Leslie Lonsdale-Cooper, who has died aged 97, was the founder of the Open University’s publishing division, to which she recruited (among many others) me and my colleague John Pettit. She was also, with Michael Turner, co-translator of Hergé’s Tintin books, and in this capacity her name is known to Tintin fans throughout the English-speaking world.
Born in Northwood, Middlesex, Leslie was the daughter of Nora (nee Briggs) and Leslie Lonsdale-Cooper, a retired lieutenant commander in the Royal Navy. Her first name (with its unusual spelling for a female) commemorates her father’s distinguished military career and his untimely death shortly before Leslie was born.
