Pamela Hansford Johnson
Encyclopedia
Pamela Hansford Johnson, Baroness Snow (29 May 1912 – 18 June 1981) was an English
novelist, playwright, poet, literary and social critic.
. Her mother, Amy Clotilda Howson, was a singer and actress, from a theatrical family. Her mother's father, C E Howson, worked for the London Lyceum Company, as Sir Henry Irving's Treasurer. Her father, Reginald Kenneth Johnson, was a colonial civil servant who spent much of his life working in Nigeria. Her father died when she was 11 years old, leaving debts. Her mother earned a living as a typist. Until Pamela was 22, the family lived at 53 Battersea Rise, Clapham
, South London.
Pamela attended Clapham County Girls Grammar School, where she excelled at English, art history, and drama. After leaving school at the age of 16, she took a secretarial course and later worked for several years at the Central Hanover Bank and Trust Company. She began her literary career by writing poems, which were published by Victor B. Neuburg in the Sunday Referee. In 1933, Pamela wrote to Dylan Thomas
, who had also been published in the same paper, and a friendship developed. Marriage was considered, but the idea was ultimately abandoned.
In 1936 she married an Australian journalist, Gordon Neil Stewart
. Their son Andrew was born in 1941, and a daughter, Lindsay, in 1944. Pamela and her husband Neil were divorced in 1949. In 1950, Pamela married the novelist C. P. Snow
(later Baron Snow). Their son Philip was born in 1952.
She wrote 27 novels. Her first novel, This Bed Thy Centre, was published in 1935. Her last novel, A Bonfire, was published in the year of her death, 1981. Her themes centred on the moral responsibility of the individual in their personal and social relations. The fictional genres she used ranged from romantic comedy (Night and Silence Who is Here?) and high comedy (The Unspeakable Skipton) to tragedy (The Holiday Friend) and the psychological study of cruelty (An Error of Judgement). She also wrote two detective novels, jointly with her first husband Neil Stewart, under the joint pseudonym, Nap Lombard. She wrote seven short plays, six of them in collaboration with C. P. Snow. She had published a number of critical works, short stories, verse, sociological studies, and a collection of autobiographical essays. She reviewed extensively for magazines and newspapers and broadcast on the BBC
radio programme 'The Critics'.
She was a FRSL and received a CBE
in 1975. She was awarded the honorary degrees of Hon. DLitt (Temple University, Philadelphia 1963; York University, Toronto; Weidner College, Chester, Pennsylvania) and Hon. DHL (Louisville, Kentucky). She was a Fellow of the Center for Advanced Studies at Wesleyan University
, of Timothy Dwight College, Yale University
and of Founders College, York University
, Toronto and held visiting academic positions at other North American universities including Harvard, Berkeley, Haverford and Cornell.
C. P. Snow died in July 1980. Less than a year later, Pamela Hansford Johnson died in London. Her ashes were scattered on the river Avon, at Stratford upon Avon.
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...
novelist, playwright, poet, literary and social critic.
Career
She was born in LondonLondon
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...
. Her mother, Amy Clotilda Howson, was a singer and actress, from a theatrical family. Her mother's father, C E Howson, worked for the London Lyceum Company, as Sir Henry Irving's Treasurer. Her father, Reginald Kenneth Johnson, was a colonial civil servant who spent much of his life working in Nigeria. Her father died when she was 11 years old, leaving debts. Her mother earned a living as a typist. Until Pamela was 22, the family lived at 53 Battersea Rise, Clapham
Clapham
Clapham is a district in south London, England, within the London Borough of Lambeth.Clapham covers the postcodes of SW4 and parts of SW9, SW8 and SW12. Clapham Common is shared with the London Borough of Wandsworth, although Lambeth has responsibility for running the common as a whole. According...
, South London.
Pamela attended Clapham County Girls Grammar School, where she excelled at English, art history, and drama. After leaving school at the age of 16, she took a secretarial course and later worked for several years at the Central Hanover Bank and Trust Company. She began her literary career by writing poems, which were published by Victor B. Neuburg in the Sunday Referee. In 1933, Pamela wrote to Dylan Thomas
Dylan Thomas
Dylan Marlais Thomas was a Welsh poet and writer, Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 11 January 2008. who wrote exclusively in English. In addition to poetry, he wrote short stories and scripts for film and radio, which he often performed himself...
, who had also been published in the same paper, and a friendship developed. Marriage was considered, but the idea was ultimately abandoned.
In 1936 she married an Australian journalist, Gordon Neil Stewart
Gordon Neil Stewart
Gordon Neil Stewart was an Australian writer.Stewart was born in Melbourne into a wealthy Australian family with pastoral interests in the Bathurst district of New South Wales. He was a great grandson of Major General William Stewart Lieutenant Governor of New South Wales from 1825 to 1827...
. Their son Andrew was born in 1941, and a daughter, Lindsay, in 1944. Pamela and her husband Neil were divorced in 1949. In 1950, Pamela married the novelist C. P. Snow
C. P. Snow
Charles Percy Snow, Baron Snow of the City of Leicester CBE was an English physicist and novelist who also served in several important positions with the UK government...
