Barbara Pym
Encyclopedia
Barbara Mary Crampton Pym (2 June 1913 – 11 January 1980) was an English
novel
ist. In 1977 her career was revived when two prominent writers, Lord David Cecil
and Philip Larkin
, nominated her as the most underrated writer of the century. Her novel Quartet in Autumn (1977) was nominated for the Booker Prize that year, and she was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
, Shropshire
. She was privately educated at Queen’s Park School, a girls' school in Oswestry. From the age of twelve, she attended Huyton College
, near Liverpool
. After studying English at St Hilda's College, Oxford
, she served in the Women's Royal Naval Service
during World War II
.
in London
for some years, and contributed to editing its scholarly journal, Africa
. This inspired her use of anthropologists
as characters in her novels.
After some years of submitting stories to women's magazines, she published her first novel, Some Tame Gazelle, with Jonathan Cape in 1950. Several novels followed, to warm reception.
Pym's literary career is noteworthy for the long hiatus between 1963 and 1977 when, despite early success and continuing popularity, she was unable to find a publisher for her richly comic novels.
The turning point for Pym came with an influential article in 1977 in the Times Literary Supplement in which two prominent writers, Lord David Cecil
and Philip Larkin
, nominated her as "the most underrated writer of the 20th century". Pym and Larkin had kept up a private correspondence over a period of many years.
She was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. Her comeback novel, Quartet in Autumn (1977), was shortlisted for the Booker Prize, and her work found new audiences in the United States. Another novel, The Sweet Dove Died, previously rejected by many publishers, was subsequently published to critical acclaim. Several of her unpublished novels were published after her death, and her work is now considered both "popular and timeless".
in Oxfordshire
with her younger sister Hilary. In 1980, Barbara Pym died of breast cancer
, aged 66. Following her death, her sister Hilary continued to champion her work, and set up the Barbara Pym Society in 1993. Hilary lived at Barn Cottage until her own death in February 2005. The sisters played an active role in the social life of the village, and are both buried in Finstock churchyard. A blue plaque
marking the cottage as an historic site was placed in 2006.
, which are more notable for their style
and characterisation
than for their plots. A superficial reading gives the impression that they are sketches
of village or suburban life, and comedies of manners
, studying the social activities connected with the Anglican church (in particular its the Anglo-Catholic parish.) (Pym attended several churches during her lifetime, including St Michael and All Angels, Barnes, where she served on the Parish Church Council.)
Her works are deeper than that, however. She closely examines many aspects of women's and men's relations, including unrequited feelings of women for men, based on her own experience. She portrayed the layers of community and figures in the church seen through church functions. The dialogue is often deeply ironic
. A tragic undercurrent runs through some of the later novels, especially Quartet in Autumn and The Sweet Dove Died.
Pym's diaries were published posthumously, under the title, A Very Private Eye (1985) ISBN 0-394-73106-9
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
ist. In 1977 her career was revived when two prominent writers, Lord David Cecil
Lord David Cecil
Edward Christian David Gascoyne-Cecil, CH , was a British biographer, historian and academic. He held the style of 'Lord' by courtesy, as a younger son of a marquess.-Early life and studies:...
and Philip Larkin
Philip Larkin
Philip Arthur Larkin, CH, CBE, FRSL is widely regarded as one of the great English poets of the latter half of the twentieth century...
, nominated her as the most underrated writer of the century. Her novel Quartet in Autumn (1977) was nominated for the Booker Prize that year, and she was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
Early life and education
Pym was born in OswestryOswestry
Oswestry is a town and civil parish in Shropshire, England, close to the Welsh border. It is at the junction of the A5, A483, and A495 roads....
, Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
. She was privately educated at Queen’s Park School, a girls' school in Oswestry. From the age of twelve, she attended Huyton College
Huyton College
Huyton College was an independent day and boarding school for girls founded in England in 1894 as the sister school to Liverpool College with which it merged on 27 July 1993, a few months short of its 100th birthday. The Liverpool College for Girls, Huyton, as it was originally known, was started...
, near Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
. After studying English at St Hilda's College, Oxford
St Hilda's College, Oxford
St Hilda's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England.The college was founded in 1893 as a hall for women, and remained an all-women's college until 2006....
