George Paston
Encyclopedia
Emily Morse Symonds known as an author by her pen name
George Paston, was a British
author
and literary critic.
, near Norwich, England. She was the niece of John Addington Symonds
, the respected English poet and literary critic. During her writing career, she became close friends with another eminent literary critic, Arnold Bennett
.
She died in her home, shortly after her seventy-sixth birthday, of apparent heart failure.
. Her first book, A Modern Amazon, in 1894, was noted by The Academy in volume 55 as having "some wit and a general readableness."
Her last novel, A Writer of Books, was published in 1898. The book dealt with the barriers faced by women writers within the publishing industry, which was then dominated by men. These two works—as well as the four that came betwixt the two—led to Symonds being described as "a writer with a purpose." This last book is widely viewed as her best. Symonds herself viewed it thus, her friend Arnold Bennett wrote, "She is halfway through [A Writer of Books], which she says will be her best." Trotter agreed with the author's self-assessment, stating categorically that the book is her best work.
. The Academy noted that Symonds was "one of the many women writers who have succumbed to the mysterious attraction of the name 'George'." It has been speculated that perhaps she assumed the pen name at least partially as a means "to gain an unqualified entrance into the profession." The particular choice of the Christian name "George" has been attributed to a "mysterious attraction" that the name holds, as was George Eliot
, the pen name of famed English author, Mary Anne Evans. Another famous female writer who chose George in her pen name was Amantine/Amandine Aurore Lucile Dupin, also known as George Sand
.
Despite her adoption of a masculine pen name, it was no secret that she was, in fact female. The Academy went so far as to question why she even maintained the facade. Ultimately, they simply chalked it up to "a whim."
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...
George Paston, was a British
British literature
British Literature refers to literature associated with the United Kingdom, Isle of Man and Channel Islands. By far the largest part of British literature is written in the English language, but there are bodies of written works in Latin, Welsh, Scottish Gaelic, Scots, Cornish, Manx, Jèrriais,...
author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
and literary critic.
Biography and family
Symonds was born on 4 September 1860, in St-Mary-in-the-Marsh parish, SprowstonSprowston
Sprowston is a small town bordering Norwich in Norfolk, England. It is bounded by Heartsease to the east, Mousehold Heath and the suburb of New Sprowston to the south , Old Catton to the west, and by the open farmland of Beeston St Andrew to the north.It was the largest parish in Norfolk and the...
, near Norwich, England. She was the niece of John Addington Symonds
John Addington Symonds
John Addington Symonds was an English poet and literary critic. Although he married and had a family, he was an early advocate of male love , which he believed could include pederastic as well as egalitarian relationships. He referred to it as l'amour de l'impossible...
, the respected English poet and literary critic. During her writing career, she became close friends with another eminent literary critic, Arnold Bennett
Arnold Bennett
- Early life :Bennett was born in a modest house in Hanley in the Potteries district of Staffordshire. Hanley is one of a conurbation of six towns which joined together at the beginning of the twentieth century as Stoke-on-Trent. Enoch Bennett, his father, qualified as a solicitor in 1876, and the...
.
She died in her home, shortly after her seventy-sixth birthday, of apparent heart failure.
Novels
Symonds made her first literary breakthrough at age 31, when she anonymously authored a short article, "Cousins German", in the Cornhill MagazineCornhill Magazine
The Cornhill Magazine was a Victorian magazine and literary journal named after Cornhill Street in London.Cornhill was founded by George Murray Smith in 1860 and was published until 1975. It was a literary journal with a selection of articles on diverse subjects and serialisations of new novels...
. Her first book, A Modern Amazon, in 1894, was noted by The Academy in volume 55 as having "some wit and a general readableness."
Her last novel, A Writer of Books, was published in 1898. The book dealt with the barriers faced by women writers within the publishing industry, which was then dominated by men. These two works—as well as the four that came betwixt the two—led to Symonds being described as "a writer with a purpose." This last book is widely viewed as her best. Symonds herself viewed it thus, her friend Arnold Bennett wrote, "She is halfway through [A Writer of Books], which she says will be her best." Trotter agreed with the author's self-assessment, stating categorically that the book is her best work.
Origin of pen name
Writing during a time period when writing and publishing was a male-dominated industry, it was not uncommon to see a woman such as Symonds adopt either a gender neutral, or even a male pen namePen 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...
. The Academy noted that Symonds was "one of the many women writers who have succumbed to the mysterious attraction of the name 'George'." It has been speculated that perhaps she assumed the pen name at least partially as a means "to gain an unqualified entrance into the profession." The particular choice of the Christian name "George" has been attributed to a "mysterious attraction" that the name holds, as was George Eliot
George Eliot
Mary Anne Evans , better known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, journalist and translator, and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era...
, the pen name of famed English author, Mary Anne Evans. Another famous female writer who chose George in her pen name was Amantine/Amandine Aurore Lucile Dupin, also known as George Sand
George Sand
Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin, later Baroness Dudevant , best known by her pseudonym George Sand , was a French novelist and memoirist.-Life:...
.
Despite her adoption of a masculine pen name, it was no secret that she was, in fact female. The Academy went so far as to question why she even maintained the facade. Ultimately, they simply chalked it up to "a whim."