Doris Egerton Jones (23 December 1889 – 30 September 1973), also known as Doris Callaghan and Doris Callahan, was an Australian writer of novels and plays.

Early life

Egerton Jones was born in

Mitcham Mitcham is an area within the London Borough of Merton in South London, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross. Originally a village in the county of Surrey, today it is mainly a residential suburb, and includes Mitcham Common. It h ...

, Adelaide, in 1889. She attended the

Advanced School for Girls The Advanced School for Girls was a South Australian State school whose purpose was to prepare girls to qualify for entry to the University of Adelaide. Founded in 1879, the school merged with Adelaide High School in 1907. History From its ince ...

in Adelaide from 1901 to 1905. From 1909 to 1911 she studied at the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...

. She began to study law at a time when women could not practise law in South Australia. Although she did not complete her studies, she was instrumental in lobbying for a law change in 1911 allowing women to practise. She wrote her first play at age 14 and her first novel at 15.

Career

In 1918 she travelled to London where she wrote the play ''Uncle Tibbett's Twins,'' which had Australian and cross-dressing themes''.'' ''The Year Between'', classed as romantic fiction, was her last novel and dealt with the mistreatment of

Aboriginal people Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

and the

ANZAC The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) was a First World War army corps of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. It was formed in Egypt in December 1914, and operated during the Gallipoli campaign. General William Birdwood comm ...

landing in Gallipoli. Her detective drama, ''The Flaw,'' written with the English actress Emélie Polini, was a melodrama. Her last play, ''Governor Bligh'', a historical comedy about

William Bligh Vice-Admiral William Bligh (9 September 1754 – 7 December 1817) was an officer of the Royal Navy and a colonial administrator. The mutiny on the HMS ''Bounty'' occurred in 1789 when the ship was under his command; after being set adrift i ...

, was produced by Allan Wilkie.

Personal life

Egerton Jones married her husband Reginald Callaghan in 1918 in London; they later changed their name to Callahan. They returned to Sydney in 1922. They had one daughter and two sons. She died on 30 September 1973 at

Wahroonga Wahroonga is a suburb in the Upper North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, 18 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government areas of Ku-ring-gai Council and Hornsby Shire. ...

, Sydney.

Selected works

Novels and short stories

* ''Peter Piper'' (1913) * ''Time O'Day'' (1915) * ''Green Eyes'' (1915) * ''Burnt Offerings'' (1916) * ''The Coconut Planter'' (1916) * ''The Year Between'' (1918)

Plays

* ''Uncle Tibbett's Twins'' (1918) * '' The Flaw'' (1923). Co-authored with Emélie Polini. * ''

Governor Bligh Vice-Admiral William Bligh (9 September 1754 – 7 December 1817) was an officer of the Royal Navy and a colonial administrator. The mutiny on the HMS ''Bounty'' occurred in 1789 when the ship was under his command; after being set adrift i ...

'' (1930)

References

External links

Doris Egerton Jones in The Australian Live Performance Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Egerton Jones, Doris 1889 births 1973 deaths 20th-century Australian novelists 20th-century Australian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Australian women writers Australian women novelists Australian women dramatists and playwrights University of Adelaide alumni Writers from Adelaide People educated at the Advanced School for Girls