, she served in the Women's Royal Naval Service
Women's Royal Naval Service
The Women's Royal Naval Service was the women's branch of the Royal Navy.Members included cooks, clerks, wireless telegraphists, radar plotters, weapons analysts, range assessors, electricians and air mechanics...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Literary career
Pym worked at the International African InstituteInternational African Institute
The International African Institute was founded in 1926 in London for the study of African languages...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
for some years, and contributed to editing its scholarly journal, Africa
Africa (journal)
Africa is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the International African Institute. The journal takes an interdisciplinary approach considering the humanities, social sciences, and environmental sciences in Africa...
. This inspired her use of anthropologists
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
as characters in her novels.
After some years of submitting stories to women's magazines, she published her first novel, Some Tame Gazelle, with Jonathan Cape in 1950. Several novels followed, to warm reception.
Pym's literary career is noteworthy for the long hiatus between 1963 and 1977 when, despite early success and continuing popularity, she was unable to find a publisher for her richly comic novels.
The turning point for Pym came with an influential article in 1977 in the Times Literary Supplement in which two prominent writers, Lord David Cecil
Lord David Cecil
Edward Christian David Gascoyne-Cecil, CH , was a British biographer, historian and academic. He held the style of 'Lord' by courtesy, as a younger son of a marquess.-Early life and studies:...
and Philip Larkin
Philip Larkin
Philip Arthur Larkin, CH, CBE, FRSL is widely regarded as one of the great English poets of the latter half of the twentieth century...
, nominated her as "the most underrated writer of the 20th century". Pym and Larkin had kept up a private correspondence over a period of many years.
She was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. Her comeback novel, Quartet in Autumn (1977), was shortlisted for the Booker Prize, and her work found new audiences in the United States. Another novel, The Sweet Dove Died, previously rejected by many publishers, was subsequently published to critical acclaim. Several of her unpublished novels were published after her death, and her work is now considered both "popular and timeless".
Marriage and family
Pym never married, despite several close relationships with men, notably Henry Harvey, a fellow Oxford student, and the future politician, Julian Amery.Later years
After her retirement, Pym moved into Barn Cottage at FinstockFinstock
Finstock is a village and civil parish about south of Charlbury in Oxfordshire, England. The parish is bounded to the northeast by the River Evenlode, to the southeast partly by the course of Akeman Street Roman road, and on other sides by field boundaries....
in Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
with her younger sister Hilary. In 1980, Barbara Pym died of breast cancer
Breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...
, aged 66. Following her death, her sister Hilary continued to champion her work, and set up the Barbara Pym Society in 1993. Hilary lived at Barn Cottage until her own death in February 2005. The sisters played an active role in the social life of the village, and are both buried in Finstock churchyard. A blue plaque
Blue plaque
A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person or event, serving as a historical marker....
marking the cottage as an historic site was placed in 2006.
Legacy and honors
- Elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
- Blue plaque placed at her retirement home of Barn Cottage, Finstock.
Works and themes
Several strong themes link the works in the Pym canonCanon (fiction)
In the context of a work of fiction, the term canon denotes the material accepted as "official" in a fictional universe's fan base. It is often contrasted with, or used as the basis for, works of fan fiction, which are not considered canonical...
, which are more notable for their style
Style (fiction)
In fiction, style is the manner in which the author tells the story. Along with plot, character, theme, and setting, style is considered one of the fundamental components of fiction.-Fiction-writing modes:...
and characterisation
Characterisation
Characterization or characterisation is the art of creating characters for a narrative, including the process of conveying information about them. It may be employed in dramatic works of art or everyday conversation...
than for their plots. A superficial reading gives the impression that they are sketches
Sketch story
A sketch story, or sketch, is a piece of writing that is generally shorter than a short story, and contains very little, if any, plot. The term was most popularly-used in the late nineteenth century. As a literary work, it is also often referred to simply as the sketch.-Style:A sketch is mainly...
of village or suburban life, and comedies of manners
Comedy of manners
The comedy of manners is a genre of play/television/film which satirizes the manners and affectations of a social class, often represented by stock characters, such as the miles gloriosus in ancient times, the fop and the rake during the Restoration, or an old person pretending to be young...
, studying the social activities connected with the Anglican church (in particular its the Anglo-Catholic parish.) (Pym attended several churches during her lifetime, including St Michael and All Angels, Barnes, where she served on the Parish Church Council.)
