Jean Rhys
Encyclopedia
Jean Rhys born Ella Gwendolen Rees Williams, was a mid 20th-century novelist from Dominica
. Educated from the age of 16 in Great Britain, she is best known for her novel Wide Sargasso Sea
(1966), written as a "prequel" to Charlotte Brontë
's Jane Eyre
.
, Dominica. Her father, William Rees Williams, was a Welsh doctor and her mother, Minna Williams, was a third-generation Dominican Creole of Scots ancestry.
Rhys was educated at the Convent School and moved to England when she was sixteen, sent there to live with her aunt Clarice. She attended the Perse School for Girls in Cambridge, where she was mocked because of her accent and outsider status. She also spent two terms at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
in London in 1909. The instructors at RADA despaired of Rhys being able to speak what they considered "proper English" and advised her father to take her away. Unable to train as an actress and refusing to return to the Caribbean as her parents wished, she worked with varied success as a chorus girl, adopting the names Vivienne, Emma or Ella Gray.
After her father died in 1910, Rhys drifted into the demimonde
. Having fallen in love with a wealthy stockbroker, Lancelot Grey Hugh ("Lancey") Smith (1870–1941), she became his mistress. Although Smith was a bachelor, he did not offer to marry Rhys and their affair ended within two years. He continued to be an occasional source of financial help. Distraught both by the end of the affair and by the experience of a near-fatal abortion
(not Smith's child), Rhys began writing an account which became the basis of her novel Voyage In The Dark. In need of money, in 1913 she posed nude for an artist in Britain, probably Dublin-born William Orpen
.
During World War I
, Rhys served as a volunteer worker in a soldiers' canteen. In 1918 she worked in a pension office.
The next year she married Leslie Tilden-Smith, an editor. They moved to Devon in 1939, where she lived for many years. He died in 1945.
Two years later, in 1947 Rhys married Max Hamer, a solicitor and cousin to Tilden-Smith. He spent much of their marriage in jail. He died in 1966.
. They met in Paris, and Rhys thereafter wrote short stories under his patronage. Ford praised her "singular instinct for form" and recognised that her outsider status gave her a unique viewpoint. "Coming from the West Indies, he declared, ‘with a terrifying insight and … passion for stating the case of the underdog, she has let her pen loose on the Left Banks of the Old World'." At that time her husband was in jail for eight months for what Rhys described as currency irregularities: Rhys moved in with Ford and his longtime partner, Stella Bowen
. An affair with Ford quickly ensued.
In Voyage in the Dark, published in 1934, she continued to portray the mistreated, rootless woman. In Good Morning, Midnight, published in 1939, Rhys used a modified stream-of-consciousness technique to portray the consciousness of an aging woman.
In the 1940s, Rhys all but disappeared from public view, eventually being traced to Landboat Bungalows, Cheriton Fitzpaine
, in Devon
. After her absence from writing and the public eye, she published Wide Sargasso Sea in 1966. Wide Sargasso Sea won the prestigious WH Smith Literary Award
in 1967. In Wide Sargasso Sea, Rhys returned again to the theme of dominance and dependence, through the relationship between a self-assured European man and a powerless woman. Diana Athill
of André Deutsch
's publishing house was responsible for choosing to publish Wide Sargasso Sea, and she helped revive widespread interest in Rhys' work.
on 14 May 1979 before completing her autobiography. In 1979, the incomplete text appeared posthumously under the title Smile Please: An Unfinished Autobiography.
's McFarlin Library.
Dominica
Dominica , officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island nation in the Lesser Antilles region of the Caribbean Sea, south-southeast of Guadeloupe and northwest of Martinique. Its size is and the highest point in the country is Morne Diablotins, which has an elevation of . The Commonwealth...
. Educated from the age of 16 in Great Britain, she is best known for her novel Wide Sargasso Sea
Wide Sargasso Sea
Wide Sargasso Sea is a 1966 postcolonial parallel novel by Dominica-born author Jean Rhys. Since her previous work, Good Morning, Midnight, was published in 1939, Rhys had lived in obscurity. Wide Sargasso Sea put Rhys into the limelight once more, and became her most successful novel.The novel...
(1966), written as a "prequel" to Charlotte Brontë
Charlotte Brontë
Charlotte Brontë was an English novelist and poet, the eldest of the three Brontë sisters who survived into adulthood, whose novels are English literature standards...
