Excellent piece, one of my favourite authors as a child and great to read such insight into her life. Two other writers that I loved were Noel Streatfeild and E Nesbit- both had extremely interesting and varied lives , Noel living about 100 yards from where I live now,her father was the minister of Eastbourne Parish Church, she then became an actress , travelling extensively, before writing her famous books about tough, determined girls . E. Nesbit , I have recently discovered, also lived briefly in a village near Eastbourne , she was a Co-Founder of the Fabian Society. Women who were leaders and mould- breakers in other areas as well as writing their captivating books.
Excellent piece, beautifully written. I had no idea about her tragic life. But blaming anyone for a family member's suicide seems unutterably cruel and plain wrong.
This series about Alison Uttley has been absolutely fascinating. I have never wanted to read about her, because I had heard she “wasn’t very nice” and I didn’t want to spoil my relationship with A Traveller in Time - the book that made 8-year-old-me determined to study history. Your posts have been sensitive and non-sensational.
Gosh I'm so glad I'm not famous and won't have biographers and critics and reviewers raking over the ashes of my life when I'm gone. I had heard some of the bad stuff about Uttley from my brother. Now I can look back on my happy childhood memories of the little book about Fuzzypeg and her frying pan with a good conscience. Thank you.
Please continue to rescue Alison from the Freudians. No doubt she wasn't always a pleasant person, but she was struggling in difficult circumstances - and who among us could bear such scrutiny? A little Christian, or post-Christian, charity is surely in order. There is probably a lot of posthumous Freudian psychoanalysing out there that needs reassessing - Vivien Noakes' biography of Edward Lear comes to mind. And as for the London Review of Books - my memory of it is that, in among some very good articles, it contained a great deal of Grub Street resentment of successful writers.
Excellent piece, one of my favourite authors as a child and great to read such insight into her life. Two other writers that I loved were Noel Streatfeild and E Nesbit- both had extremely interesting and varied lives , Noel living about 100 yards from where I live now,her father was the minister of Eastbourne Parish Church, she then became an actress , travelling extensively, before writing her famous books about tough, determined girls . E. Nesbit , I have recently discovered, also lived briefly in a village near Eastbourne , she was a Co-Founder of the Fabian Society. Women who were leaders and mould- breakers in other areas as well as writing their captivating books.
I'm also a Streatfield fan. Once wrote a radio play about her which - almost - got made by the BBC.
I guess you will have read A Vicarage Family about her childhood - if not, highly recommended.
I have, I did some research for a local group and bought everything I could lay my hands on . She deserves more publicity .
Thanks again for writing this series. You shed a more balanced light on Uttley's life and the cultural context of her critics.
Thank you!
Excellent piece, beautifully written. I had no idea about her tragic life. But blaming anyone for a family member's suicide seems unutterably cruel and plain wrong.
Thank you. I agree, people are complex and blame isn't the right thing in this situation.
This series about Alison Uttley has been absolutely fascinating. I have never wanted to read about her, because I had heard she “wasn’t very nice” and I didn’t want to spoil my relationship with A Traveller in Time - the book that made 8-year-old-me determined to study history. Your posts have been sensitive and non-sensational.
Thank you so much - I'm glad you enjoyed it. (I know exactly what you mean about not wanting to know about an author for fear of spoiling the book.)
Gosh I'm so glad I'm not famous and won't have biographers and critics and reviewers raking over the ashes of my life when I'm gone. I had heard some of the bad stuff about Uttley from my brother. Now I can look back on my happy childhood memories of the little book about Fuzzypeg and her frying pan with a good conscience. Thank you.
Please continue to rescue Alison from the Freudians. No doubt she wasn't always a pleasant person, but she was struggling in difficult circumstances - and who among us could bear such scrutiny? A little Christian, or post-Christian, charity is surely in order. There is probably a lot of posthumous Freudian psychoanalysing out there that needs reassessing - Vivien Noakes' biography of Edward Lear comes to mind. And as for the London Review of Books - my memory of it is that, in among some very good articles, it contained a great deal of Grub Street resentment of successful writers.