Rose Macaulay
Encyclopedia
Dame Emilie Rose Macaulay, DBE
(1 August 1881 – 30 October 1958) was an English writer. She published thirty-five books, mostly novels but also biographies and travel writing.
Macaulay was born in Rugby, Warwickshire
the daughter of George Campbell Macaulay
, a Classical scholar, and his wife, Grace Mary (née Conybeare). Her father was descended in the male-line directly from the Macaulay family of Lewis.
She was educated at Oxford High School for Girls and read Modern History at Somerville College
at Oxford University. She began writing her first novel, Abbots Verney (published 1906), after leaving Somerville and while living with her parents at Ty Isaf, near Aberystwyth, in Wales. Later novels include The Lee Shore (1912), Potterism (1920), Dangerous Ages (1921), Told by an Idiot (1923), And No Man's Wit (1940), The World My Wilderness
(1950), and The Towers of Trebizond
(1956). Her non-fiction work includes They Went to Portugal, Catchwords and Claptrap, a biography of Milton
, and Pleasure of Ruins.
During World War I
Macaulay worked in the British Propaganda Department
, after some time as a nurse and later as a civil servant in the War Office
. She pursued a romantic affair with Gerald O'Donovan, a writer and former Jesuit priest, from 1918 until his death in 1942. During the interwar period she was a sponsor of the Peace Pledge Union. Her London flat was utterly destroyed in the Blitz
, and she had to rebuild her life and library from scratch, as documented in the semi-autobiographical short story, Miss Anstruther's Letters, which was published in 1942.
The Towers of Trebizond
, Macaulay's final novel, is generally regarded as her masterpiece. Strongly autobiographical, it treats with wistful humour and deep sadness the attractions of mystical
Christianity
, and the irremediable conflict between adulterous love and the demands of the Christian faith. For this work, she received the James Tait Black Memorial Prize
in 1956.
Rose Macaulay was never a simple believer in "mere Christianity
," however, and her writings reveal a more complex, mystical sense of the divine. That said, she did not return to the Anglican church until 1953; she had been an ardent secularist
before and, while religious themes pervade her novels, previous to her conversion she often treats Christianity satirically, for instance in Going Abroad and The World My Wilderness.
She was created a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire
(DBE) on 31 December 1957 in the 1958 New Years Honours.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(1 August 1881 – 30 October 1958) was an English writer. She published thirty-five books, mostly novels but also biographies and travel writing.
Macaulay was born in Rugby, Warwickshire
Rugby, Warwickshire
Rugby is a market town in Warwickshire, England, located on the River Avon. The town has a population of 61,988 making it the second largest town in the county...
the daughter of George Campbell Macaulay
George Campbell Macaulay
George Campbell Macaulay , also known as G. C. Macaulay, was a noted English Classical scholar. He was the father of the well-known English author Rose Macaulay.-Family:...
, a Classical scholar, and his wife, Grace Mary (née Conybeare). Her father was descended in the male-line directly from the Macaulay family of Lewis.
She was educated at Oxford High School for Girls and read Modern History at Somerville College
Somerville College, Oxford
Somerville College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, and was one of the first women's colleges to be founded there...
at Oxford University. She began writing her first novel, Abbots Verney (published 1906), after leaving Somerville and while living with her parents at Ty Isaf, near Aberystwyth, in Wales. Later novels include The Lee Shore (1912), Potterism (1920), Dangerous Ages (1921), Told by an Idiot (1923), And No Man's Wit (1940), The World My Wilderness
The World My Wilderness
The World My Wilderness is a novel published in 1950 by the English novelist, biographer and traveller Rose Macaulay , the last but one of her novels.-Plot summary:...
(1950), and The Towers of Trebizond
The Towers of Trebizond
The Towers of Trebizond is a novel by Rose Macaulay . Published in 1956, it was the last of her novels, and the most successful. It was awarded the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction in the year of its publication.-Plot:...
