A POPULAR Oxford author who lived in six countries and entertained generations with tales of her travels has died aged 87.

Deborah Manley, who helped forge early links with Oxford's Russian twin city of Perm, was highly-regarded for her books.

As well as anthologies of travel writing on Egypt and Malta, she was particularly loved locally for her guide to Alice in Wonderland's local settings.

Deborah Rose Luxmoore Jones was born on February 11, 1932, in Aldershot.

She grew up in England, India, Australia, Canada and Austria.

She first started writing in India where her father Osmond served in the Army, training the Indian army for independence.

The family returned to England in 1940 and lived briefly in Oxford until she, her mother Petronella, elder sister Peta and younger brother Roger were evacuated to Canada.

Returning to England in 1946, the young Deborah, now 14, went to the newly-founded Cranbourne Chase school in Dorset, and became the first editor of school magazine.

After the London School of Economics, where she trained as a social worker, she married Roy Manley on December 12, 1953.

In 1954 Mr Manley took a job at King’s College boys' school in Lagos, and they moved to Nigeria.

After a year-and-a-half they went to Cameroon, where Mr Manley taught at the Government teacher training college.

The couple's daughter, Brett, was born in Bedford in 1957 when they were on leave.

Mrs Manley and Brett went back to England for some months in 1959, where the couple’s second child Adam was born.

When Mr Manley became an inspector of schools for the whole of Nigeria the family travelled widely across the country with their young children.

While in Lagos, the publisher Andre Deutsch came to Nigeria to start an educational publishing company.

Mrs Manley then became his first editor, a job she continued to do part-time for years when they returned to England.

She published her first anthology – Growing Up, Accounts of Children Growing up in Nigeria and West Africa – with African University Press.

The family came back to London in 1962, and Mrs Manley continued to work part-time for African University Press.

After Mr Manley retired the couple moved to Oxford, where Mrs Maney helped link voluntary organisations in the city with the growing voluntary sector in Perm in Russia.

The links eventually saw the two cities twinned.

Mrs Manley also continued to write anthologies on historic travel in Egypt and in Malta and a collection of Games for Journeys.

She also wrote the popular Oxford Town Trail: Alice and Lewis Carrol.

Many are still available for sale online.

Mr Manley, who was latterly a city councillor, died in 1999.

Mrs Manley passed away on January 24 this year.

Her funeral was led by a humanist celebrant at Mortlake Crematorium on February 18 and was attended by 78 friends and relatives.