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Cecilia Evelyn Manson (; 24 August 1908 – 28 October 1987), known as Celia Manson, was a New Zealand writer, journalist and broadcaster. Many of her works were co-written with her husband
Cecil Manson, and together they also laid the foundations for the
Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellowship
The Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellowship, formerly known as the New Zealand Post Katherine Mansfield Prize and the Meridian Energy Katherine Mansfield Memorial Fellowship, is one of New Zealand's foremost literary awards. Named after Katherin ...
.
Life and career
Manson was born in
Carterton on 24 August 1908. She attended
Wairarapa College
Wairarapa College is a state coeducational secondary school located in Masterton, New Zealand. The college first opened in 1938, following the merger of Wairarapa High School with the Masterton Technical School. Serving Years 9 to 13, the college ...
and subsequently
Victoria University College
Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand.
The university is well know ...
.
After university she travelled to the United Kingdom, where she worked as a freelance journalist for the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
, including narrating a television series about three generations of a New Zealand family.
In 1939 she married
Cecil Manson, an English soldier, in France. Their son Hugo was born in London in 1941.
They went on to co-write several books together about New Zealand history, including children's books, and beginning with ''Tides of Hokianga'' in 1956.
For some years they published weekly historical essays in ''
The Dominion''; these were published in a collection called ''Curtain-raiser to a Colony'' in 1962.
They moved back to New Zealand after the end of the war,
with Manson recording a programme for Wellington radio about her impressions on her return. In 1949 her book ''Willow's Point'', an adventure story for children set in New Zealand, was published by the
Museum Press
The Museum Press was a British fiction and non-fiction publisher, based in London, that was active in the post-Second World War period up to the 1960s.
Selected titles
*''Honey and your health: A nutrimental, medicinal & historical commentary''. ...
in London, under the name C. Drummond Manson; her publisher anticipated that boys would not want to read a book written by a woman.
Together with her husband and
Sheilah Winn
Sheilah Maureen Winn (; 10 June 1917 – 27 June 2001) was a New Zealand arts patron and philanthropist. Having received a large inheritance, she used her money to support her love of the arts and particularly the theatre. Notably, she was th ...
she initiated the
Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellowship
The Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellowship, formerly known as the New Zealand Post Katherine Mansfield Prize and the Meridian Energy Katherine Mansfield Memorial Fellowship, is one of New Zealand's foremost literary awards. Named after Katherin ...
. In 1967 Cecil and Celia visited the Villa Isola Bella where Mansfield wrote some of her best-known short stories, and discovered that a room on the lower level where she worked was derelict and not in use.
Together with Winn, they decided to set up a fellowship for New Zealand authors, and formed a committee in Wellington to raise funds. Their vision was "to give a selected New Zealand writer a period of leisure to write or study ...
na different and more ancient culture, and thereby to see
heir
Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Officiall ...
own remote country in a better perspective".
In 1960 she joined the
New Zealand Women Writers' Society
The New Zealand Women Writers' Society (NZWWS), originally named the New Zealand Women Writers' and Artists' Society, was founded on 11 July 1932 in Wellington. Until its dissolution in July 1991, the NZWWS supported and encouraged women writer ...
, and in 1969 was appointed an honorary vice-president. She served as president of the society from 1970 to 1972. She was appointed a
Member of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
, for services to literature, in the
1977 New Year Honours
The New Year Honours 1977 are appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginning of 1977. The awards were announced on 30 December 1976 in the United Kingdom,United Kingdom: Australia,Australia: Ne ...
. In 1978, a review of the Mansons' book ''The Affair of the Wellington Brig: A True and Terrible Tale'' by ''
The Press
''The Press'' is a daily newspaper published in Christchurch, New Zealand owned by media business Stuff Ltd. First published in 1861, the newspaper is the largest circulating daily in the South Island and publishes Monday to Saturday. One comm ...
'' described it as a "story superbly told with the skill expected of Cecil and Celia Manson".
Manson died on 28 October 1987, four months after the death of her husband.
Selected works
Manson and her husband Cecil jointly co-authored:
*''Tides of Hokianga'' (Wingfield Press, 1956)
* ''Doctor Agnes Bennett'' (Whitcombe & Tombs, 1960, also published in London by
Michael Joseph)
* ''Curtain-raiser to a Colony'' (Whitcombe & Tombs, 1962)
* ''The Lonely One'' (Whitcombe & Tombs, 1963, also published in New York by Roy Publishers and in London by
Epworth Press
The Methodist Church of Great Britain is a Protestant Christian denomination in Britain, and the mother church to Methodists worldwide. It participates in the World Methodist Council, and the World Council of Churches among other ecumenical a ...
) (children's book)
* ''Pioneer Parade'' (A.H. & A.W. Reed, 1966)
* ''The Adventures of Johnny van Bart'' (Whitcombe & Tombs, 1965, also published in New York by Roy Publishers and in London by
Epworth Press
The Methodist Church of Great Britain is a Protestant Christian denomination in Britain, and the mother church to Methodists worldwide. It participates in the World Methodist Council, and the World Council of Churches among other ecumenical a ...
) (children's book)
* ''I Take Up My Pen: An Early Colonial Scrapbook'' (Pigeon Press, 1972)
*''The Affair of the Wellington Brig: A True and Terrible Story'' (Millwood Press, 1978)
Manson separately authored:
* ''Willow's Point'' (Museum Press, 1949)
*''Story of a New Zealand Family'' (Cape Catley, 1974)
*''The Widow of Thorndon Quay'' (Pigeon Press, 1981)
References
Bibliography
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Manson, Celia
1908 births
1987 deaths
People from Carterton, New Zealand
People educated at Wairarapa College
Victoria University of Wellington alumni
New Zealand women essayists
New Zealand women historians
New Zealand women journalists
New Zealand women children's writers
20th-century New Zealand women writers
20th-century New Zealand historians
20th-century New Zealand journalists
New Zealand children's writers
New Zealand essayists
New Zealand Members of the Order of the British Empire