My father, Peter Ford, who has died aged 89, was a distinguished author and literary editor. He had a particular gift for inspiring the trust and respect of his collaborators through his ability to craft stories authentically.
In shaping the memoirs of the formidable campaigner for social justice May Hobbs (Born to Struggle, 1973) or the republican MP Willie Hamilton (My Queen and I, 1975), or the first English language translation of Hanan al-Shaykh’s landmark novel The Story of Zahra (1986) he revealed a gift for preserving the author’s voice with great sensitivity to background, subject and context.
