Esther Meynell
Esther Meynell | |
|---|---|
| Born | Esther Hallam Moorhouse 1878 Leeds, Yorkshire |
| Died | February 4, 1955 (aged 76) Ditchling, East Sussex |
| Pen name | E. Hallam Moorhouse |
| Occupation | Writer (novelist) |
| Nationality | British |
| Period | 20th century |
| Genre | Fiction, non-fiction |
| Spouse | Gerard Tuke Meynell |
| Relatives | Alice Meynell, aunt |
Esther Hallam Meynell née Moorhouse; 1878 – 4 February 1955) was an English novelist and biographer.[1]
Biography
Meynell was born in Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire. Her father was the Yorkshire Quaker Samuel Moorhouse.[2] The family moved to Sussex when Esther was ten, living at 6, Highcroft Villas in Brighton, before moving (by 1901) to Redholm, London Road in Patcham.[3]
She married Gerard Tuke Meynell, a master printer and typographer, the nephew of poet and suffragist Alice Meynell and cousin of writer Viola Meynell. They had two daughters and lived in London and then Pulborough, Sussex.[3] During the 1930s they moved to Ditchling, and there lived in, built or converted various properties, activities described in Sussex Cottage (1936), Building a Cottage (1937) and Cottage Tale (1946), describing Conds Cottage, High Street, Ditching. She was widowed in 1942. In 1947 she converted Beulah Baptist Chapel into a house, No. 9 East End Lane.[3]
Meynell died at Conds Cottage in February 1955.[4] The house has since been extended.[5]
Works
She is best known for The Little Chronicle of Magdalena Bach (1925), a fictional autobiography of Anna Magdalena Bach, the wife of composer Johann Sebastian Bach. Other works with musical themes include the novels Quintet (1933), whose hero is a world famous pianist; Grave Fairytale (1931) whose principal character is reminiscent of Beethoven; and Time's Door (1935), which belongs to the genre of fantastic fiction and features a violinist who "timeslips" to the 18th century where he becomes involved with Bach.[1] In 1933 Meynell also completed a biography of J.S. Bach, one of Duckworth's "Great Lives" Series.
Her first book, Nelson’s Lady Hamilton (1906) was a biography of Emma, Lady Hamilton, mistress of Lord Nelson, the first of a series of books on naval history written under her maiden name. English Spinster: a portrait (1939) is a fictional treatment of the life of Mary Russell Mitford, author of Our Village. Other biographies include The Young Lincoln (1944) and Portrait of William Morris (1947).
As E. Hallam Moorhouse
- Nelson's Lady Hamilton, (1906)
- Samuel Pepys: Administrator, Observer, Gossip, (1909)
- Letters Of The English Seamen, (1910)
- Wordsworth, (1911)
- Nelson In England: A Domestic Chronicle, (1913)
- Sea Magic, (1916)
As Esther Meynell
- The Story Of Hans Andersen, (1924)
- The Little Chronicle Of Magdalena Bach, (1925)
- Grave Fairytale, (1931), novel
- Quintet, (1933), novel
- Bach, ('Great Lives' series, 1933)
- Time's Door, (1935), novel
- Sussex Cottage, (1936)
- Building A Cottage, (1937)
- Lucy And Amades, (1938), novel
- English Spinster: A Portrait, (1939)
- A Woman Talking, (1940), memoir
- Country Ways, (1942)
- The Young Lincoln, (1944)
- Cottage Tale, (1945)
- Sussex, (County Books series) (1947)
- Portrait Of William Morris, (1947)
- Tale Told To Terry, (1950)
- Small Talk In Sussex, (1954), memoir
Source:[6]
References
- ^ a b Clute, John (2 February 2017). "Meynell, Esther". The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction.
- ^ "Meynell, Esther Hallam (E. Hallam Moorhouse)". Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2016; online edition, Oxford University Press. 2014.
- ^ a b c Helen Wojtczak. Notable Sussex Women (2008), p. 205
- ^ "Death notice and obituary". The Times. London, England. 7 February 1955. pp. 1, 8, 10.
- ^ 'Picturesque, spacious 4-bedroom Sussex house', airbnb listing