(later Baron Snow). Their son Philip was born in 1952.
She wrote 27 novels. Her first novel, This Bed Thy Centre, was published in 1935. Her last novel, A Bonfire, was published in the year of her death, 1981. Her themes centred on the moral responsibility of the individual in their personal and social relations. The fictional genres she used ranged from romantic comedy (Night and Silence Who is Here?) and high comedy (The Unspeakable Skipton) to tragedy (The Holiday Friend) and the psychological study of cruelty (An Error of Judgement). She also wrote two detective novels, jointly with her first husband Neil Stewart, under the joint pseudonym, Nap Lombard. She wrote seven short plays, six of them in collaboration with C. P. Snow. She had published a number of critical works, short stories, verse, sociological studies, and a collection of autobiographical essays. She reviewed extensively for magazines and newspapers and broadcast on the BBC
BBC
The 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...
radio programme 'The Critics'.
She was a FRSL and received a CBE
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...
in 1975. She was awarded the honorary degrees of Hon. DLitt (Temple University, Philadelphia 1963; York University, Toronto; Weidner College, Chester, Pennsylvania) and Hon. DHL (Louisville, Kentucky). She was a Fellow of the Center for Advanced Studies at Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college founded in 1831 and located in Middletown, Connecticut. According to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Wesleyan is the only Baccalaureate College in the nation that emphasizes undergraduate instruction in the arts and...
, of Timothy Dwight College, Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
and of Founders College, York University
York University
York University is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, Ontario's second-largest graduate school, and Canada's leading interdisciplinary university....
, Toronto and held visiting academic positions at other North American universities including Harvard, Berkeley, Haverford and Cornell.
C. P. Snow died in July 1980. Less than a year later, Pamela Hansford Johnson died in London. Her ashes were scattered on the river Avon, at Stratford upon Avon.
Novels
- This Bed Thy Centre (1935)
- Blessed Above Women (1936)
- Here Today (1937)
- World's End (1937)
- The Monument (1938)
- Girdle of Venus (1939)
- Too Dear for My Possessing (1940)
- The Family Pattern (1942)
- Winter Quarters (1943)
- The Trojan Brothers (1944)
- An Avenue of Stone (1947)
- A Summer to Decide (1948)
- The Philistines (1949)
- Catherine Carter (1952)
- An Impossible Marriage (1954)
- The Last Resort (1956)
- The Unspeakable Skipton (1959)
- The Humbler Creation (1959)
- An Error of Judgement (1962)
- Night and Silence Who is Here? (1963)
- Cork StreetCork StreetCork Street is a street in Mayfair in the West End of London, England. It is very well known in the British art world for the commercial art galleries that dominate the street. It is located to the north of Burlington House, which houses the Royal Academy, a leading British art institution...
, Next to the Hatters (1965) - The Survival of the Fittest (1968)
- The Honours BoardThe Honours BoardThe Honours Board is a novel by Pamela Hansford Johnson first published in 1970. Set in the South of England at Downs Park, a small fictional preparatory school for boys, it follows the lives of the members of the staff over a couple of years...
(1970) - The Holiday Friend (1972)
- The Good Listener (1975)
- The Good Husband (1978)
- A Bonfire (1981)
- Tidy Death (with Neil Stewart) as Nap Lombard (1940)
- The Grinning Pig (with Neil Stewart) as Nap Lombard (1943)
Critical works
- Thomas WolfeThomas WolfeThomas Clayton Wolfe was a major American novelist of the early 20th century.Wolfe wrote four lengthy novels, plus many short stories, dramatic works and novellas. He is known for mixing highly original, poetic, rhapsodic, and impressionistic prose with autobiographical writing...
: A Critical Study (1947) - Ivy Compton-BurnettIvy Compton-BurnettDame Ivy Compton-Burnett, DBE was an English novelist, published as I. Compton-Burnett. She was awarded the 1955 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for her novel Mother and Son.-Life:...
(Writers and their Work Series) (1951) - Marcel ProustMarcel ProustValentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust was a French novelist, critic, and essayist best known for his monumental À la recherche du temps perdu...
's Letters to his Mother, ed. G. D. Painter (includes essay) - The Novels of Marcel Proust (1956)
Drama
- Corinth House (1950)
- Family Party (with C.P. Snow) (1951)
- Her Best Foot Forward (with C.P. Snow) (1951)
- The Pigeon with the Silver Foot (with C.P.Snow) (1951)
- Spare the Rod (with C.P.Snow) (1951)
- The Supper Dance (with C.P.Snow) (1951)
- To Murder Mrs Mortimer (with C.P.Snow) (1951)
- Six Proust Reconstructions (1957)
Sociology
- On Iniquity: some personal reflections arising out of the Moors MurdersMoors murdersThe Moors murders were carried out by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley between July 1963 and October 1965, in and around what is now Greater Manchester, England. The victims were five children aged between 10 and 17—Pauline Reade, John Kilbride, Keith Bennett, Lesley Ann Downey and Edward Evans—at least...
trial (1967)