Lady Violet Powell
Encyclopedia
Lady Violet Powell born Violet Georgiana Pakenham, third daughter of Thomas Pakenham, 5th Earl of Longford
and Lady Mary Julia Child Villiers (daughter of Victor Child-Villiers, 7th Earl of Jersey
), was a writer and critic. She was educated at St Margaret's School, Bushey
.
She married Anthony Powell
(21 December 1905 – 28 March 2000) on 1 December 1934 at All Saints Anglican Church, Ennismore Gardens, Knightsbridge
; they had two children, Tristram and John.
A member of a highly literary family, Lady Violet was herself a distinguished memoirist and biographer. Her The Life of a Provincial Lady (1988), on the life of E. M. Delafield
, has been called by one critic "one of the best literary biographies of a British writer in the twentieth century". Those who knew the couple well believed that Lady Violet made significant contributions to the richness, depth and polish of her husband's work.
She is generally taken to be the model for the character of Isobel Tolland in her husband's novel sequence
A Dance to the Music of Time
.
Thomas Pakenham, 5th Earl of Longford
Thomas Pakenham, 5th Earl of Longford KP, MVO , known as Lord Silchester until 1887, was an Irish peer and soldier....
and Lady Mary Julia Child Villiers (daughter of Victor Child-Villiers, 7th Earl of Jersey
Victor Child-Villiers, 7th Earl of Jersey
Victor Albert George Child Villiers, 7th Earl of Jersey GCB, GCMG, PC, DL, JP , was a British banker, Conservative politician and colonial administrator...
), was a writer and critic. She was educated at St Margaret's School, Bushey
St Margaret's School, Bushey
St Margaret's School is an independent boarding and day school for girls aged 4–18 in Bushey, Hertfordshire.As well as day places for all age groups the school offers a range of flexible boarding options for both UK and international pupils from year 7 and is situated in of countryside...
.
She married Anthony Powell
Anthony Powell
Anthony Dymoke Powell CH, CBE was an English novelist best known for his twelve-volume work A Dance to the Music of Time, published between 1951 and 1975....
(21 December 1905 – 28 March 2000) on 1 December 1934 at All Saints Anglican Church, Ennismore Gardens, Knightsbridge
Knightsbridge
Knightsbridge is a road which gives its name to an exclusive district lying to the west of central London. The road runs along the south side of Hyde Park, west from Hyde Park Corner, spanning the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea...
; they had two children, Tristram and John.
A member of a highly literary family, Lady Violet was herself a distinguished memoirist and biographer. Her The Life of a Provincial Lady (1988), on the life of E. M. Delafield
E. M. Delafield
Edmée Elizabeth Monica Dashwood, née de la Pasture , commonly known as E. M. Delafield, was a prolific English author. She is best-known for her largely autobiographical Diary of a Provincial Lady, which took the form of a journal of the life of an upper-middle class Englishwoman living mostly in a...
, has been called by one critic "one of the best literary biographies of a British writer in the twentieth century". Those who knew the couple well believed that Lady Violet made significant contributions to the richness, depth and polish of her husband's work.
She is generally taken to be the model for the character of Isobel Tolland in her husband's novel sequence
Novel sequence
A novel sequence is a set or series of novels which share common themes, characters, or settings, but where each novel has its own title and free-standing storyline, and can thus be read independently or out of sequence.-Definitions:...
A Dance to the Music of Time
A Dance to the Music of Time
A Dance to the Music of Time is a twelve-volume cycle of novels by Anthony Powell, inspired by the painting of the same name by Nicolas Poussin. One of the longest works of fiction in literature, it was published between 1951 and 1975 to critical acclaim...
.
Books
Some of her books are:- The Album of Anthony Powell's Dance to the Music of Time
- A Compton-Burnett Compendium
- A Jane Austen Compendium: The Six Major Novels
- The Constant Novelist: A Study of Margaret Kennedy, 1896–1967
- Flora Annie Steel: Novelist of India
- The Irish Cousins: The Books and Background of Somerville and Ross
- The Life of a Provincial Lady: A Study of E.M. Delafield and Her Works
- Margaret, Countess of Jersey: A Biography
- A Substantial Ghost: The Literary Adventures of Maude ffoulkes
Autobiography
- Five Out of Six: An Autobiography (a reference to her birth order amongst her siblings)
- Within the Family Circle: An Autobiography
- The Departure Platform: An Autobiography