Journalist Charlotte Raven, known for her impactful work in the 1990s and later writings on assisted dying, has died at age 55.
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Raven passed away from Huntington’s disease, a condition she had been living with since her diagnosis in 2010. She died on January 22, 2025, per The Telegraph.
Raven was a prolific writer known for her work as a columnist, author, and editor. She contributed extensively to publications like the Guardian and the New Statesman and later served as editor-in-chief of the Feminist Times.
We remember Charlotte Raven – journalist & author – on our #Journalists_Altar who has died.
— St Bride's Church, Fleet Street (@stbrideschurch) January 23, 2025
Vivacious, trail-blazing, valiant and outspoken she helped define an era.
We pray for her, her family and friends. May she rest in peace.#Journalists_Church pic.twitter.com/3OfTcqsswD
She rose to prominence in the mid-90s as a writer for Modern Review, the bold and era-defining magazine celebrated for its motto of “low culture for high brows.” Her profile grew further when she fell in love with Julie Burchill, one of the magazine’s co-founders, who was at the time married to fellow founder Cosmo Landesman. Their relationship sparked a brief but intense wave of tabloid interest, cementing their place in the cultural spotlight.
In 1997, she took the helm of the Modern Review during its brief relaunch and contributed bold, thought-provoking columns to G2 and other publications.
Charlotte Raven’s Writing Shifts to Her Struggles with Huntington’s Disease
Raven’s career was tragically cut short when she started showing symptoms of Huntington’s disease, a hereditary condition that causes memory loss and involuntary muscle movements. Her father and grandfather had also suffered from the disease.
She wrote passionately and angrily about her illness. As it worsened, she focused on the flaws in palliative care and the lack of control over her death.
She detailed her struggles with the illness in 2021’s Patient 1: Forgetting and Finding Myself. The book was honored as a shortlisted finalist for the RSL Christopher Bland Prize 2022.
Nicholas Blincoe, a novelist and longtime friend who collaborated with Raven during their time at the Modern Review, expressed a heartfelt tribute following the news of her passing.
Blincoe told the Guardian she was “an exhilarating presence, always funny, filled with ideas but also hungry for all new ideas. She was beautiful and vibrant, often wearing her favorite Ghost bias-cut dresses, listening to her beloved ska music – but above all, talking politics, both theory and gossip … It’s a terrible loss.”
“We shared beautiful moments even in her illness, dancing and laughing, and I saw the love she had for her wonderful children, John and Anna, whom she was determined to send out into the world with her verve and vivacity,” he added.
Raven is survived by her ex-husband, documentary filmmaker Tom Sheahan, and their two children, John and Anna.