Dame Marina Sarah Warner, DBE, FRSL, FBA (born 9 Nov 1946), is an English historian, mythographer, art critic, novelist and short story writer. She is an internationally acclaimed cultural historian, critic, novelist and short story writer. From her early books on the Virgin Mary and Joan of Arc to her bestselling studies of fairy tales and folk stories, From the Beast to the Blonde, No Go the Bogeyman and Stranger Magic, her work has explored different figures in myth and fairy tale and the art and literature they have inspired. She lectures widely in Europe, the United States and the Middle East, and is currently Professor in the Department of Literature, Film and Theatre Studies, University of Essex. She was appointed CBE in 2008. Less