Barbara Baynton
Encyclopedia
Barbara Janet Ainsleigh Baynton, Lady Headley (4 June 1857 – 28 May 1929) was an Australian writer, made famous for Bush Studies
which was written in retaliation to Henry Lawson's
works.
, Hunter River district
, New South Wales
, the daughter of Irish "bounty immigrants", John Lawrence
and Elizabeth Ewart, although she claimed to be born in 1862 to Penelope Ewart and Captain Robert Kilpatrick, of the Bengal Light Cavalry. This fiction gave her "entrée to polite circles as a governess" and, in 1880, she married Alexander Frater, the son of her employers. They soon moved to the Coonamble
district, and had two sons and a daughter. However, Alexander Frater ran off with a servant, Sarah Glover, in 1887, and Barbara moved to Sydney and commenced divorce proceedings. A decree absolute was granted 4 March 1890.
On 5 March 1890 she married Dr Thomas Baynton
, a retired surgeon aged 70 years who had literary friends. A few years later she began contributing short stories to the Bulletin
and six of these were published in 1902 in London
by Gerald Duckworth and Company Ltd
under the title of Bush Studies
, Mrs Baynton unable to find a publisher for them in Sydney. Alfred Stephens
, a close friend, reviewed the book in the Bulletin and stated: So precise, so complete, with such insight into detail and such force of statement, it ranks with the masterpieces of realism in any language. Percival Serle
, however, found that The building up of detail, however, is at times overdone, and lacking humorous relief, the stories tend to give a distorted view of life in the back-blocks.
Baynton's husband died on 10 June 1904 and left his entire estate to her. She invested in the stock market, bought and sold antiques, and collected black opals from Lightning Ridge. In 1907, her only novel, Human Toll, was published, and in 1917 Cobbers, a reprint of Bush Studies with two additional stories, appeared. During World War I
Mrs Baynton was living in England
and in 1921 she married her third husband Baron Headley
.
Barbara died at Melbourne on 28 May 1929. She was survived by Lord Headley, and her two sons and daughter by the first marriage.
Bush Studies
Bush Studies is a short story collection by Barbara Baynton.Bush Studies was published in London in 1902. Baynton's short stories and novel display a grim realism and depiction of female suffering which represents an alternative view to the romanticism of the bush.The book consists of several short...
which was written in retaliation to Henry Lawson's
Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson was an Australian writer and poet. Along with his contemporary Banjo Paterson, Lawson is among the best-known Australian poets and fiction writers of the colonial period and is often called Australia's "greatest writer"...
works.
Life
Baynton was born in 1857 at SconeScone, New South Wales
Scone is a town in the Upper Hunter Shire in the Hunter Valley region of New South Wales, Australia. At the 2006 census, Scone had a population of 4,624 people. It is located on the New England Highway north of Muswellbrook about 270 kilometres north of Sydney, and is part of the Hunter and Upper...
, Hunter River district
Hunter River
The Hunter River is a major river in New South Wales, Australia. The Hunter River rises in the Liverpool Range and flows generally south and then east, reaching the Pacific Ocean at Newcastle, the second largest city in New South Wales and a major port....
, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, the daughter of Irish "bounty immigrants", John Lawrence
John Lawrence
John Lawrence may refer to:* John Lawrence , English illustrator and wood engraver* John Lawrence * John Lawrence , Irish landowner, owner of Ballymore Castle* John Lawrence a.k.a...
and Elizabeth Ewart, although she claimed to be born in 1862 to Penelope Ewart and Captain Robert Kilpatrick, of the Bengal Light Cavalry. This fiction gave her "entrée to polite circles as a governess" and, in 1880, she married Alexander Frater, the son of her employers. They soon moved to the Coonamble
Coonamble, New South Wales
Coonamble is a town on the central-western plains of New South Wales, Australia. It lies on the Castlereagh Highway north-west of Gilgandra. At the 2006 census, Coonamble had a population of 2,549...
district, and had two sons and a daughter. However, Alexander Frater ran off with a servant, Sarah Glover, in 1887, and Barbara moved to Sydney and commenced divorce proceedings. A decree absolute was granted 4 March 1890.
On 5 March 1890 she married Dr Thomas Baynton
Thomas Baynton
Thomas Baynton was an English medical writer and surgeon.Baynton was from Bristol, where he served his apprenticeship with Mr. Smith, a physician of considerable eminence...
, a retired surgeon aged 70 years who had literary friends. A few years later she began contributing short stories to the Bulletin
The Bulletin
The Bulletin was an Australian weekly magazine that was published in Sydney from 1880 until January 2008. It was influential in Australian culture and politics from about 1890 until World War I, the period when it was identified with the "Bulletin school" of Australian literature. Its influence...
and six of these were published in 1902 in 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...
by Gerald Duckworth and Company Ltd
Gerald Duckworth and Company Ltd
-History:Founded in 1898 by Gerald Duckworth, Duckworth is an independent British publisher. It was important in the development of English literature in the first half of the twentieth century, being the publisher of figures such as Virginia Woolf , W. H. Davies, Anthony Powell, John Galsworthy...
under the title of Bush Studies
Bush Studies
Bush Studies is a short story collection by Barbara Baynton.Bush Studies was published in London in 1902. Baynton's short stories and novel display a grim realism and depiction of female suffering which represents an alternative view to the romanticism of the bush.The book consists of several short...
, Mrs Baynton unable to find a publisher for them in Sydney. Alfred Stephens
Alfred Stephens
Alfred George Stephens was an Australian writer and literary critic, notably for The Bulletin. He was appointed to that position by its owner, J. F. Archibald in 1894.-Early Life and Journalism:...
, a close friend, reviewed the book in the Bulletin and stated: So precise, so complete, with such insight into detail and such force of statement, it ranks with the masterpieces of realism in any language. Percival Serle
Percival Serle
Percival Serle was an Australian biographer and bibliographer.Serle was born in Victoria and for many years worked in a life assurance office before becoming chief clerk and accountant at the University of Melbourne...
, however, found that The building up of detail, however, is at times overdone, and lacking humorous relief, the stories tend to give a distorted view of life in the back-blocks.
Baynton's husband died on 10 June 1904 and left his entire estate to her. She invested in the stock market, bought and sold antiques, and collected black opals from Lightning Ridge. In 1907, her only novel, Human Toll, was published, and in 1917 Cobbers, a reprint of Bush Studies with two additional stories, appeared. 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...
Mrs Baynton was living in 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...
and in 1921 she married her third husband Baron Headley
Rowland Allanson-Winn, 5th Baron Headley
thumb|Lord Headley with [[Khwaja Kamal-ud-Din]]Rowland George Allanson Allanson-Winn, 5th Baron Headley , also known as Shaikh Rahmatullah al-Farooq, was an Irish peer and a prominent convert to Islam, who was also one of the leading members of the Woking Muslim Mission alongside Khwaja Kamal-ud-Din...
.
Barbara died at Melbourne on 28 May 1929. She was survived by Lord Headley, and her two sons and daughter by the first marriage.