Evadne Price
Encyclopedia
Evadne Price who wrote mostly under the pseudonym Helen Zenna Smith, was an English writer
, actress, astrologer
and media personality.
She became famous for her many romance novel
s, most of which were serialised in the national newspapers, as well as her children's books starring the popular character Jane Turpin
. She also published an occasional astrology column for SHE magazine, and is now best remembered for her semi-biographical World War I novel Not So Quiet: Stepdaughters of War, a feminist reprise to All Quiet on the Western Front
. In Germany she'd been compared to Adrienne Thomas, whose book, Katrin becomes a soldier was published in 1930.
, Australia to English parents. The National Union Catalogue lists her birthdate as 1896, but Kenneth Andrew Attiwill (her second husband of 54 years) claims she was born in 1901. She was educated in New South Wales and England. She first worked as an actress in London, and then turned to journalism. She wrote a column for the Sunday Chronicle
and other newspapers. She married C. A. Fletcher, who died, later she married the also writer Kenneth Andrew Attiwill in 1929.
(1930), received critical acclaim, and was published under her pseudonym. A British publisher initially approached Price to write a spoof on Erich Maria Remarque
's All Quiet on the Western Front
. Price managed to persuade him to publish an account of a woman's experience of the war instead. She contacted Winnifred Young, a British ambulance driver who had kept war diaries to provide her with a basis for her story. It was translated into French as "Pas Si Calme" by Gallimard, Paris in 1931. Also translated into Dutch; a trilogy "Gij vrouwen ....!", "Vrouwen in nood" and "Vrouwenroeping".
During World War II, Price was the war correspondent for The People from 1943, covering the Allied invasion
and all of the major war stories through the Nuremberg Trials
. Her husband was a POW in Japan, and was presumed dead for two years.
s under the pseudonym Helen Zenna Smith. Some of her books were serialized in the weekly British weekly The People. Several hundred of her novels were serialized in the Novel magazine. Among her more popular books were Society Girl, Glamour Girl, Escape to Marriage, and Air Hostess in Love. She was a former vice-president of the Romantic Novelists' Association
.
. Once a Crook (1939) - a play which was co-written by Price and her husband Kenneth Attiwill, was also both a play and a film. She also acted in the movie Trouble with Junia (1967) in the minor part of Miss Hallyday beside her husband Ken Attiwill.
, often referred to as the "Female William
" and serialized in the Novel magazine from 1928. Price, however, did not take kindly to Jane stories being referred to as a copy of the William series. She went on record saying she "had never heard of William", even though William stories were regularly advertised on Jane book dust jackets. The famous illustrator Thomas Henry Fisher, who illustrated both Jane and William books, even signed the illustrations for the Jane books as "Marriott" so as to distinguish the two series.
. Her afternoon horoscope show called “Fun with the Stars” led to a long-running evening program. Price was dubbed the “new astrologer extraordinaire” for twenty-five years for the SHE magazine and published a successful collection of these columns as SHE Stargazes. When she and her husband retired to Australia
in 1976, Evadne Price wrote the monthly horoscope column for Australian Vogue
.
She also appeared weekly on the ITV Central evening news magazine show with a 5 minute astrological reading and she would always close with the catchphrase "think luck
y and you'll be lucky".
As Evadne Price: (including all Jane books)
NB: All "Jane" books were published by Robert Hale, London unless otherwise mentioned
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, actress, astrologer
Astrologer
An astrologer practices one or more forms of astrology. Typically an astrologer draws a horoscope for the time of an event, such as a person's birth, and interprets celestial points and their placements at the time of the event to better understand someone, determine the auspiciousness of an...
and media personality.
She became famous for her many romance novel
Romance novel
The romance novel is a literary genre developed in Western culture, mainly in English-speaking countries. Novels in this genre place their primary focus on the relationship and romantic love between two people, and must have an "emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending." Through the late...
s, most of which were serialised in the national newspapers, as well as her children's books starring the popular character Jane Turpin
Jane Turpin
Jane Turpin is a fictional girl character, created by Evadne Price. Most of these stories were published in the Novel magazine and later compiled in a book form, in the period 1928 to 1947...
. She also published an occasional astrology column for SHE magazine, and is now best remembered for her semi-biographical World War I novel Not So Quiet: Stepdaughters of War, a feminist reprise to All Quiet on the Western Front
All Quiet on the Western Front
All Quiet on the Western Front is a novel by Erich Maria Remarque, a German veteran of World War I. The book describes the German soldiers' extreme physical and mental stress during the war, and the detachment from civilian life felt by many of these soldiers upon returning home from the front.The...
. In Germany she'd been compared to Adrienne Thomas, whose book, Katrin becomes a soldier was published in 1930.
