Rumer Godden
Encyclopedia
Margaret Rumer Godden OBE (10 December 19078 November 1998) was an English author of over 60 fiction
and nonfiction books written under the name of Rumer Godden. A few of her works were co-written by her sister, Jon Godden
, who wrote several novels on her own. These include Two Under the Indian Sun, a memoir of the Goddens' childhood in a region of India
that is now part of Bangladesh
.
, England
. She grew up with her three sisters in Narayanganj
, colonial India
(now in Bangladesh
). She returned to the United Kingdom
with her sisters for schooling in 1920, spending time at Moira House Girls School
eventually training as a dance teacher. She went back to Calcutta
in 1925 to start a dance school for English and Indian children. Godden ran the school for 20 years with the help of her sister Nancy. During this time she published her first best-seller, the 1939 novel, Black Narcissus
.
, living first on a houseboat, and then in a rented house where she started a herb farm. After a mysterious incident in which it appeared that an attempt had been made to poison both her and her daughters she returned to Calcutta in 1944; the novel Kingfishers Catch Fire was based on her time in Kashmir. She remarried in 1949 and returned to the United Kingdom to concentrate on her writing, moving house frequently but living mostly in Sussex
and London
.
In the early 1950s, Godden became interested in Roman Catholicism, though she did not officially convert until 1968, and several of her later novels contain sympathetic portrayals of Roman Catholic priests and nuns. Two of her books deal with the subject of women in religious communities. In Five for Sorrow, Ten for Joy and In This House of Brede she acutely examined the balance between the mystical, spiritual aspects of religion and the practical, human realities of religious life.
A number of Godden's novels are set in India, the atmosphere of which she evokes through all the senses; her writing is vivid with detail of smells, textures, light, flowers, noises and tactile experiences. Her books for children, especially her several doll stories, strongly convey the secret thoughts, confusions and disappointments, and aspirations of childhood. Godden has been criticized for her class distinctions, which often involve unusual young people not recognized for their talents by ordinary lower or middle-class people but supported by the educated, rich, and upper-class, to the anger, resentment, and puzzlement of their relatives.
where she lived until the death of her husband in 1973. She moved to Moniaive
in Dumfriesshire
in 1978 when she was 70. She was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1993. She visited India once more, in 1994, returning to Kashmir for the filming of a BBC Bookmark documentary about her life and books.
Rumer Godden died at the age of 90 on 8 November 1998.
Fiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
and nonfiction books written under the name of Rumer Godden. A few of her works were co-written by her sister, Jon Godden
Jon Godden
Winsome Ruth Key Godden was an English novelist who wrote under the name Jon Godden. She was born in Assam, India, and was the elder sister of the better-known novelist Rumer Godden.-Early life:...
, who wrote several novels on her own. These include Two Under the Indian Sun, a memoir of the Goddens' childhood in a region of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
that is now part of Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
.
Early life
Godden was born in SussexSussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. She grew up with her three sisters in Narayanganj
Narayanganj
Narayanganj is a city in central Bangladesh. It is located in the Narayanganj District, near the capital city of Dhaka and has a population of 220,000. The city is on the bank of the Shitalakshya River. The river port of Narayanganj is one of the oldest in Bangladesh...
, colonial India
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
(now in Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
). She returned to the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
with her sisters for schooling in 1920, spending time at Moira House Girls School
Moira House Girls School
Moira House Girls School is an independent day and boarding school for girls aged from two to eighteen in Eastbourne, East Sussex, England.-History:It was established in 1875 by Charles Ingham at a place called "Moira House"...
eventually training as a dance teacher. She went back to Calcutta
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
in 1925 to start a dance school for English and Indian children. Godden ran the school for 20 years with the help of her sister Nancy. During this time she published her first best-seller, the 1939 novel, Black Narcissus
Black Narcissus
Black Narcissus is a 1947 film by the British director-writer team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, based on the novel of the same name by Rumer Godden...
.
Work
After eight years in an unhappy marriage, in 1942 she moved with her two daughters to KashmirKashmir
Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
, living first on a houseboat, and then in a rented house where she started a herb farm. After a mysterious incident in which it appeared that an attempt had been made to poison both her and her daughters she returned to Calcutta in 1944; the novel Kingfishers Catch Fire was based on her time in Kashmir. She remarried in 1949 and returned to the United Kingdom to concentrate on her writing, moving house frequently but living mostly in Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
and 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...
.
In the early 1950s, Godden became interested in Roman Catholicism, though she did not officially convert until 1968, and several of her later novels contain sympathetic portrayals of Roman Catholic priests and nuns. Two of her books deal with the subject of women in religious communities. In Five for Sorrow, Ten for Joy and In This House of Brede she acutely examined the balance between the mystical, spiritual aspects of religion and the practical, human realities of religious life.