's Jane Eyre
Jane Eyre
Jane Eyre is a novel by English writer Charlotte Brontë. It was published in London, England, in 1847 by Smith, Elder & Co. with the title Jane Eyre. An Autobiography under the pen name "Currer Bell." The first American edition was released the following year by Harper & Brothers of New York...
.
Early life
Rhys was born in RoseauRoseau
-Architecture:The central district of Roseau is tightly packed with small and large houses and even larger modern concrete structures. There is little green or open space situated within the city, and this is even more so today, as many of the courtyards which was once commonplace within the city...
, Dominica. Her father, William Rees Williams, was a Welsh doctor and her mother, Minna Williams, was a third-generation Dominican Creole of Scots ancestry.
Rhys was educated at the Convent School and moved to England when she was sixteen, sent there to live with her aunt Clarice. She attended the Perse School for Girls in Cambridge, where she was mocked because of her accent and outsider status. She also spent two terms at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art is a drama school located in London, United Kingdom. It is generally regarded as one of the most renowned drama schools in the world, and is one of the oldest drama schools in the United Kingdom, having been founded in 1904.RADA is an affiliate school of the...
in London in 1909. The instructors at RADA despaired of Rhys being able to speak what they considered "proper English" and advised her father to take her away. Unable to train as an actress and refusing to return to the Caribbean as her parents wished, she worked with varied success as a chorus girl, adopting the names Vivienne, Emma or Ella Gray.
After her father died in 1910, Rhys drifted into the demimonde
Demimonde
Demi-monde refers to a group of people who live hedonistic lifestyles, usually in a flagrant and conspicuous manner. The term was commonly used in Europe from the late 18th to the early 20th century, and modern use often refers to that period...
. Having fallen in love with a wealthy stockbroker, Lancelot Grey Hugh ("Lancey") Smith (1870–1941), she became his mistress. Although Smith was a bachelor, he did not offer to marry Rhys and their affair ended within two years. He continued to be an occasional source of financial help. Distraught both by the end of the affair and by the experience of a near-fatal abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
(not Smith's child), Rhys began writing an account which became the basis of her novel Voyage In The Dark. In need of money, in 1913 she posed nude for an artist in Britain, probably Dublin-born William Orpen
William Orpen
Major Sir William Newenham Montague Orpen, KBE, RA, RHA was an Irish portrait painter, who worked mainly in London...
.
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...
, Rhys served as a volunteer worker in a soldiers' canteen. In 1918 she worked in a pension office.
Marriage and family
In 1919 Rhys married the French-Dutch journalist, spy and songwriter Willem Johan Marie (Jean) Lenglet, the first of her three husbands. She lived with him from 1920; they wandered through Europe, living mainly in London, Paris and Vienna. They had two children, a son who died young and a daughter. They divorced in 1933.The next year she married Leslie Tilden-Smith, an editor. They moved to Devon in 1939, where she lived for many years. He died in 1945.
Two years later, in 1947 Rhys married Max Hamer, a solicitor and cousin to Tilden-Smith. He spent much of their marriage in jail. He died in 1966.
Writing career
In 1924 Rhys' work was introduced to the English writer Ford Madox FordFord Madox Ford
Ford Madox Ford was an English novelist, poet, critic and editor whose journals, The English Review and The Transatlantic Review, were instrumental in the development of early 20th-century English literature...
. They met in Paris, and Rhys thereafter wrote short stories under his patronage. Ford praised her "singular instinct for form" and recognised that her outsider status gave her a unique viewpoint. "Coming from the West Indies, he declared, ‘with a terrifying insight and … passion for stating the case of the underdog, she has let her pen loose on the Left Banks of the Old World'." At that time her husband was in jail for eight months for what Rhys described as currency irregularities: Rhys moved in with Ford and his longtime partner, Stella Bowen
Stella Bowen
Esther Gwendolyn "Stella" Bowen was an Australian artist, born in North Adelaide in the southern part of the country. As a young girl, Bowen enjoyed drawing and convinced her mother to allow her to study with Margaret Preston...
. An affair with Ford quickly ensued.
In Voyage in the Dark, published in 1934, she continued to portray the mistreated, rootless woman. In Good Morning, Midnight, published in 1939, Rhys used a modified stream-of-consciousness technique to portray the consciousness of an aging woman.
In the 1940s, Rhys all but disappeared from public view, eventually being traced to Landboat Bungalows, Cheriton Fitzpaine
Cheriton Fitzpaine
Cheriton Fitzpaine is a Red Devon village, a couple of miles off the main Crediton to Tiverton road. It has many fifteenth-century houses, including the longest thatched house in England . The Church of St Matthew is a Gothic style church. There is also a Methodist Church in the village...