Birth and early years
Evadne Price was born at sea off the coast of New South WalesNew South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Australia to English parents. The National Union Catalogue lists her birthdate as 1896, but Kenneth Andrew Attiwill (her second husband of 54 years) claims she was born in 1901. She was educated in New South Wales and England. She first worked as an actress in London, and then turned to journalism. She wrote a column for the Sunday Chronicle
Sunday Chronicle
The Sunday Chronicle was a newspaper in the United Kingdom.The newspaper was founded in Manchester by Edward Hulton in August 1885. He was known for his sporting coverage, already publishing the Sporting Chronicle, the Daily Dispatch and the Athletic News. The paper initially cost one penny and,...
and other newspapers. She married C. A. Fletcher, who died, later she married the also writer Kenneth Andrew Attiwill in 1929.
Journalism and the war
Many of Price's stories are set in a backdrop of the World Wars. Price's semi-biographical sketch of a group of ambulance drivers in World War I - Not So Quiet: Stepdaughters of WarNot So Quiet: Stepdaughters of War
Not So Quiet: Stepdaughters of War was published in 1930 by Evadne Price, using the pseudonym Helen Zenna Smith. Smith’s semi-biographical account of an ambulance driver provides female insight to the horrors of the First World War...
(1930), received critical acclaim, and was published under her pseudonym. A British publisher initially approached Price to write a spoof on Erich Maria Remarque
Erich Maria Remarque
Erich Maria Remarque was a German author, best known for his novel All Quiet on the Western Front.-Life and work:...
's All Quiet on the Western Front
All Quiet on the Western Front
All Quiet on the Western Front is a novel by Erich Maria Remarque, a German veteran of World War I. The book describes the German soldiers' extreme physical and mental stress during the war, and the detachment from civilian life felt by many of these soldiers upon returning home from the front.The...
. Price managed to persuade him to publish an account of a woman's experience of the war instead. She contacted Winnifred Young, a British ambulance driver who had kept war diaries to provide her with a basis for her story. It was translated into French as "Pas Si Calme" by Gallimard, Paris in 1931. Also translated into Dutch; a trilogy "Gij vrouwen ....!", "Vrouwen in nood" and "Vrouwenroeping".
During World War II, Price was the war correspondent for The People from 1943, covering the Allied invasion
Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the operation that launched the invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II by Allied forces. The operation commenced on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings...
and all of the major war stories through the Nuremberg Trials
Nuremberg Trials
The Nuremberg Trials were a series of military tribunals, held by the victorious Allied forces of World War II, most notable for the prosecution of prominent members of the political, military, and economic leadership of the defeated Nazi Germany....
. Her husband was a POW in Japan, and was presumed dead for two years.
Romance novel author
Evadne Price was a very successful romance novelist and wrote romance novelRomance novel
The romance novel is a literary genre developed in Western culture, mainly in English-speaking countries. Novels in this genre place their primary focus on the relationship and romantic love between two people, and must have an "emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending." Through the late...
s under the pseudonym Helen Zenna Smith. Some of her books were serialized in the weekly British weekly The People. Several hundred of her novels were serialized in the Novel magazine. Among her more popular books were Society Girl, Glamour Girl, Escape to Marriage, and Air Hostess in Love. She was a former vice-president of the Romantic Novelists' Association
Romantic Novelists' Association
The Romantic Novelists' Association is a writers' association in the UK. Founded in 1960, mainly through the efforts of Denise Robins , Barbara Cartland , Vivian Stuart , and other authors like Elizabeth Goudge, Netta Muskett, Catherine Cookson, Rosamunde Pilcher and Lucilla Andrews.The RNA runs...
.
Playwright and screenwriter
Price's career as a romance novelist took her into playwriting, radio scriptwriting and screenwriting. Her play Big Ben, written for the Malvern Festival in 1939, was a successful one (The Times called it "a large, comfortable play with a soul to call its own"). The Phantom Light (1937) was a stage version of her novel, The Haunted Light. The play was also made into a film starring Gordon HarkerGordon Harker
Gordon Harker was an English film actor. He appeared in 68 films between 1921 and 1959, including three films directed by Alfred Hitchcock and a cameo appearance in Elstree Calling , a revue film co-directed by Hitchcock...
. Once a Crook (1939) - a play which was co-written by Price and her husband Kenneth Attiwill, was also both a play and a film. She also acted in the movie Trouble with Junia (1967) in the minor part of Miss Hallyday beside her husband Ken Attiwill.
Jane Turpin stories
Evadne Price is also remembered for her children's stories, which she often published in magazines. Her most well known creation in this field was Jane TurpinJane Turpin
Jane Turpin is a fictional girl character, created by Evadne Price. Most of these stories were published in the Novel magazine and later compiled in a book form, in the period 1928 to 1947...
