Joan Henry
Encyclopedia
Joan Constance Anne Henry (8 April 1914–2000) was an English
novelist, playwright
and screenwriter
. A former débutante
from an illustrious family, she was jailed for passing a fraudulent cheque in 1951 and her best-known works were based on her experiences in prison
. She wrote the semi-autobiographical Who Lie In Gaol, filmed as The Weak and the Wicked
, and the novel Yield to the Night, the basis for the film
starring Diana Dors
.
, London
. She was descended from Prime Ministers John Russell
(her great-great-grandfather) and Robert Peel
, and was the cousin once removed of Bertrand Russell
. She was raised by grandparents in Ireland
after her parents separated. After returning to England and finishing her education, she made her society début
in 1932. She had a twin sister, who died at the age of 21.
In 1938 she married army officer Donald Standage; the couple had one daughter. The marriage broke down in the late 1940s and they were divorced by 1950. After getting into debt through gambling
, Henry accepted a forged cheque from a friend as a loan. She was convicted at the Old Bailey
in 1951 and sentenced to 12 months imprisonment. She served eight months, the majority at Holloway
prison, and also at Askham Grange
open prison
.
s. She came to prominence in 1952 with the publication of Who Lie in Gaol (the title was taken from a line in Oscar Wilde
's The Ballad of Reading Gaol
), based on her experiences in prison, which became a bestseller. Henry was critical of Holloway prison, giving accounts of brutal treatment and neglect she had witnessed. The book was the basis for the 1953 film The Weak and the Wicked
, directed by J. Lee Thompson
with Glynis Johns
playing a character based on Henry.
Yield to the Night (the title was taken from Book VII of the Iliad
), a novel following a woman awaiting execution, was published in 1954. It was filmed in 1956 with Diana Dors in the lead role. Henry co-wrote the script, which was nominated for a BAFTA award for Best British Screenplay. The film was again directed by Lee Thompson, who Henry married in 1958.
In 1960 Henry's play Look on Tempests was staged at the Comedy Theatre in London's West End. It continued Henry's focus on the justice system, depicting the effect on the upper middle class
family of a man accused of gross indecency
, and became the first play dealing with homosexuality
to be approved for performance by the Lord Chamberlain
, who had lifted a ban on the subject the previous year.
Henry also wrote two television plays, Rough Justice in 1962 and Person to Person in 1967. She and Lee Thompson were divorced in the late 1960s.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
novelist, playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
and screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
. A former débutante
Debutante
A débutante is a young lady from an aristocratic or upper class family who has reached the age of maturity, and as a new adult, is introduced to society at a formal "début" presentation. It should not be confused with a Debs...
from an illustrious family, she was jailed for passing a fraudulent cheque in 1951 and her best-known works were based on her experiences in prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
. She wrote the semi-autobiographical Who Lie In Gaol, filmed as The Weak and the Wicked
The Weak and the Wicked
The Weak and the Wicked is a 1954 British drama film directed by J. Lee Thompson based on the book by his wife, Joan Henry, starring Glynis Johns and Diana Dors....
, and the novel Yield to the Night, the basis for the film
Yield to the Night
Yield to the Night is a 1956 British crime drama film starring Diana Dors as a murderess sentenced to hang and spending her last days in the condemned cell in a British women's prison...
starring Diana Dors
Diana Dors
Diana Dors was an English actress, born Diana Mary Fluck in Swindon, Wiltshire. Considered the English equivalent of the blonde bombshells of Hollywood, Dors described herself as: "The only sex symbol Britain has produced since Lady Godiva."-Early life:Diana Mary Fluck was born in Swindon,...
.
Early years
Henry was born on 8 April 1914 in BelgraviaBelgravia
Belgravia is a district of central London in the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Noted for its immensely expensive residential properties, it is one of the wealthiest districts in the world...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. She was descended from Prime Ministers John Russell
John Russell, 1st Earl Russell
John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, KG, GCMG, PC , known as Lord John Russell before 1861, was an English Whig and Liberal politician who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century....
(her great-great-grandfather) and Robert Peel
Robert Peel
Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet was a British Conservative statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 December 1834 to 8 April 1835, and again from 30 August 1841 to 29 June 1846...
, and was the cousin once removed of Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRS was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, and social critic. At various points in his life he considered himself a liberal, a socialist, and a pacifist, but he also admitted that he had never been any of these things...
