Jane Aiken Hodge
Encyclopedia
Jane Aiken Hodge was an American
-born British
writer.
to Pulitzer prize-winning poet Conrad Aiken
and his first wife, the writer Jessie McDonald. Jane Hodge was 3 years old when her family moved to Great Britain, settling in Rye, East Sussex
, where her younger sister, Joan
, who would become a novelist and a children's writer, was born. Their parents divorced in 1929.
From 1935, Jane Hodge read English at Somerville College, Oxford University, and in 1938 she took a second degree in English at Radcliffe College
, her mother's alma mater. She was a civil servant for a time, and also worked for Time Magazine, before returning to the UK in 1947. Her works of fiction include historical novels and contemporary detective novels. In 1972 she renounced her United States citizenship and became a British subject.
For many years a believer in the right of people to end their own lives, Hodge chose to end her own by means of an overdose in June 2009. The Times obituary (pub. July 25, 2009) stated that she left "a letter expressing her deep distress that she had felt unable to discuss her plans with her daughters without risking making them accessories.".
She died at home in Lewes
on June 17 and is survived by two daughters and two granddaughters.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
-born British
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...
writer.
Life
Born near Cambridge, MassachusettsCambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
to Pulitzer prize-winning poet Conrad Aiken
Conrad Aiken
Conrad Potter Aiken was an American novelist and poet, whose work includes poetry, short stories, novels, a play and an autobiography.-Early years:...
and his first wife, the writer Jessie McDonald. Jane Hodge was 3 years old when her family moved to Great Britain, settling in Rye, East Sussex
Rye, East Sussex
Rye is a small town in East Sussex, England, which stands approximately two miles from the open sea and is at the confluence of three rivers: the Rother, the Tillingham and the Brede...
, where her younger sister, Joan
Joan Aiken
Joan Delano Aiken MBE was an English novelist. She was born in Rye, East Sussex, into a family of writers, including her father, American poet Conrad Aiken , her sister, Jane Aiken Hodge and her brother John Aiken Joan Delano Aiken MBE (4 September 1924 – 4 January 2004) was an English novelist....
, who would become a novelist and a children's writer, was born. Their parents divorced in 1929.
From 1935, Jane Hodge read English at Somerville College, Oxford University, and in 1938 she took a second degree in English at Radcliffe College
Radcliffe College
Radcliffe College was a women's liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and was the coordinate college for Harvard University. It was also one of the Seven Sisters colleges. Radcliffe College conferred joint Harvard-Radcliffe diplomas beginning in 1963 and a formal merger agreement with...
, her mother's alma mater. She was a civil servant for a time, and also worked for Time Magazine, before returning to the UK in 1947. Her works of fiction include historical novels and contemporary detective novels. In 1972 she renounced her United States citizenship and became a British subject.
For many years a believer in the right of people to end their own lives, Hodge chose to end her own by means of an overdose in June 2009. The Times obituary (pub. July 25, 2009) stated that she left "a letter expressing her deep distress that she had felt unable to discuss her plans with her daughters without risking making them accessories.".
She died at home in Lewes
Lewes
Lewes is the county town of East Sussex, England and historically of all of Sussex. It is a civil parish and is the centre of the Lewes local government district. The settlement has a history as a bridging point and as a market town, and today as a communications hub and tourist-oriented town...
on June 17 and is survived by two daughters and two granddaughters.
Non-fiction
- (1972) Only a Novel: The Double Life of Jane Austen
- (1984) The Private World of Georgette Heyer, Arrow Books. ISBN 9780099493495
- (1996) Passion and Principle: Loves And Lives of Regency Women
Fiction
- (1961) Marry in Haste
- (1963) Maulever Hall
- (1965) The Adventurers aka Royal Gamble (U.S.)
- (1966) Watch the Wall My Darling
- (1967) Here Comes a Candle aka The Master of Penrose (U.S.)
- (1968) The Winding Stair
- (1970) Greek Wedding
- (1970) Savannah Purchase
- (1973) Strangers in Company
- (1973) Shadow of a Lady
- (1974) One Way to Venice
- (1975) Rebel Heiress
- (1976) Runaway Bride
- (1976) Judas Flowering
- (1977) Red Sky At Night aka Red Sky at Night, Lovers' Delight (U.S.)
- (1979) Last Act
- (1981) Wide Is the Water
- (1982) The Lost Garden
- (1985) Secret Island
- (1987) Polonaise
- (1989) First Night
- (1990) Leading Lady
- (1992) Windover
- (1993) Escapade
- (1995) Whispering
- (1996) Bride of Dreams
- (1997) Unsafe Hands
- (1998) Susan in America
- (1999) Caterina
- (2000) A Death in Two Parts
- (2003) Deathline