Beatrice Hastings
Encyclopedia
Beatrice Hastings was the pen name
of Emily Alice Haigh (1879–1943) an English
writer, poet
and literary critic. Much of her work was published in The New Age
under a variety of pseudonym
s, and she lived with the editor, A. R. Orage, for a time before the outbreak of the First World War. Bisexual, she was a friend and lover of Katherine Mansfield
, whose work was first published in The New Age. Another of her lovers was Wyndham Lewis
.
Born in London and raised in South Africa
, just before the war, she moved to Paris and became a figure in bohemian circles due to her friendship with Max Jacob
. She shared an apartment in Montparnasse
with Amedeo Modigliani
and posed for him as well.
Towards the end of her life she felt excluded from the literary recognition she felt her due, and blamed Orage, whom she accused of conspiring to keep her out of literary circles in Britain, and she published a pamphlet, The Old New Age, bitterly criticising him in 1936. In 1943, probably suffering from cancer, she killed herself with gas from a domestic cooker.
Pen name
A pen name, nom de plume, or literary double, is a pseudonym adopted by an author. A pen name may be used to make the author's name more distinctive, to disguise his or her gender, to distance an author from some or all of his or her works, to protect the author from retribution for his or her...
of Emily Alice Haigh (1879–1943) an English
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...
writer, poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
and literary critic. Much of her work was published in The New Age
The New Age
The New Age was a British literary magazine, noted for its wide influence under the editorship of A. R. Orage from 1907 to 1922. It began life in 1894 as a publication of the Christian Socialist movement; but in 1907 as a radical weekly edited by Joseph Clayton, it was struggling...
under a variety of pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
s, and she lived with the editor, A. R. Orage, for a time before the outbreak of the First World War. Bisexual, she was a friend and lover of Katherine Mansfield
Katherine Mansfield
Kathleen Mansfield Beauchamp Murry was a prominent modernist writer of short fiction who was born and brought up in colonial New Zealand and wrote under the pen name of Katherine Mansfield. Mansfield left for Great Britain in 1908 where she encountered Modernist writers such as D.H. Lawrence and...
, whose work was first published in The New Age. Another of her lovers was Wyndham Lewis
Wyndham Lewis
Percy Wyndham Lewis was an English painter and author . He was a co-founder of the Vorticist movement in art, and edited the literary magazine of the Vorticists, BLAST...
.
Born in London and raised in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, just before the war, she moved to Paris and became a figure in bohemian circles due to her friendship with Max Jacob
Max Jacob
Max Jacob was a French poet, painter, writer, and critic.-Life and career:After spending his childhood in Quimper, Brittany, France, he enrolled in the Paris Colonial School, which he left in 1897 for an artistic career...
. She shared an apartment in Montparnasse
Montparnasse
Montparnasse is an area of Paris, France, on the left bank of the river Seine, centred at the crossroads of the Boulevard du Montparnasse and the Rue de Rennes, between the Rue de Rennes and boulevard Raspail...
with Amedeo Modigliani
Amedeo Modigliani
Amedeo Clemente Modigliani was an Italian painter and sculptor who worked mainly in France. Primarily a figurative artist, he became known for paintings and sculptures in a modern style characterized by mask-like faces and elongation of form...
and posed for him as well.
Towards the end of her life she felt excluded from the literary recognition she felt her due, and blamed Orage, whom she accused of conspiring to keep her out of literary circles in Britain, and she published a pamphlet, The Old New Age, bitterly criticising him in 1936. In 1943, probably suffering from cancer, she killed herself with gas from a domestic cooker.
Works
- Woman's Worst Enemy - Woman, 1909
- The Maids' Comedy: A Chivalric Romance in Thirteen Chapters, 1911
- The Old "New Age"—Orage and Others, Blue Moon Press, 1935
- Defence of Madame Blavatsky Volumes 1 and 2, Worthing, Hastings Press, 1937