, often referred to as the "Female William
Just William
Just William is the first book of children's short stories about the young school boy William Brown, written by Richmal Crompton, and published in 1922. The book was the first in the series of William Brown books which was the basis for numerous television series, films and radio adaptations...
" and serialized in the Novel magazine from 1928. Price, however, did not take kindly to Jane stories being referred to as a copy of the William series. She went on record saying she "had never heard of William", even though William stories were regularly advertised on Jane book dust jackets. The famous illustrator Thomas Henry Fisher, who illustrated both Jane and William books, even signed the illustrations for the Jane books as "Marriott" so as to distinguish the two series.
Astrology
Evadne Price had a parallel career as a broadcaster during the early years of British televisionBritish television
Public television broadcasting started in the United Kingdom in 1936, and now has a collection of free and subscription services over a variety of distribution media, through which there are over 480 channelsTaking the base Sky EPG TV Channels. A breakdown is impossible due to a) the number of...
. Her afternoon horoscope show called “Fun with the Stars” led to a long-running evening program. Price was dubbed the “new astrologer extraordinaire” for twenty-five years for the SHE magazine and published a successful collection of these columns as SHE Stargazes. When she and her husband retired to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
in 1976, Evadne Price wrote the monthly horoscope column for Australian Vogue
Vogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
.
She also appeared weekly on the ITV Central evening news magazine show with a 5 minute astrological reading and she would always close with the catchphrase "think luck
Luck
Luck or fortuity is good fortune which occurs beyond one's control, without regard to one's will, intention, or desired result. There are at least two senses people usually mean when they use the term, the prescriptive sense and the descriptive sense...
y and you'll be lucky".
Final Years
Evadne Price died on 17 April 1985 in Sydney, Australia. Evadne Price has an unfinished autobiography which was to have been named Mother Painted Nude.Selected bibliography
As Helen Zenna Smith:- Not So Quiet: Stepdaughters of War, Albert E. Marriott Ltd., London 1930
- SHE stargazes, National Magazine Company, London 1965
As Evadne Price: (including all Jane books)
- Just Jane, John Hamilton, London (1928)
- Meet Jane, Newnes, London (1930)
- Enter - Jane, NewnesGeorge NewnesSir George Newnes, 1st Baronet was a publisher and editor in England.-Background and education:...
, London (1932) - One Woman's Freedom, Longmans, GreenLongmanLongman was a publishing company founded in London, England in 1724. It is now an imprint of Pearson Education.-Beginnings:The Longman company was founded by Thomas Longman , the son of Ezekiel Longman , a gentleman of Bristol. Thomas was apprenticed in 1716 to John Osborn, a London bookseller, and...
London (1932) - Red for Danger, John Long, London (1936)
- Jane the Fourth (1937)
- Jane the Sleuth (1939)
- Jane the Unlucky (1939)
- Jane the Popular (1939)
- Jane the Patient (1940)
- Jane Gets Busy (1940)
- Jane at War (1947)
- My Pretty Sister (as Helen Zenna Smith), Herbert Jenkins Ltd (1952)
- Her Stolen Life, Merit Books, London (1950s)
- The Wrong Mrs. Sylvester (1950s)
- Jane and Co (selected stories by Mary Cadogan) Macmillan PublishersMacmillan PublishersMacmillan Publishers Ltd, also known as The Macmillan Group, is a privately held international publishing company owned by Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group. It has offices in 41 countries worldwide and operates in more than thirty others.-History:...
(1985)
NB: All "Jane" books were published by Robert Hale, London unless otherwise mentioned
Broadway Credits
- Stepdaughters of War, based on the novel by Helen Zenna Smith, Empire TheatreEmpire Theatre (New York City)The Empire Theatre in New York City was a prominent Broadway theatre in the first half of the twentieth century. It opened in 1893 with a performance of The Girl I Left Behind Me by David Belasco. The Empire continued to present both original plays and revivals until 1953. Its final show, in May...
(started 6 October 1930 for 24 performances)
Filmography
- The Phantom Light (1935) (playwright The Haunted Light)
- Wolf's Clothing (1936) (play author, screenwriter)
- When the Poppies Bloom Again (1937) (script)
- Merry Comes to Town aka Merry Comes to Stay (UK: alternative title) (1937) (short story author)
- Silver Top (1938) (short story author)
- Lightning Conductor (1938) (short story author)
- Blondes for Danger (1938) (novel author)
- Once a Crook (1941) (play author)
- Not Wanted on Voyage (1957) (play author, screenwriter)
- Trouble with Junia (1967) (actress)