Jan Morris
Encyclopedia
Jan Morris CBE
(b. 2 October 1926, Clevedon
, Somerset
, England
) is a Welsh
nationalist, historian, author and travel writer. She is known particularly for the Pax Britannica trilogy, a history of the British Empire
, and for portraits of cities, notably Oxford
, Venice
, Trieste
, Hong Kong
, and New York City
.
With an English mother and Welsh father, Morris was educated at Lancing College
, West Sussex
, and Christ Church, Oxford
, but now considers herself Welsh
. A gender re-assigned woman, she was published under her former name, James Morris, until the 1970s.
in the 9th Queen's Royal Lancers
, and later wrote for The Times
. As a correspondent for The Times, Morris scored a notable scoop in 1953 when accompanying the British expedition which was first to scale Mount Everest
. Morris reported the success of Hillary
and Tenzing
in a coded message to the newspaper, "Snow conditions bad stop advanced base abandoned yesterday stop awaiting improvement", and by happy coincidence the news was released on the morning of Queen Elizabeth
's coronation.
Reporting from Cyprus
on the Suez Crisis
for The Manchester Guardian in 1956, Morris produced the first "irrefutable proof" of collusion between France
and Israel
in the invasion of Egypt
ian territory, interviewing French Air Force
pilots who confirmed that they had been in action in support of Israeli forces.
As a soldier, Morris was posted in Trieste in 1945 during the joint Anglo-American occupation.
. One of their children died in infancy.
Male at birth, Morris began medical transition
in 1964. In 1972, Morris traveled to Morocco
to undergo sex reassignment surgery
, performed by surgeon Georges Burou
, because doctors in Britain refused to allow the procedure unless Morris and Tuckniss divorced, something Morris was not prepared to do at the time. They divorced later, but remained together and on 14 May 2008 were legally reunited when they formally entered into a Civil Partnership. Morris lives mostly in Wales
, the land of her father.
s from the University of Wales
and the University of Glamorgan
, is an honorary fellow of Christ Church Oxford and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature
. She received the Glyndŵr Award
in 1996.
She accepted her CBE
in the 1999 Queen's Birthday Honours
"out of polite respect", but is a Welsh nationalist republican at heart. In January 2008 The Times named her the 15th greatest British writer since the War.
Spain (1964)
History
The Pax Britannica Trilogy:
Biography
Memoir
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...
(b. 2 October 1926, Clevedon
Clevedon
Clevedon is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority of North Somerset, which covers part of the ceremonial county of Somerset, England...
, Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, England
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...
) is a Welsh
Welsh people
The Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...
nationalist, historian, author and travel writer. She is known particularly for the Pax Britannica trilogy, a history of the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
, and for portraits of cities, notably Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
, Trieste
Trieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
, Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, and New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
With an English mother and Welsh father, Morris was educated at Lancing College
Lancing College
Lancing College is a co-educational English independent school in the British public school tradition, founded in 1848 by Nathaniel Woodard. Woodard's aim was to provide education "based on sound principle and sound knowledge, firmly grounded in the Christian faith." Lancing was the first of a...
, West Sussex
West Sussex
West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex , Hampshire and Surrey. The county of Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate county councils in 1888, but it remained a single ceremonial county until 1974 and the coming...
, and Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church or house of Christ, and thus sometimes known as The House), is one of the largest constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England...
, but now considers herself Welsh
Welsh people
The Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...
. A gender re-assigned woman, she was published under her former name, James Morris, until the 1970s.
Career
Morris served in World War IIWorld 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...
in the 9th Queen's Royal Lancers
9th Queen's Royal Lancers
The 9th Queen's Royal Lancers, or the Delhi Spearmen, were a cavalry regiment of the British Army. They are best known for their roles in the Indian mutiny of 1857 and for their part in the North African campaign of World War II including the retreat to and the battle of El Alamein in 1942.-Early...
