Lady Constance Malleson
Encyclopedia
The Lady Constance Malleson (Colette O'Niel) (24 October 1895 - 5 October 1975) was a British writer and actress (appearing as Colette O'Niel), the wife of actor Miles Malleson
and lover of Bertrand Russell
.
She was born as Lady Constance Mary Annesley, daughter of Hugh Annesley, 5th Earl Annesley
, and his second wife, Priscilla Cecilia Armytage-Moore, at Castlewellan Castle
. Her sister, Lady Clare Annesley, was a feminist and pacifist, and stood as a Labour Party
parliamentary candidate in the 1920s and 1930s. Her half-sister, Lady Mabel Annesley, became a successful artist and wood-engraver. Constance trained at RADA
and married Miles Malleson
in 1915. She went on to appear in many West End
productions and at least one film, Hindle Wakes
. During the First World War
, her pacifist
opinions brought her into contact with Bertrand Russell
, whose mistress she soon became (having agreed with her husband on an "open marriage"). In 1923, she was divorced from Malleson. Her interest in social reform led her to travel abroad, and she carried out lecture tours in Scandinavia
in the 1930s and 1940s.
Miles Malleson
William Miles Malleson was an English actor and dramatist, particularly known for his appearances in British comedy films of the 1930s to 1960s. Towards the end of his career he also appeared in cameo roles in several Hammer horror films, with a fairly large role in The Brides of Dracula as the...
and lover 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 born as Lady Constance Mary Annesley, daughter of Hugh Annesley, 5th Earl Annesley
Hugh Annesley, 5th Earl Annesley
Hugh Annesley, 5th Earl Annesley was a British military officer and Member of Parliament for County Cavan from 1857 to 1874.-Biography:He was the second son of William Richard Annesley, 3rd Earl Annesley....
, and his second wife, Priscilla Cecilia Armytage-Moore, at Castlewellan Castle
Castlewellan
Castlewellan is a village in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is beside Castlewellan Lake and Slievenaslat mountain, southwest of Downpatrick. It lies between the Mourne Mountains and Slieve Croob. It had a population of 2,392 people in the 2001 Census....
. Her sister, Lady Clare Annesley, was a feminist and pacifist, and stood as a Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
parliamentary candidate in the 1920s and 1930s. Her half-sister, Lady Mabel Annesley, became a successful artist and wood-engraver. Constance trained at RADA
Rada
Rada is the term for "council" or "assembly"borrowed by Polish from the Low Franconian "Rad" and later passed into the Czech, Ukrainian, and Belarusian languages....
and married Miles Malleson
Miles Malleson
William Miles Malleson was an English actor and dramatist, particularly known for his appearances in British comedy films of the 1930s to 1960s. Towards the end of his career he also appeared in cameo roles in several Hammer horror films, with a fairly large role in The Brides of Dracula as the...
in 1915. She went on to appear in many West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
productions and at least one film, Hindle Wakes
Hindle Wakes (1918 film)
Hindle Wakes is a 1918 British silent film drama, directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Colette O'Niel and Hayford Hobbs. It is the first of four screen versions of the celebrated and controversial 1912 play by Stanley Houghton, which was a sensation in its time for its daring assertions that a...
. During the First World War
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...
, her pacifist
Pacifism
Pacifism is the opposition to war and violence. The term "pacifism" was coined by the French peace campaignerÉmile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress inGlasgow in 1901.- Definition :...
opinions brought her into contact with 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...
, whose mistress she soon became (having agreed with her husband on an "open marriage"). In 1923, she was divorced from Malleson. Her interest in social reform led her to travel abroad, and she carried out lecture tours in Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
in the 1930s and 1940s.
Publications
- After Ten Years (1929) (autobiographyAutobiographyAn autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
) - The Coming Back (1933) (novelNovelA novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
) - Fear in the Heart (1936) (novelNovelA novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
) - In the North, Autobiographical Fragments in Norway, Sweden, Finland: 1936-1946 (1946) (travel)
- As the Sight is Bent (1964) (edited by Constance Malleson, an unfinished autobiography of her half-sister Mabel Marguerite Annesley with 35 of her wood engravings)
Selected articles about her in Russell: the Journal of Bertrand Russell Studies
- Malleson, Constance (1975) "From: In the North", Russell: the Journal of Bertrand Russell Studies: Vol. 95: Iss. 1, Article 11. A statement of her attitude to life, reprinted from "In The North". A further quotation ("That love is successful or unsuccessful ... matters not one jot") appears at the end of "The Wisdom of Colette" article, below.
- Slater, John G. (1975) "Lady Constance Malleson, "Colette O'Niel"", Russell: the Journal of Bertrand Russell Studies: Vol. 95: Iss. 4, Article 3. An extended obituary. It includes an account of the fortitude with which she faced a stroke suffered in 1964.
- Malleson, Constance (1976) "The End" Russell: the Journal of Bertrand Russell Studies: Vol. 96: Iss. 1, Article 5. Early writing, originally published in September 1919 in The English Review, also mentioned at the end of the Season in Repertory Article, below.
- Gardiner, Bennitt (1976) "Colette O'Niel: a Season in Repertory", Russell: the Journal of Bertrand Russell Studies: Vol. 96: Iss. 2, Article 5. An account of her season with Hull Little Theatre CompanyHull Repertory Theatre CompanyThe Hull Repertory Theatre Company was a theatre company in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England which was in existence from 1924 until superseded by the Hull New Theatre in 1939.-History:...
in 1925. - Gardiner, Bennitt (1980) "The Wisdom of Colette", Russell: the Journal of Bertrand Russell Studies: Vol. 100: Iss. 1, Article 6. Convincingly argues she had substantial intellectual calibre in her own right, and did not attract Russell simply by her youth, beauty, freedom from convention and ardent pacifism.