Christine Longford, Countess of Longford (née Trew; born 6 September 1900 in

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, died 14 May 1980,

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

) was a playwright. Following her parents' separation her mother took in lodgers while Christine attended Oxford Wells High School. She won a scholarship to study Classics at Somerville College, Oxford. While there she met and in 1925 married Edward Pakenham, later 6th Earl of Longford. She moved to Ireland with her husband in 1925. They divided their time between Dublin and Pakenham Hall, now

Tullynally Castle Tullynally Castle, also known as Pakenham Hall, is a country house situated some 2 km from Castlepollard on the Coole village road in County Westmeath, Ireland. The Gothic-style building has over 120 rooms and has been home to the Paken ...

, in Castlepollard, County Westmeath. In 1930, Christine Longford and her husband bought shares in The Dublin

Gate Theatre The Gate Theatre is a theatre on Cavendish Row in Dublin, Ireland. It was founded in 1928. History Beginnings The Gate Theatre was founded in 1928 by Hilton Edwards and Micheál MacLiammóir with Daisy Bannard Cogley and Gearóid Ó Lochlai ...

Company. In addition to designing costumes and managing productions Christine wrote plays including ''Lord Edward'' and ''

Patrick Sarsfield Patrick Sarsfield, 1st Earl of Lucan, ga, Pádraig Sáirseál, circa 1655 to 21 August 1693, was an Irish soldier, and leading figure in the Jacobite army during the 1689 to 1691 Williamite War in Ireland. Born into a wealthy Catholic famil ...

''. She also adapted novels for the stage, Jane Austen's '' Pride and Prejudice'' among them. The company suffered when the Longfords withdrew their backing. Her books include ''A Biography of Dublin'', published as part of the Biographies of Cities series, ''Country Places'', published by Parkside Press Dublin and ''Making Conversation'', republished by

Persephone Books ''Persephone Books'' is an independent publisher based in Bath, England. Founded in 1999 by Nicola Beauman, Persephone Books reprints works largely by women writers of the late 19th and 20th century, though a few books by men are included. Th ...

in 2009. She figures extensively in two books: ''No Profit but the Name: the Longfords and the Gate Theatre'' and ''The Boys: a double biography''.Fitz-Simon, Christopher ''The Boys: a double biography'', Nick Hern Books, London, 1994

Bibliography

* Longford, Christine. ''Vespasian and Some of his Contemporaries''. Hodges and Figgis, 1928. * Longford, Christine. ''Making Conversation'', 1931. (Reprinted,

, 2009.
Preface by Rachel Billington
* Longford, Christine. ''Country Places''. Parkside Press, Dublin, 1932. * Longford, Christine., and the Earl of Longford. ''The Oresteia'' (trans.), Hodges and Figgis, 1933. * Longford, Christine. ''Mr. Jiggins of Jigginstown''. Gollancz, 1933. * Longford, Christine. ''Printed Cotton''. Methuen, 1935. * Longford, Christine. ''A Biography of Dublin''. Methuen, 1936. * Longford, Christine. ''Lord Edward''. Methuen, 1940. * Longford, Christine. ''The United Brothers''. Hodges and Figgis, 1942. * Longford, Christine. ''Patrick Sarsfield''. Hodges and Figgis, 1943. * Longford, Christine. ''The Earl of Straw''. Hodges and Figgis, 1944. * Le Fanu, J. Sheridan. ''Uncle Silas'' (Specially edited by Christine Longford). Penguin, 1947. * Longford, Christine. ''Tarkardstown, or A Lot to be Thankful For''. P.J. Bourke, 1948. * Longford, Christine. ''Mr. Supple''. P.J. Bourke, 1949. * Longford, Christine. ''Hill of Quirke''. P.J. Bourke, 1958. *

References

External links

Irish Playography

WorldCat

Rachel Billington on her aunt Christine
*
Author Profile
at Persephone Books *

' at Persephone Books {{DEFAULTSORT:Longford, Christine 1900 births Irish dramatists and playwrights British women dramatists and playwrights 1980 deaths 20th-century British women writers 20th-century English dramatists and playwrights Alumni of Somerville College, Oxford