A number of Godden's novels are set in India, the atmosphere of which she evokes through all the senses; her writing is vivid with detail of smells, textures, light, flowers, noises and tactile experiences. Her books for children, especially her several doll stories, strongly convey the secret thoughts, confusions and disappointments, and aspirations of childhood. Godden has been criticized for her class distinctions, which often involve unusual young people not recognized for their talents by ordinary lower or middle-class people but supported by the educated, rich, and upper-class, to the anger, resentment, and puzzlement of their relatives.
Later life and death
In 1968 she took the tenancy of Lamb HouseLamb House
Lamb House is an 18th-century house situated in Rye, East Sussex, England, and in the ownership of the National Trust.The house has literary connections. It was the home of Henry James from 1898 to 1916, and later of E.F. Benson and Rumer Godden. Benson writes lovingly of both garden and house,...
where she lived until the death of her husband in 1973. She moved to Moniaive
Moniaive
Moniaive is a village in the south of Scotland in Dumfries and Galloway, near Thornhill, on the A702 road and B729 road. Population 520 . The name is from Gaelic monadh-abh and means "Hill of Streams". It is situated at the northern end of the very scenic and tranquil Cairn Valley...
in Dumfriesshire
Dumfriesshire
Dumfriesshire or the County of Dumfries is a registration county of Scotland. The lieutenancy area of Dumfries has similar boundaries.Until 1975 it was a county. Its county town was Dumfries...
in 1978 when she was 70. She was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1993. She visited India once more, in 1994, returning to Kashmir for the filming of a BBC Bookmark documentary about her life and books.
Rumer Godden died at the age of 90 on 8 November 1998.
Fiction
- 1936 Chinese Puzzle, her first published book-length work.
- 1937 The Lady and the Unicorn
- 1939 Black Narcissus, a story about the disorientation of European nuns in India; the first of her books to be adapted for the screen, as the film of the same nameBlack NarcissusBlack Narcissus is a 1947 film by the British director-writer team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, based on the novel of the same name by Rumer Godden...
in 1947; a radio adaptation was also broadcast in 2008. - 1940 Gypsy, Gypsy
- 1942 Breakfast with the Nikolides
- 1945 Take Three Tenses: A Fugue in Time, made into the film Enchantment in 1948, starring David NivenDavid NivenJames David Graham Niven , known as David Niven, was a British actor and novelist, best known for his roles as Phileas Fogg in Around the World in 80 Days and Sir Charles Lytton, a.k.a. "the Phantom", in The Pink Panther...
and Teresa WrightTeresa WrightTeresa Wright was an American actress. She received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1942 for her performance in Mrs. Miniver. That same year, she received an Academy Award for Best Actress nomination for her performance in Pride of the Yankees opposite Gary Cooper... - 1946 The River, made into a filmThe River (1951 film)The River is a 1951 film directed by Jean Renoir. It was filmed in India and was seminal to the launching of the careers of Satyajit Ray , who assisted on the film, and Subrata Mitra, Ray's cinematographer whom he met during the filming of The River.A fairly faithful dramatization of an earlier...
in 1951 directed by Jean RenoirJean RenoirJean Renoir was a French film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and author. As a film director and actor, he made more than forty films from the silent era to the end of the 1960s...
, and she collaborated on the screenplay for the film - 1947 A Candle for St. Jude
- 1950 A Breath of Air
- 1953 Kingfishers Catch Fire
- 1956 An Episode of SparrowsAn Episode of SparrowsAn Episode of Sparrows is the name of a novel written in 1956 by Rumer Godden. It has been re-issued by The New York Review Children's Collection.-Plot summary:...
, made into the film Innocent Sinners in 1958 - 1957 Mooltiki, and other stories and poems of India
- 1958 The Greengage SummerThe Greengage SummerThe Greengage Summer is a 1961 British drama film directed by Lewis Gilbert and starring Kenneth More and Susannah York . It was based on the novel, Greengage Summer, by Rumer Godden...
, again made into a film in 1961 - 1961 China Court: The Hours of a Country House
- 1963 The Battle of the Villa Fiorita filmed in 1965The Battle of the Villa FioritaThe Battle of the Villa Fiorita is a 1965 British drama film directed by Delmer Daves. It stars Maureen O'Hara and Rossano Brazzi. Set in contemporary Italy, it tells of three children aware that their mother has left them for a lover and both stay at the Villa Fiorita...
