Ierne L. (Ierne Lifford) Plunket

Born in Cookham on May 9, 1885, Ierne Arthur Lifford Plunket was a British author who wrote both history and children's books. She came from the Plunket family and later became known especially for her writing on medieval Europe and royal biography.

Her best-known books include Europe in the Middle Ages and Isabel of Castile and the Making of the Spanish Nation, 1451–1504. Sources also note that she served during World War I, including work with the French Red Cross and the Women's Royal Naval Service, adding another dimension to a life shaped by both scholarship and service.

Plunket died on April 11, 1970, in Royal Tunbridge Wells. Today she is remembered as a capable, approachable popular historian whose books opened medieval history to a wide general audience.