What pen name did Jane Goodall's mother use as a novelist?

Jane Goodall’s mother used the pen name Vanne Morris-Goodall as a novelist. Her birth name was Margaret Myfanwe Joseph, and she came from Milford Haven in Pembrokeshire, Wales.

Vanne supported Jane’s fascination with animals from childhood. That encouragement mattered because Jane later pursued field research despite having no university degree and despite the limited professional opportunities available to women in science during the 1950s.

The name can cause confusion because sources variously shorten it to “Vanne Goodall” or describe her as Vanne Morris Goodall without the hyphen. The fuller form, Vanne Morris-Goodall, is the answer used in Jane Goodall’s biographical accounts.

Jane’s mother was more than a supportive parent: she accompanied Jane to Tanganyika in 1960 because officials required the young researcher to have a companion. That journey helped make Jane’s pioneering chimpanzee study at Gombe possible.