- 1968 Gone: A Thread of Stories (written with Jon Godden)
- 1968 Swans and Turtles (short stories)
- 1969 In This House of Brede, follows Philippa (a cloistered Benedictine nun in the abbey of Brede in SussexSussexSussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
) through her first years in the abbey and not only her, but many of the other nuns who live there as well; made into a television film starring Diana RiggDiana RiggDame Enid Diana Elizabeth Rigg, DBE is an English actress. She is probably best known for her portrayals of Emma Peel in The Avengers and Countess Teresa di Vicenzo in the 1969 James Bond film On Her Majesty's Secret Service.... - 1975 The Peacock Spring, adapted for television in 1995
- 1979 Five For Sorrow, Ten For Joy
- 1981 The Dark Horse
- 1984 Thursday's Children
- 1989 Indian Dust (written with Jon Godden)
- 1990 Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love: Stories (written with Jon Godden)
- 1991 Coromandel Sea Change
- 1994 Pippa Passes
- 1997 Cromartie vs. the God Shiva, her last novel
Non-fiction
- 1943 Rungli-Rungliot – republished in 1961 as Thus Far and No Further
- 1955 Hans Christian Andersen (biography)
- 1966 Two Under the Indian Sun (childhood memories – written with Jon Godden)
- 1968 Mrs. Manders' Cook Book
- 1971 The Tale of the Tales: Beatrix Potter Ballet
- 1972 Shiva's Pigeons (written with Jon Godden)
- 1977 The Butterfly Lions
- 1980 Gulbadan: Portrait of a Rose Princess At the Mughal Court
- 1987 A Time to Dance, No Time to Weep, an autobiography
- 1989 A House with Four Rooms, an autobiography
Children's books
- 1947 The Doll's House, later made into an animated series – Tottie: The Story of a Doll's House
- 1951 The Mousewife, a children's book
- 1952 Mouse House
- 1954 Impunity Jane: The Story of a Pocket Doll
- 1956 The Fairy Doll
- 1958 The Story of Holly and IvyThe Story of Holly and IvyThe Story of Holly and Ivy is a 1958 children's book written by Rumer Godden and illustrated by Barbara Cooney. Set in the town of Mill Valley, it is the story of Ivy, a young orphan girl who arrives there and finds the two things that she wants most of all: a family of her own and a Christmas doll...
- 1960 Candy Floss
- 1961 Saint Jerome and the Lion (retelling of the legend in verse)
- 1961 Miss Happiness and Miss Flower, a children's book about Japanese dolls and the house built for them.
- 1963 Little Plum, the sequel to Miss Happiness and Miss Flower
- 1964 Home is the Sailor
- 1967 The Kitchen Madonna – two children make an icon for their Ukrainian housekeeper, a war refugee.
- 1969 Operation Sippacik
- 1972 The DiddakoiThe DiddakoiThe Diddakoi is a 1972 novel for children by Rumer Godden. It won the 1972 Whitbread Award in the Children's Book category. It is the story of an orphan traveller or Romani girl called Kizzy, who faces persecution, grief and loss in a hostile, close-knit village community. This is a moving tale of...
(also published as Gypsy Girl), a children's book and winner of the Whitbread Award. Adapted for television by the BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
as Kizzy. - 1972 The Old Woman Who Lived in a Vinegar Bottle
- 1975 Mr. McFadden's Hallowe'en
- 1977 The Rocking Horse Secret
- 1978 A Kindle of Kittens
- 1981 The Dragon of Og
- 1983 Four Dolls
- 1983 The Valiant Chatti-Maker
- 1984 Mouse Time: Two Stories
- 1990 Fu-Dog
- 1992 Great Grandfather's House
- 1992 Listen to the Nightingale
- 1996 The Little Chair
- 1996 Premlata and the Festival of Lights
Poetry
- 1949 In Noah's Ark
- 1968 A Letter to the World (written with Emily Dickinson)
- 1996 Cockcrow to Starlight: A Day Full of Poetry (Anthology for Children)
- 1996 A Pocket Book of Spiritual Poems
Translations
- 1963 Prayers from the Ark, a translation of a collection of poems by French author Carmen Bernos de GasztoldCarmen Bernos de GasztoldCarmen Bernos de Gasztold is a French poet.She spent her childhood in the province of Bordeaux, France. She had 5 sisters and brothers...
- 1967 The Beasts' Choir, a translation of a collection of poems by French author Carmen Bernos de GasztoldCarmen Bernos de GasztoldCarmen Bernos de Gasztold is a French poet.She spent her childhood in the province of Bordeaux, France. She had 5 sisters and brothers...