, and later wrote for The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
. As a correspondent for The Times, Morris scored a notable scoop in 1953 when accompanying the British expedition which was first to scale Mount Everest
Mount Everest
Mount Everest is the world's highest mountain, with a peak at above sea level. It is located in the Mahalangur section of the Himalayas. The international boundary runs across the precise summit point...
. Morris reported the success of Hillary
Edmund Hillary
Sir Edmund Percival Hillary, KG, ONZ, KBE , was a New Zealand mountaineer, explorer and philanthropist. On 29 May 1953 at the age of 33, he and Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers known to have reached the summit of Mount Everest – see Timeline of climbing Mount Everest...
and Tenzing
Tenzing Norgay
Padma Bhushan, Supradipta-Manyabara-Nepal-Tara Tenzing Norgay, GM born Namgyal Wangdi and often referred to as Sherpa Tenzing, was a Nepalese Sherpa mountaineer...
in a coded message to the newspaper, "Snow conditions bad stop advanced base abandoned yesterday stop awaiting improvement", and by happy coincidence the news was released on the morning of Queen Elizabeth
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
's coronation.
Reporting from Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
on the Suez Crisis
Suez Crisis
The Suez Crisis, also referred to as the Tripartite Aggression, Suez War was an offensive war fought by France, the United Kingdom, and Israel against Egypt beginning on 29 October 1956. Less than a day after Israel invaded Egypt, Britain and France issued a joint ultimatum to Egypt and Israel,...
for The Manchester Guardian in 1956, Morris produced the first "irrefutable proof" of collusion between France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
in the invasion of Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian territory, interviewing French Air Force
French Air Force
The French Air Force , literally Army of the Air) is the air force of the French Armed Forces. It was formed in 1909 as the Service Aéronautique, a service arm of the French Army, then was made an independent military arm in 1933...
pilots who confirmed that they had been in action in support of Israeli forces.
As a soldier, Morris was posted in Trieste in 1945 during the joint Anglo-American occupation.
Personal life
In 1949, Morris married Elizabeth Tuckniss, the daughter of a tea planter; they had five children together, including the poet and musician Twm MorysTwm Morys
-Biography:Morys was born in 1961 in Oxford, a son to the author Jan Morris. He was brought up in Llanystumdwy and attended Ysgol y Llan, before attending boarding school in Shrewsbury at the age of seven...
. One of their children died in infancy.
Male at birth, Morris began medical transition
Transitioning (transgender)
Transitioning is the process of changing one's gender presentation to accord with one's internal sense of one's gender - the idea of what it means to be a man or woman...
in 1964. In 1972, Morris traveled to Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
to undergo sex reassignment surgery
Sex reassignment surgery
Sex reassignment surgery is a term for the surgical procedures by which a person's physical appearance and function of their existing sexual characteristics are altered to resemble...
, performed by surgeon Georges Burou
Georges Burou
Georges Burou was a French gynecologist who managed a clinic in Casablanca, Morocco and is widely credited with innovating modern sex reassignment surgery for trans women.Notable patients include Coccinelle, April Ashley and Jan Morris....
, because doctors in Britain refused to allow the procedure unless Morris and Tuckniss divorced, something Morris was not prepared to do at the time. They divorced later, but remained together and on 14 May 2008 were legally reunited when they formally entered into a Civil Partnership. Morris lives mostly in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, the land of her father.
Awards
Morris has received honorary doctorateHonorary degree
An honorary degree or a degree honoris causa is an academic degree for which a university has waived the usual requirements, such as matriculation, residence, study, and the passing of examinations...
s from the University of Wales
University of Wales
The University of Wales was a confederal university founded in 1893. It had accredited institutions throughout Wales, and formerly accredited courses in Britain and abroad, with over 100,000 students, but in October 2011, after a number of scandals, it withdrew all accreditation, and it was...
and the University of Glamorgan
University of Glamorgan
The University of Glamorgan is a university based in Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales with campuses in Treforest, Glyntaff, Merthyr Tydfil, Tyn y Wern and Cardiff...
