THE Ripon birthplace of entertainer and novelist Naomi Jacob has been recognised with a special plaque.

Ms Jacob was born in 1884 at 20 High St Agnesgate in Ripon and initially trained as a teacher before deciding to pursue an acting career.

Not long after starring opposite John Gieldgud in the West End, tuberculosis restricted her acting, so she took up writing.

Her first novel, ‘Jacob Usher’, was published in 1925 and became a bestseller. Some of her later novels were set in the Ripon area.

In 1930 she moved to Italy for her health and during the Second World War Ms Jacob entertained troops and was also politically active; first as a suffragette and then in Labour politics.

In her work she also spoke out strongly against anti-Semitism - once publicly rejecting the prestigious Eichelberger International Humane Award jointly awarded to her and Adolf Hitler.

Her parents ran the Ripon Choir School and her grandfather had been both mayor of Ripon and the owner of the Unicorn Hotel and the city’s Civic Society wanted to honour her connections to the city.

Chairman Christopher Hughes said: “We are delighted to be able to mark the life and work of one of Ripon’s brightest literary stars with this plaque.

“We hope it may stimulate interest in Naomi Jacob’s life and work, and inspire others to follow her example.”

Several of Ms Jacob’s relatives attended the unveiling of the plaque including her great-nephew Tony Atcheson, who lived in Sirmione with Ms Jacob and his mother as a young child.

He said: "Mickie (as she was known to family) had a great affection for Ripon throughout her life and this shaped her achievements.

"Very much ahead of her time, she was a strong character who forged her own success with little support in an era when women were not afforded the same opportunities – much like another Yorkshire woman ‘Gentleman Jack’ had done some generations before."