OP I love teaching mature -age students. THey know why they want to be there, and they work very hard.
Some things to think about:
You'll need to be organised
Your DH will need to be thoroughly supportive (more female mature-age students get degrees than marriages survive sadly). Your DH will need not to be a self-centred man. He will also need not to be threatened by the ideas you will encounter in an English degree
And that brings me to the professional advice I can give you:
There are many many English degrees. MOst universities run some sort of literary studies programme.
If you want to get into publishing, you'll need to go to a "good" university - one that is recognised in the literary industry.
And you'll need to be prepared to be based in London to work in publishing.
Because English degrees are so common, you'll need to do your research - I'm afraid that the advice upthread re going to the local university may not be in your long term best interests for your career.
But ... "getting into" publishing is a very difficult thing. Publishers I know are shedding staff left, right & centre. So it may be that your ultimate career aim isn't enough to move your family etc. Only you will know that, so bear that in mind when reading my post.
But, I'm just trying to give you advice from an academic POV.
The other way to do it is to do a degree at a local university - get a First, and then do a Masters in a good research-led university (not necessarily only Russell Group!) At my place, we get a lot of people upgrading their first degree from somewhere like Edge Hill. They do find it quite a step up from a non-research university, however. But it might be the way to go.
Non-research-led universities can be a great way to get back into education. They are generally more diverse, with a higher proportion of mature-age, first-in-family to attend university etc. NB this isn't about university snobbery - it's about educational attainment generally mapping onto socio-economic advantage. Read all the m-c posts in this Higher ED forum and you'll see what I mean!
Once you're at university (and universities really love mature-age students, and most of us academics love teaching you), you will need to be prepared to have your ideas & your intellectual world & your personal world turned upside down - or at least sideways.
This is really important - don't resist it. I often teach women's studies, and it's dangerous knowledge, but essential. But it can be difficult to negotiate between intellectual revolution and your own life. Make contact with your Personal Tutor, or let your family into your new life. Or both!
It's because the research methods of the Humanities generally are based on "critical analysis" - that is, a kind of intellectual scepticism which requires us to analyse (pull apart to see how it works) from a stand point which is usually oppositional from the POV of social "norms" (viz. feminism). It's often seen as "left wing" but it's actually just oppositional to established hierarchies of power, and asks students to assess critically the ideologies within which we live.
It's exciting, but IME mature-age students can find it personally challenging and sometimes threatening. Probably because they care so much more, and are invested in making deep connections between learning & life, which my 19 yo undergrads rarely can be bothered to do. Or rather, the 19 yos who do do that are the ones who do really well, shine, and are a delight to teach.
Anyway, HTH - feel free to PM me about likely English programmes near you. I serially name change (have been stalked on here) so will probably disappear with this NN. BUT happy to be PM'd if it helps.
Good luck!!