot, almost 40
John Cunningham (poet and dramatist) John Cunningham (poet and dramatist) John Cunningham (1729–1773) was a Dublin born playwright, poet and actor, who spent much of his life in, and according to Allan, "whose name and fame will for ever be identified with Newcastle." John Cunningham was born in 1729 in Dublin, Ireland. His parents, who were of Scottish descent, had won a lottery, risen up the social ladder, become bankrupt, and moved back down the social ladder. John went to Drogheda Grammar School, Drogheda, but had to leave when his father's wealth disappeared. Early in life he was attracted to the stage and the acting