, is an honorary fellow of Christ Church Oxford and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature
Royal Society of Literature
The Royal Society of Literature is the "senior literary organisation in Britain". It was founded in 1820 by George IV, in order to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". The Society's first president was Thomas Burgess, who later became the Bishop of Salisbury...
. She received the Glyndŵr Award
Glyndwr Award
The Glyndŵr Award is made for an Outstanding Contribution to the Arts in Wales. It is given by the Machynlleth Tabernacle Trust to pre-eminent figures in music, art and literature in rotation...
in 1996.
She accepted her CBE
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...
in the 1999 Queen's Birthday Honours
Queen's Birthday Honours
The Queen's Birthday Honours is a part of the British honours system, being a civic occasion on the celebration of the Queen's Official Birthday in which new members of most Commonwealth Realms honours are named. The awards are presented by the reigning monarch or head of state, currently Queen...
"out of polite respect", but is a Welsh nationalist republican at heart. In January 2008 The Times named her the 15th greatest British writer since the War.
Travel
- Coast to Coast (published in the U.S. as As I Saw the U.S.A) (1956: winner of the 1957 Cafe Royal Prize)
- Sultan in Oman (1957)
- The Market in Seleukia (1957)
- South African Winter (1958)
- The Hashemite Kings (1959)
- Venice (1960: winner of the 1961 Heinemann Award)
- The Presence of Spain (1964)
- Oxford (1965)
- The Great Port: A Passage through New York (1969)
- The Venetian Empire (1980)
- A Venetian Bestiary (1982)
- The Matter of Wales (1984)
- Spain (1988)
- Hong Kong (1988)
- Sydney (1992)
- Trieste and the Meaning of Nowhere (2001)
- The World: Life and Travel 1950-2000 (2003)
- Contact! A Book of Encounters (2010)
- Excerpts from Contact! are frequently featured on a Jan Morris blog.
Spain (1964)
Essays
- The Road to Huddersfield: A Journey to Five Continents (1963)
- The Outriders: A Liberal View of Britain (1963)
- Cities (1963)
- Places (1972)
- Travels (1976)
- Destinations (1980)
- Wales; The First Place (1982, reprinted 1998)
- Journeys (1984)
- Among the Cities (1985)
- Locations (1992)
- O Canada! (1992)
- Contact! A Book of Glimpses (2009)
Other
- Coronation Everest (1958)
History
The Pax Britannica Trilogy:
- Heaven’s Command: An Imperial Progress (1973)
- Pax Britannica: The Climax of Empire (1968)
- Farewell the Trumpets: An Imperial Retreat (1978)
- Stones of Empire: Buildings of the Raj (1983) (by Jan Morris with photographs by Simon WinchesterSimon WinchesterSimon Winchester, OBE , is a British-American author and journalist who resides mostly in the United States. Through his career at The Guardian, Winchester covered numerous significant events including Bloody Sunday and the Watergate Scandal...
)
Biography
- Fisher's Face (1995)
Memoir
- Conundrum (1974)
- Wales, The First Place (1982)
- Pleasures of a Tangled Life (1989)
- Trieste and the Meaning of Nowhere (2001)
- A Writer's House in Wales (2002)
- "Herstory" (1999)
Novels
- Last Letters from Hav (1985: shortlisted for the 1985 Booker Prize for Fiction)
- Hav (2006; shortlisted for the 2007 Arthur C Clarke Award)
Miscellaneous (publisher's dates not checked)
- Manhattan '45 (hardcover 1987, paperback 1998)
- Fifty Years of Europe: An Album (1997) - published in 2006 as Europe - An Intimate Journey
- The Oxford Book of Oxford (editor)
- The Matter of Wales: Epic Views of a Small Country
- Lincoln: A Foreigner's Quest (2001)
- Our First Leader
External links
- BBC Profile
- Salon.com Profile
- Contact! Blog
- Open Library. Works by Morris