(1956). Her non-fiction work includes They Went to Portugal, Catchwords and Claptrap, a biography of Milton
John Milton
John Milton was an English poet, polemicist, a scholarly man of letters, and a civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell...
, and Pleasure of Ruins.
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...
Macaulay worked in the British Propaganda Department
British propaganda during World War I
In World War I, British propaganda took various forms, including pictures, literature and film. Britain also placed significant emphasis on atrocity propaganda as a way of mobilizing hatred against Germany....
, after some time as a nurse and later as a civil servant in the War Office
War Office
The War Office was a department of the British Government, responsible for the administration of the British Army between the 17th century and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the Ministry of Defence...
. She pursued a romantic affair with Gerald O'Donovan, a writer and former Jesuit priest, from 1918 until his death in 1942. During the interwar period she was a sponsor of the Peace Pledge Union. Her London flat was utterly destroyed in the Blitz
The Blitz
The Blitz was the sustained strategic bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany between 7 September 1940 and 10 May 1941, during the Second World War. The city of London was bombed by the Luftwaffe for 76 consecutive nights and many towns and cities across the country followed...
, and she had to rebuild her life and library from scratch, as documented in the semi-autobiographical short story, Miss Anstruther's Letters, which was published in 1942.
The Towers of Trebizond
The Towers of Trebizond
The Towers of Trebizond is a novel by Rose Macaulay . Published in 1956, it was the last of her novels, and the most successful. It was awarded the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction in the year of its publication.-Plot:...
, Macaulay's final novel, is generally regarded as her masterpiece. Strongly autobiographical, it treats with wistful humour and deep sadness the attractions of mystical
Mysticism
Mysticism is the knowledge of, and especially the personal experience of, states of consciousness, i.e. levels of being, beyond normal human perception, including experience and even communion with a supreme being.-Classical origins:...
Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
, and the irremediable conflict between adulterous love and the demands of the Christian faith. For this work, she received the James Tait Black Memorial Prize
James Tait Black Memorial Prize
Founded in 1919, the James Tait Black Memorial Prizes are among the oldest and most prestigious book prizes awarded for literature written in the English language and are Britain's oldest literary awards...
in 1956.
Rose Macaulay was never a simple believer in "mere Christianity
Mere Christianity
Mere Christianity is a theological book by C. S. Lewis, adapted from a series of BBC radio talks made between 1941 and 1944, while Lewis was at Oxford during World War II...
," however, and her writings reveal a more complex, mystical sense of the divine. That said, she did not return to the Anglican church until 1953; she had been an ardent secularist
Secularism
Secularism is the principle of separation between government institutions and the persons mandated to represent the State from religious institutions and religious dignitaries...
before and, while religious themes pervade her novels, previous to her conversion she often treats Christianity satirically, for instance in Going Abroad and The World My Wilderness.
She was created a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(DBE) on 31 December 1957 in the 1958 New Years Honours.
Memorable quotes
- From The Towers of TrebizondThe Towers of TrebizondThe Towers of Trebizond is a novel by Rose Macaulay . Published in 1956, it was the last of her novels, and the most successful. It was awarded the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction in the year of its publication.-Plot:...
:
"Adultery is a meanness and a stealing, a taking away from someone what should be theirs, a great selfishness, and surrounded and guarded by lies lest it should be found out. And out of meanness and selfishness and lying flow love and joy and peace beyond anything that can be imagined."
- First line of The Towers of Trebizond, cited by librarian Nancy Pearl in "Famous First Words: A Librarian Shares Favorite Literary Opening Lines," http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=3894040 hosted by Steve Inskeep on NPR's Morning Edition, September 8, 2004, as an example among "some notable opening lines that have made Pearl's heart pound".
"Take my camel, dear," said my Aunt Dot, as she climbed down from this animal on her return from High Mass.
- From Staying with Relations. Discussing the coat worn by a visitor, a character remarks, "Is rabbit fur disgusting because it's cheap, or is it cheap because it's disgusting?"