Kay Smallshaw

Kay Smallshaw (1905-1996) was brought up in Stamford Hill and went to the Skinners' Company's School for Girls and the LSE, graduating with a Bachelor of Commerce degree in 1926.  She then worked in advertising first at Harrods and then at G S Royds.  She lived at home with her parents and sister until the early 1930s, when she went to live in Doughty Street; by 1936 she was working for Good Housekeeping. During WWII she married a naval officer, W. H. C. Beard, who afterwards worked as an antique dealer on the Isle of Wight; they had no children. How To Run Your Home Without Help  (1949) was followed by Your Home and You: The Practical Encyclopedia for Every Homemaker (1955) and The Housewife's Book of Home Equipment: A Practical Guide to its Choice, Use and Maintenance  (1959).