Priscilla Napier
Encyclopedia
Priscilla Napier was an English
author
, specializing in biography
.
in 1908, Hayter was the daughter of Sir William Hayter, an adviser to the Egyptian government, and his wife, Alethea Slessor, daughter of a Hampshire
rector
. Her brother, Sir William Goodenough Hayter
(1906–1995), became British ambassador
to the Soviet Union
and Warden of New College, Oxford, while her sister Alethea Hayter (1911–2006) was a literary biographer
.
She spent her early years in Cairo
, and later wrote of her mother and her aunts that they were "true Victorians: not in a general way frightened of murder and sudden death, but perfectly terrified of insects".
Napier was educated at Downe House School, in Berkshire
, which was then under the headship of its founder Olive Willis
, and at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford
, where she graduated (like her sister Aletha three years later) BA
in modern history
.
officer and a scion of the Napier family of Merchiston. A Napier ancestor had arrived in Somerset
from Scotland
in the reign of Henry VII
, and Trevylyan Napier's father, like his grandfather, was a Vice-Admiral. After her husband was killed on active service in 1940, Priscilla Napier was left to bring up their son and two daughters. She then developed a writing career based on studies of her dead husband's family
. She also published poetry and an autobiography
.
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...
author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, specializing in biography
Biography
A biography is a detailed description or account of someone's life. More than a list of basic facts , biography also portrays the subject's experience of those events...
.
Early life
Born at OxfordOxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
in 1908, Hayter was the daughter of Sir William Hayter, an adviser to the Egyptian government, and his wife, Alethea Slessor, daughter of a Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
rector
Rector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
. Her brother, Sir William Goodenough Hayter
William Goodenough Hayter
Sir William Goodenough Hayter, 1st Baronet PC, QC was a British barrister and Whig politician. He is best remembered for his two tenures as Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury between 1850 and 1852 and 1853 and 1858.- Background and education:Born at Winterbourne Stoke, Wiltshire, Hayter was...
(1906–1995), became British ambassador
Ambassador
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
to the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and Warden of New College, Oxford, while her sister Alethea Hayter (1911–2006) was a literary biographer
Biography
A biography is a detailed description or account of someone's life. More than a list of basic facts , biography also portrays the subject's experience of those events...
.
She spent her early years in Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
, and later wrote of her mother and her aunts that they were "true Victorians: not in a general way frightened of murder and sudden death, but perfectly terrified of insects".
Napier was educated at Downe House School, in Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
, which was then under the headship of its founder Olive Willis
Olive Willis
Olive Margaret Willis was an English educationist and headmistress. She founded Downe House School and was its head for nearly forty years, from 1907 to 1946.-Early life:...
, and at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford
Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford
Lady Margaret Hall is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, located at the end of Norham Gardens in north Oxford. As of 2006 the college had an estimated financial endowment of £34m....
, where she graduated (like her sister Aletha three years later) BA
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in modern history
Modern history
Modern history, or the modern era, describes the historical timeline after the Middle Ages. Modern history can be further broken down into the early modern period and the late modern period after the French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution...
.
Life
At the age of twenty-two, Priscilla Hayter married Trevylyan Napier, a Royal NavyRoyal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
officer and a scion of the Napier family of Merchiston. A Napier ancestor had arrived in Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
from Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
in the reign of Henry VII
Henry VII of England
Henry VII was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the House of Tudor....
, and Trevylyan Napier's father, like his grandfather, was a Vice-Admiral. After her husband was killed on active service in 1940, Priscilla Napier was left to bring up their son and two daughters. She then developed a writing career based on studies of her dead husband's family
Clan Napier
Clan Napier is a Scottish clan originally from lands around Loch Lomond, but with presence in Stirlingshire, Edinburgh, Aberdeenshire and Kincardineshire.-Origins of the Clan:There is some debate about the origin of the name Napier...
. She also published poetry and an autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
.
Publications
- A Late Beginner (autobiography, 1966)
- The Sword Dance: Lady Sarah Lennox and the Napiers (1971)
- A Difficult Country: the Napiers in Scotland (1972)
- Revolution and the Napier Brothers, 1820-1840 (1973)
- I Have Sind: Charles Napier in India, 1841-1844 (Michael Russell Publishing, 1990, ISBN 978-0859551632)
- Raven Castle: Charles Napier in India, 1844-1851 (1991)
- Bishop Theophan's The Art of Prayer (translation)
- A Memoir of the Lady Delia Peel, Born Spencer, 1889-1981 (1984)
- Ballad of King Henry VIII and Sir Thomas Wyatt (1994, long poem, with foreword by Ted HughesTed HughesEdward James Hughes OM , more commonly known as Ted Hughes, was an English poet and children's writer. Critics routinely rank him as one of the best poets of his generation. Hughes was British Poet Laureate from 1984 until his death.Hughes was married to American poet Sylvia Plath, from 1956 until...
) - Black Charlie, a life of Admiral Sir Charles Napier (1995)
- Barbarian Eye: Lord Napier in China, 1834 (1995)
- Henry at Sea (1997)
- Henry Ashore (1997)