Enid Bagnold
Encyclopedia
Enid Algerine Bagnold, Lady Jones, CBE
(27 October 1889 – 31 March 1981), known by her maiden name as Enid Bagnold, was a British author and playwright, best known for the 1935 story National Velvet
which was filmed in 1944 with Elizabeth Taylor
.
She was born in Rochester, Kent
, daughter of Colonel Arthur Henry Bagnold, and brought up mostly in Jamaica
. She went to art school at the school of Walter Sickert
in London, and then worked for Frank Harris
, who was also her first lover.
She was a nurse during World War I
, writing critically of the hospital administration and being dismissed as a result. She was a driver in France for the remainder of the war years. She wrote of her hospital experiences in Diary Without Dates and her driving experiences in The Happy Foreigner.
Her brother Ralph Bagnold
founded the Long Range Desert Group
(LRDG) during World War II
, a precursor of the SAS
.
In 1920, she married Sir Roderick Jones (Chairman of Reuters
) but continued to use her maiden name for her writing. They lived at North End House in Rottingdean
, near Brighton
, Sussex, (previously the home of Sir Edward Burne-Jones), the garden of which inspired her play The Chalk Garden
. They had four children. Their great-granddaughter is Samantha Cameron
, wife of the United Kingdom
's current Prime Minister
and Conservative Party
leader David Cameron
.
Lady Jones died at Rottingdean in 1981 and is buried at St Margaret's Church.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(27 October 1889 – 31 March 1981), known by her maiden name as Enid Bagnold, was a British author and playwright, best known for the 1935 story National Velvet
National Velvet
National Velvet is a novel by Enid Bagnold , first published in 1935.-Plot summary:"National Velvet" is the story of a 14-year-old girl named Velvet Brown, who rides her horse to victory in the Grand National steeplechase...
which was filmed in 1944 with Elizabeth Taylor
Elizabeth Taylor
Dame Elizabeth Rosemond "Liz" Taylor, DBE was a British-American actress. From her early years as a child star with MGM, she became one of the great screen actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age...
.
She was born in Rochester, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, daughter of Colonel Arthur Henry Bagnold, and brought up mostly in Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
. She went to art school at the school of Walter Sickert
Walter Sickert
Walter Richard Sickert , born in Munich, Germany, was a painter who was a member of the Camden Town Group in London. He was an important influence on distinctively British styles of avant-garde art in the 20th century....
in London, and then worked for Frank Harris
Frank Harris
Frank Harris was a Irish-born, naturalized-American author, editor, journalist and publisher, who was friendly with many well-known figures of his day...
, who was also her first lover.
She was a nurse during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, writing critically of the hospital administration and being dismissed as a result. She was a driver in France for the remainder of the war years. She wrote of her hospital experiences in Diary Without Dates and her driving experiences in The Happy Foreigner.
Her brother Ralph Bagnold
Ralph Alger Bagnold
Brigadier Ralph Alger Bagnold, FRS OBE, was the founder and first commander of the British Army's Long Range Desert Group during World War II. He is also generally considered to have been a pioneer of desert exploration, an acclaim earned for his activities during the 1930s...
founded the Long Range Desert Group
Long Range Desert Group
The Long Range Desert Group was a reconnaissance and raiding unit of the British Army during the Second World War. The commander of the German Afrika Corps, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, admitted that the LRDG "caused us more damage than any other British unit of equal strength".Originally called...
(LRDG) 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...
, a precursor of the SAS
Special Air Service
Special Air Service or SAS is a corps of the British Army constituted on 31 May 1950. They are part of the United Kingdom Special Forces and have served as a model for the special forces of many other countries all over the world...
.
In 1920, she married Sir Roderick Jones (Chairman of Reuters
Reuters
Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
) but continued to use her maiden name for her writing. They lived at North End House in Rottingdean
Rottingdean
Rottingdean is a coastal village next to the town of Brighton and technically within the city of Brighton and Hove, in East Sussex, on the south coast of England...
, near Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
, Sussex, (previously the home of Sir Edward Burne-Jones), the garden of which inspired her play The Chalk Garden
The Chalk Garden
The Chalk Garden is a play by Enid Bagnold that premiered on Broadway in 1955. The play tells the story of Mrs. St Maugham and her granddaughter Laurel, a disturbed child under Miss Madrigal's care. The setting of the play was inspired by Bagnold's own garden at North End House in Rottingdean, near...
. They had four children. Their great-granddaughter is Samantha Cameron
Samantha Cameron
Samantha Gwendoline Cameron , often known simply as "Sam Cam", is a British business executive and wife of David Cameron, the current Conservative Party leader and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom....
, wife of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
's current Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
and Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
leader David Cameron
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
.
Lady Jones died at Rottingdean in 1981 and is buried at St Margaret's Church.
Works
- A Diary Without Dates (1917)
- The Sailing Ships and other poems (1918)
- The Happy Foreigner (1920)
- Serena Blandish or the Difficulty of Getting Married (1924) as A Lady of Quality
- Alice & Thomas & Jane (1930)
- National VelvetNational VelvetNational Velvet is a novel by Enid Bagnold , first published in 1935.-Plot summary:"National Velvet" is the story of a 14-year-old girl named Velvet Brown, who rides her horse to victory in the Grand National steeplechase...
(1935) - The Door of Life (1938)
- The Squire (1938)
- Lottie Dundass (1943) play
- Two Plays (1944)
- The Loved and Envied (1951)
- Theatre (1951)
- The Girl's Journey (1954)
- The Chalk GardenThe Chalk GardenThe Chalk Garden is a play by Enid Bagnold that premiered on Broadway in 1955. The play tells the story of Mrs. St Maugham and her granddaughter Laurel, a disturbed child under Miss Madrigal's care. The setting of the play was inspired by Bagnold's own garden at North End House in Rottingdean, near...
(1955) play - The Chinese Prime Minister (1964) play
- A Matter of GravityA Matter of GravityA Matter of Gravity is a play by Enid Bagnold.At its center is eccentric dowager Mrs. Basil, who chooses to live in only one room of her Oxford mansion. Her quiet existence is disrupted by the arrival of her grandson Nicky and four of his friends and new cook-housekeeper Dubois, who startles the...
(original title Call Me Jacky) (1967) play - Autobiography (1969)
- Four Plays (1970)
- Poems (1978)
- Letters to Frank Harris & Other Friends (1980)
- Early Poems (1987)