. She was raised by grandparents in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
after her parents separated. After returning to England and finishing her education, she made her society début
Debutante
A débutante is a young lady from an aristocratic or upper class family who has reached the age of maturity, and as a new adult, is introduced to society at a formal "début" presentation. It should not be confused with a Debs...
in 1932. She had a twin sister, who died at the age of 21.
In 1938 she married army officer Donald Standage; the couple had one daughter. The marriage broke down in the late 1940s and they were divorced by 1950. After getting into debt through gambling
Gambling
Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods...
, Henry accepted a forged cheque from a friend as a loan. She was convicted at the Old Bailey
Old Bailey
The Central Criminal Court in England and Wales, commonly known as the Old Bailey from the street in which it stands, is a court building in central London, one of a number of buildings housing the Crown Court...
in 1951 and sentenced to 12 months imprisonment. She served eight months, the majority at Holloway
Holloway (HM Prison)
HM Prison Holloway is a closed category prison for adult women and Young Offenders, located in the Holloway area of the London Borough of Islington, in north and Inner London, England...
prison, and also at Askham Grange
Askham Grange (HM Prison)
HM Prison Askham Grange is a women's open category prison, located in Askham Richard village in North Yorkshire, England. The prison is run by Her Majesty's Prison Service.-History:...
open prison
Open prison
An open prison is an informal description applied to any penal establishment in which the prisoners are trusted to serve their sentences with minimal supervision and perimeter security and so do not need to be locked up in prison cells...
.
Career
Before her imprisonment, Henry earned a living writing 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. She came to prominence in 1952 with the publication of Who Lie in Gaol (the title was taken from a line in Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
's The Ballad of Reading Gaol
The Ballad of Reading Gaol
The Ballad of Reading Gaol is a poem by Oscar Wilde, written in exile either in Berneval or in Dieppe, France, after his release from Reading Gaol on or about 19 May 1897. Wilde had been incarcerated in Reading, after being convicted of homosexual offences in 1895 and sentenced to two years' hard...
), based on her experiences in prison, which became a bestseller. Henry was critical of Holloway prison, giving accounts of brutal treatment and neglect she had witnessed. The book was the basis for the 1953 film The Weak and the Wicked
The Weak and the Wicked
The Weak and the Wicked is a 1954 British drama film directed by J. Lee Thompson based on the book by his wife, Joan Henry, starring Glynis Johns and Diana Dors....
, directed by J. Lee Thompson
J. Lee Thompson
John Lee Thompson , better known as J. Lee Thompson, was an English film director, active in England and Hollywood.- Early years :...
with Glynis Johns
Glynis Johns
Glynis Johns is a South African-born Welsh stage and film actress, dancer, pianist and singer . With a career spanning seven decades, Johns is often cited as the "complete actress", who happens to be a trained pianist and singer...
playing a character based on Henry.
Yield to the Night (the title was taken from Book VII of the Iliad
Iliad
The Iliad is an epic poem in dactylic hexameters, traditionally attributed to Homer. Set during the Trojan War, the ten-year siege of the city of Troy by a coalition of Greek states, it tells of the battles and events during the weeks of a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles...
), a novel following a woman awaiting execution, was published in 1954. It was filmed in 1956 with Diana Dors in the lead role. Henry co-wrote the script, which was nominated for a BAFTA award for Best British Screenplay. The film was again directed by Lee Thompson, who Henry married in 1958.
In 1960 Henry's play Look on Tempests was staged at the Comedy Theatre in London's West End. It continued Henry's focus on the justice system, depicting the effect on the upper middle class
Upper middle class
The upper middle class is a sociological concept referring to the social group constituted by higher-status members of the middle class. This is in contrast to the term "lower middle class", which is used for the group at the opposite end of the middle class stratum, and to the broader term "middle...
family of a man accused of gross indecency
Gross indecency
Gross indecency is a UK and Canadian legal term of art which was used in the definition of the following criminal offences:*Gross indecency between men, contrary to section 11 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885 and later contrary to section 13 of the Sexual Offences Act 1956.*Indecency with a...
, and became the first play dealing with homosexuality
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
to be approved for performance by the Lord Chamberlain
Lord Chamberlain
The Lord Chamberlain or Lord Chamberlain of the Household is one of the chief officers of the Royal Household in the United Kingdom and is to be distinguished from the Lord Great Chamberlain, one of the Great Officers of State....
, who had lifted a ban on the subject the previous year.
Henry also wrote two television plays, Rough Justice in 1962 and Person to Person in 1967. She and Lee Thompson were divorced in the late 1960s.