A Scottish journalist who worked as a newspaper reporter in the 1950s and went on to become an author has died at the age of 80.

Elizabeth Taylor, who died on 6 March, joined the Edinburgh Evening Dispatch, now the Edinburgh Evening News in the mid-1950s.

In an obituary which appeared in The Scotsman her friend Laing Speirs said that Liz used to recall a time that she was working at the Dispatch when she was sent off round the two areas of the city to buy back copies of the newspaper which could have seen the paper in serious legal trouble.

She left the paper to move to India and get married to her husband who was in the oil business. They had four children.

After his death she moved back to Scotland started to write again as a freelance before starting to write fiction.

Over the next 25 years she wrote mainly under the name of Elisabeth McNeill, producing a string of historical novels, ranging from chronicles of Indian life to stories of the often turbulent life of the Borders in Scotland.

In total she wrote more than 30 novels and non-fiction books.

Her non-fiction work attracted critical acclaim. In particular her book on bereavement which drew on the sorrow of her own loss.

Said Laing: “She embraced life in the Borders, joined in the social and literary scene, and then continued her lifelong interest in books by becoming part-owner of The Talisman bookshop in Melrose.

“She loved research and for several years contributed a regular feature to The Scotsman, looking back in time to social and historical dates and events.”