Her works are deeper than that, however. She closely examines many aspects of women's and men's relations, including unrequited feelings of women for men, based on her own experience. She portrayed the layers of community and figures in the church seen through church functions. The dialogue is often deeply ironic
Irony
Irony is a rhetorical device, literary technique, or situation in which there is a sharp incongruity or discordance that goes beyond the simple and evident intention of words or actions...
. A tragic undercurrent runs through some of the later novels, especially Quartet in Autumn and The Sweet Dove Died.
Pym's diaries were published posthumously, under the title, A Very Private Eye (1985) ISBN 0-394-73106-9
Novels
- Some Tame GazelleSome Tame GazelleSome Tame Gazelle is Barbara Pym's début novel, first published in 1950. It is considered a remarkable first novel, because of the way in which the youthful Pym - who began the book while a student at Oxford before World War II - imagined herself into the situation of a middle-aged spinster,...
(1950) ISBN 1-55921-264-0 - Excellent WomenExcellent WomenExcellent Women is a novel by Barbara Pym, first published in 1952 and generally acclaimed as the funniest and most successful of her comedies of manners.-Explanation of the novel's title:...
(1952) ISBN 0-452-26730-7 - Jane and PrudenceJane and PrudenceJane and Prudence is a novel by Barbara Pym, first published in 1953 and according to the novelist Jilly Cooper her finest work “ full of wit, plotting, characterization and miraculous observation"-Plot summary:...
(1953) ISBN 1-55921-226-8 - Less than AngelsLess than AngelsLess Than Angels is a novel by Barbara Pym, first published in 1955.The novel is largely concerned with the activities of a group of anthropologists, and is to some extent based on the author's own experiences working at the African Institute in London...
(1955) ISBN 1-55921-388-4 - A Glass of BlessingsA Glass of BlessingsA Glass of Blessings is a novel by Barbara Pym, first published in 1958. The title is taken from the poem The Pulley by George Herbert.-Plot summary:...
(1958) ISBN 1-55921-353-1 - No Fond Return of LoveNo Fond Return Of LoveNo Fond Return of Love is a novel by Barbara Pym, first published in 1961. It has been adapted for radio by the BBC.The novel concerns the love lives of Viola Dace and her friend Dulcie Mainwaring, who are both attracted to the same man, Aylwin Forbes...
(1961) ISBN 1-55921-306-X - Quartet in AutumnQuartet in AutumnQuartet in Autumn is a novel by Barbara Pym, first published in 1977 and shortlisted for the Booker Prize. It was Pym's comeback novel after fifteen years of publishing rejections, following a successful record as a novelist during the 1950s and early 1960s...
(1977) - The Sweet Dove DiedThe Sweet Dove DiedThe Sweet Dove Died is a novel by Barbara Pym, first published in 1978. The title is a quotation from a poem, "I Had a Dove", by John Keats....
(1978) ISBN 1-55921-301-9 - A Few Green Leaves (1980) ISBN 1-55921-228-4
- Crampton HodnetCrampton HodnetCrampton Hodnet is a comic novel by Barbara Pym, published posthumously in 1985. It was originally written around 1940. "Crampton" was the author's middle name.-Plot summary:The action takes place in North Oxford, some time before World War II...
(completed circa 1940, published 1985) ISBN 1-55921-243-8 - An Unsuitable AttachmentAn Unsuitable AttachmentAn Unsuitable Attachment is a novel by Barbara Pym, written in 1963 and published posthumously in 1982.This novel is notable as being the first of Pym's novels to be rejected by publishers after she had established herself as a novelist. The book was originally rejected by Cape, who had published...
(written 1963; published posthumously, 1982) - An Academic Question (written 1970-72; published 1986)
Biography and autobiography
- Hazel HoltHazel HoltHazel Holt is a British novelist.Hazel Holt originated from Birmingham, England, where she attended King Edward VI High School for Girls. She studied at Newnham College, Cambridge, and went on to work at the International African Institute in London, where she became acquainted with the novelist...
- A Lot to Ask: A Life of Barbara Pym (1990) - Barbara Pym - A Very Private Eye (1984)
- Hilary Pym and Honor Wyatt - A la Pym: The Barbara Pym Cookery Book (1995)
External links
- The Barbara Pym Society based at St Hilda's College, Oxford.
- Blue plaque to Barbara Pym on her Finstock home