, in Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
. After her absence from writing and the public eye, she published Wide Sargasso Sea in 1966. Wide Sargasso Sea won the prestigious WH Smith Literary Award
WH Smith Literary Award
The WH Smith Literary Award was an award founded in 1959 by British high street retailer W H Smith. Its founding aim was stated to be to "encourage and bring international esteem to authors of the British Commonwealth"; originally open to all residents of the UK, the Commonwealth and the Republic...
in 1967. In Wide Sargasso Sea, Rhys returned again to the theme of dominance and dependence, through the relationship between a self-assured European man and a powerless woman. Diana Athill
Diana Athill
Diana Athill OBE is a British literary editor, novelist and memoirist who worked with some of the most important writers of the 20th century.-Life and writings:...
of André Deutsch
André Deutsch
André Deutsch was a British publisher.After having learned the business of publishing working for Francis Aldor with whom he was interned in the Isle of Man during the Second World War and who had introduced him to the industry, André Deutsch left Aldor's employment after a few months to continue...
's publishing house was responsible for choosing to publish Wide Sargasso Sea, and she helped revive widespread interest in Rhys' work.
Later years
In a brief interview shortly before her death, Rhys questioned whether any novelist, not least herself, could ever be happy for any length of time. She said that: "If I could choose I would rather be happy than write ... If I could live my life all over again, and choose ... ". She died in ExeterExeter
Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...
on 14 May 1979 before completing her autobiography. In 1979, the incomplete text appeared posthumously under the title Smile Please: An Unfinished Autobiography.
Selected bibliography
- The Left Bank and Other StoriesThe Left Bank and Other StoriesThe Left Bank and Other Stories is the first collection of short stories written by Dominican author Jean Rhys. It was first published by Jonathan Cape and Harper & Brothers in 1927, and contained an introduction by Ford Madox Ford....
, 1927 - Postures, 1928 (released as Quartet, 1929)
- After Leaving Mr. Mackenzie, 1931
- Voyage in the DarkVoyage in the DarkVoyage in the Dark is a 1934 novel by Jean Rhys. It tells of the semi-tragic descent of its young protagonist Anna Morgan who is moved from her Caribbean home to England by an 'evil' stepmother...
, 1934 - Good Morning, MidnightGood Morning, MidnightGood Morning, Midnight is a 1939 modernist novel by author Jean Rhys. Often considered a continuation of Rhys' three other early novels, Quartet , After Leaving Mr Mackenzie and Voyage in the Dark , it is experimental in design and deals with a woman's feelings of vulnerability, depression,...
, 1939 - The Day They Burnt the Books, 1960
- Wide Sargasso SeaWide Sargasso SeaWide Sargasso Sea is a 1966 postcolonial parallel novel by Dominica-born author Jean Rhys. Since her previous work, Good Morning, Midnight, was published in 1939, Rhys had lived in obscurity. Wide Sargasso Sea put Rhys into the limelight once more, and became her most successful novel.The novel...
, 1966 - Tigers Are Better-LookingTigers Are Better-LookingTigers are Better-Looking is a collection of short stories written by famed Dominican author Jean Rhys, published in 1968 by André Deutsch and reissued by Penguin ten years later. This collection combines eight stories written by Rhys during the 1950s with another nine from her previous efforts in...
: With a Selection from 'The Left Bank' , 1968 - Penguin Modern Stories 1, 1969 (with others)
- My Day: Three Pieces, 1975
- Sleep It Off LadySleep It Off LadySleep It Off Lady, originally published in late 1976 by André Deutsch of Great Britain, was famed Dominican author Jean Rhys' final collection of short stories...
, 1976 - Smile Please: An Unfinished Autobiography, 1979
- Jean Rhys Letters 1931–1966, 1984
- Early Novels, 1984
- The Complete Novels, 1985
- Tales of the Wide Caribbean, 1985
- The Collected Short Stories, 1987
Archives
Rhys's collected papers and ephemera are housed in the University of TulsaUniversity of Tulsa
The University of Tulsa is a private university awarding bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees located in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA. It is currently ranked 75th among doctoral degree granting universities in the nation by US News and World Report and is listed as one of the "Best 366 Colleges" by...
's McFarlin Library.
External links
- Literary Encyclopedia biography
- Jean Rhys Biography page
- Jean Rhys bio, with particular reference to her time in Dominica
- "Jean Rhys Archive", University of Tulsa McFarlin Library, Department of Special Collections and University Archives