Mercia MacDermott

Mercia MacDermott (née Adshead; Bulgarian: Мерсия Макдермот; born 7 April 1927) is an English writer and historian. Having spent 27 years in Bulgaria, MacDermott is known for her books on Bulgarian history.

Early life

Mercia was born on 7 April 1927 in Plymouth, Devon, United Kingdom.[1] Her father was Geoffrey Palmer Adshead, a Royal Navy surgeon captain,[2][3] and her mother was Olive May (née  Orme) Adshead, a teacher. Due to her father's work in the navy, she spent some of her early years in Weihai, China, where Mercia learned Mandarin Chinese.[4] She grew up in Ditchling and later was educated at Westonbirt School, Gloucestershire and St Anne's College, Oxford University where she read Russian Literature.[5] In the summer of 1947, while participating in a youth brigade in Yugoslavia with other English students, she first met with Bulgarians, among whom was the writer Pavel Matev.

In the same year, Mercia visited Bulgaria for the first time to attend a celebration at the Divotino brigade members camp near the Pernik–Voluyak railway line. In 1948, she graduated with an MA degree from Oxford and once again visited Bulgaria to participate in the international youth brigade building the Koprinka Reservoir. As a foreign udarnik, Mercia was invited along with other international participants to meet Georgi Dimitrov in the Euxinograd palace on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. While working at the Koprinka reservoir, Mercia met her future husband Alexander MacDermott. Returning to the United Kingdom in 1948, MacDermott enrolled in a Bulgarian language course at the University of London's School of Slavonic and East European Studies.[6][7]

Career

Mercia MacDermott resided in Bulgaria from 1962 to 1989 with brief interruptions. From 1963 to 1979 she was a teacher at the English Language High School in Sofia. MacDermott subsequently lectured on the Bulgarian national liberation movement in the region of Macedonia at Sofia University's Faculty of History.[1] She was elected a foreign member of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences in 1987.[8] In 2007, Sofia University awarded her an Honorary Doctorate.

MacDermot's activity is described by Waller, Diane in Allcock, John B.; Young, Antonia, eds. (2000). "Mercia MacDermott: A Woman of the Frontie". Black Lambs and Grey Falcons (2nd ed.). Oxford: Berghahn Books. pp. 166–186.

Positions and awards

From 1958 to 1973, MacDermott was the chairwoman of the London-based English–Bulgarian Association. An honorary citizen of Karlovo and Blagoevgrad, she is also the bearer of a number of Bulgarian state decorations.[9][1]

Personal life

The MacDermotts had a daughter Alexandra born in 1952. They divorced in 1964. Alexandra MacDermott, D.Phil. is a professor in physical chemistry at the University of Houston-Clear Lake.[10] Mercia's brother Samuel Adrian Miles Adshead (1932–2009) was a distinguished sinologist and former professor of history at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand.[11][12]

Bibliography
  • A History of Bulgaria 1393–1885, Allen and Unwin, 1962, OCLC 279468[13][14][15]
  • The Apostle of Freedom (A portrait of Vasil Levsky against a background of nineteenth-century Bulgaria), Allen and Unwin, 1967, OCLC 957800
  • Freedom or Death (the life of Gotsé Delchev), Journeyman Press, 1978, ISBN 978-0-904526-32-5
  • For Freedom and Perfection (the life of Yané Sandansky), Journeyman Press, 1988, ISBN 978-1-85172-014-9
  • Bulgarian Folk Customs, Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 1998, ISBN 978-1-85302-486-3
  • Explore Green Men, Heart of Albion Press, 2006, ISBN 978-1-872883-94-6
  • Lone red poppy, Manifesto Press, 2014, ISBN 978-1-907464-10-2
  • Once upon a time in Bulgaria, Manifesto Press, 2016, ISBN 978-1-907464-16-4

References
  1. Locher, Frances C., ed. (1982). "MacDERMOTT, Mercia 1927–". Contemporary Authors: A Bio-Bibliographical Guide to Current Writers in Fiction, General Nonfiction, Poetry, Journalism, Drama, Motion Pictures, Television, and Other Fields. 106. Detroit, Michigan: Gale Research Company. p. 327. ISBN 0-8103-1906-3. Retrieved 26 March 2019 – via Internet Archive.
  2. "Record of War Service". University of Edinburgh Roll of Honour 1914-1919. Edinburgh and London: Oliver and Boyd. 1921. p. 120. Retrieved 25 March 2019 – via Internet Archive.
  3. "Obituary Notice (Services)". The British Medical Journal. 1 (4135): 595. 6 April 1940. JSTOR 20316112.
  4. Allcock, John B.; Antonia Young (2000). Black lambs & grey falcons: women travelling in the Balkans. Berghahn Books. p. 168. ISBN 978-1-57181-744-0.
  5. For Freedom and Perfection. The Life of Yané Sandansky. www.kroraina.com. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
  6. Allcock, p. 173.
  7. Макдермот, Мерсия (1979). Свобода или смърт: биография на Гоце Делчев (in Bulgarian). Translated by Веселин Измирлиев. София: Наука и изкуство. OCLC 82956003.
  8. "Foreign Members of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences". Retrieved 18 March 2019.
  9. "Alumnae news" (PDF). The Ship. No. 107. St Anne Society. 2017–2018. p. 85. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 October 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  10. Alexandra MacDermott, D.Phil on the official website of University of Houston-Clear Lake.
  11. Peacock, Scot, ed. (1999). "ADSHEAD, S(amuel) A(drian) M(iles)". Contemporary Authors: A Bio-Bibliographical Guide to Current Writers in Fiction, General Nonfiction, Poetry, Journalism, Drama, Motion Pictures, Television, and Other Fields. 167. Detroit, London: Gale. pp. 1–2. ISBN 0-7876-2669-4. Retrieved 29 March 2019 – via Internet Archive.
  12. Grean, Mike (31 October 2009). "Renowned China Authority Sam Adshead: Man of History". The Press. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  13. Pundeff, Marin (December 1962). "BOOK REVIEW: Mercia MacDermott, A History of Bulgaria, 1393–1885, London: Allen & Unwin, 1962, 354 pp.40 s. New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1962, 354 pp. $8.75". Slavic Review. 21 (4): 753–754. doi:10.2307/3000597. JSTOR 3000597.
  14. Spulber, Nicolas (1963). "BOOK REVIEW: Mercia MacDermott, A History of Bulgaria, 1393-1885, New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1962, $8.75". Slavic and East European Journal. 7 (2): 234. doi:10.2307/304658. JSTOR 304658.
  15. MacKenzie, David (December 1963). "REVIEWED WORK: Mercia MacDermott, A History of Bulgaria, 1393-1885, New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1962, $8.75". The Journal of Modern History. 35 (4): 392. doi:10.1086/243827. JSTOR 1899048.
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