Elizabeth Baker
Encyclopedia
Elizabeth Baker was an English playwright
. She earned her living primarily as a typist, and was a spinster until the age of 39 when she married James Allaway, a widower, in June 1915. By then, she had already written several plays. Baker lived in the west London suburb of Bedford Park
, and the constrained lives of the lower middle-class clerical classes was the subject of her first performed play Chains
. She also wrote The Price of Thomas Cook, Miss Tassey (1910) and Miss Robinson (1918).
Like other members of the lower middle class intelligentsia, Baker was a lover of books and the theatre, as well as being a vegetarian and a strict teetotaller. After the end of the Great War, she took off with her husband to the Pacific Ocean
, living in Rarotonga
in the Cook Islands
for two years. They followed this up with a year's stay in San Francisco and another year in New York
.
After the death of Allaway in 1941, Baker moved to Bishop's Stortford
in Hertfordshire
where she lived with her stepsister in genteel penury. Her luck changed a few years before her death when ITV
televised two of her plays - Chains was produced as Ticket for Tomorrow in November 1959, and Miss Robinson as Private and Confidential in May 1960. The royalties from these eased her financial situation considerably.
Baker was reintroduced to a British audience when Chains was staged for the first time in nearly a century by the Orange Tree Theatre
in November 2007.
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
. She earned her living primarily as a typist, and was a spinster until the age of 39 when she married James Allaway, a widower, in June 1915. By then, she had already written several plays. Baker lived in the west London suburb of Bedford Park
Bedford Park, London
Bedford Park is a suburban development in west London, England. It forms a conservation area that is mostly within the London Borough of Ealing, with a small part to the east within the London Borough of Hounslow. The nearest underground station is Turnham Green .-History:It can be justly described...
, and the constrained lives of the lower middle-class clerical classes was the subject of her first performed play Chains
Chains (play)
Chains is a play by the English playwright Elizabeth Baker. It was first performed in April 1909 by the Play Actors Subscription Society at the Court Theatre....
. She also wrote The Price of Thomas Cook, Miss Tassey (1910) and Miss Robinson (1918).
Like other members of the lower middle class intelligentsia, Baker was a lover of books and the theatre, as well as being a vegetarian and a strict teetotaller. After the end of the Great War, she took off with her husband to the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
, living in Rarotonga
Rarotonga
Rarotonga is the most populous island of the Cook Islands, with a population of 14,153 , out of the country's total population of 19,569.The Cook Islands' Parliament buildings and international airport are on Rarotonga...
in the Cook Islands
Cook Islands
The Cook Islands is a self-governing parliamentary democracy in the South Pacific Ocean in free association with New Zealand...
for two years. They followed this up with a year's stay in San Francisco and another year in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
After the death of Allaway in 1941, Baker moved to Bishop's Stortford
Bishop's Stortford
Bishop's Stortford is a historic market town and civil parish in the district of East Hertfordshire in the county of Hertfordshire in England. It is situated just west of the M11 motorway, on the county boundary with Essex and is the closest large town to London Stansted Airport and part of the...
in Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
where she lived with her stepsister in genteel penury. Her luck changed a few years before her death when ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
televised two of her plays - Chains was produced as Ticket for Tomorrow in November 1959, and Miss Robinson as Private and Confidential in May 1960. The royalties from these eased her financial situation considerably.
Baker was reintroduced to a British audience when Chains was staged for the first time in nearly a century by the Orange Tree Theatre
Orange Tree Theatre
The Orange Tree Theatre is a 172-seat theatre at 1 Clarence Street, Richmond in south west London, built specifically as a theatre in the round....
in November 2007.