Janet Eiluned Lewis (1 November 1900 – 15 April 1979) was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

novelist, poet, and journalist.

Early life and education

Janet Eiluned Lewis was born in Penstrowed near

Newtown, Montgomeryshire Newtown ( cy, Y Drenewydd) is a town in Powys, Wales. It lies on the River Severn in the community of Newtown and Llanllwchaiarn, within the historic boundaries of Montgomeryshire. It was designated a new town in 1967 and saw population grow ...

, the daughter of Eveline Griffiths and Hugh Lewis. Her father had a tannery business, and her mother was a teacher before marriage, and later a county councillor and

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

.The Milford Hall Collection
Newtown. Powys. The Lewis family had a close friendship with writer

Sir James Barrie Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, (; 9 May 1860 19 June 1937) was a Scottish novelist and playwright, best remembered as the creator of Peter Pan. He was born and educated in Scotland and then moved to London, where he wrote several succe ...

. He visited for holidays at Glanhafren, the Lewis's home on the banks of the

Severn , name_etymology = , image = SevernFromCastleCB.JPG , image_size = 288 , image_caption = The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle , map = RiverSevernMap.jpg , map_size = 288 , map_c ...

. In letters written to

Andrew Birkin Andrew Timothy Birkin (born 9 December 1945) is an English screenwriter and director. He was born the only son of Lieutenant-Commander David Birkin and his wife, actress Judy Campbell. One of his sisters is the actress and singer Jane Birkin. W ...

by Nico Llewelyn Davies (one of the five boys who were

J. M. Barrie Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, (; 9 May 1860 19 June 1937) was a Scottish novelist and playwright, best remembered as the creator of Peter Pan. He was born and educated in Scotland and then moved to London, where he wrote several succe ...

's inspiration for ''

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by List of Scottish novelists, Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and Puer aeternus, never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending ...

'') it was suggested that Lewis had once been a girlfriend of Nico's brother Michael. Lewis denied this was the case.

Career

Journalism

Eiluned Lewis was a journalist, first at '' The Daily News'' and then, after 1934, at the ''

Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

'', where she wrote book reviews and drama criticism, and became assistant editor. In 1936, Lewis traveled to India as personal assistant to Dame Elizabeth Cadbury, a committed Quaker pacifist and leader of the UK Delegation to the World Congress of the

International Council of Women The International Council of Women (ICW) is a women's rights organization working across national boundaries for the common cause of advocating human rights for women. In March and April 1888, women leaders came together in Washington, D.C., with ...

, which was held in

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

. Lewis was briefly a member of the

Peace Pledge Union The Peace Pledge Union (PPU) is a non-governmental organisation that promotes pacifism, based in the United Kingdom. Its members are signatories to the following pledge: "War is a crime against humanity. I renounce war, and am therefore determine ...

. Lewis was the longest standing contributor to ''Country Life'' magazine, and produced "A Country Woman’s Notes", a monthly column, for 35 years.

Literature

Lewis wrote short stories, articles, lectures, and radio plays. She is perhaps best remembered for her first novel, ''Dew on the Grass'' (1934), a bestseller based on her own childhood; it was awarded a gold medal from the Book Guild as Novel of the Year. Her second novel ''The Captain's Wife'' (1943) is

historical fiction Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other ty ...

, based on her family's seagoing background in

Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; cy, Sir Benfro ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and the rest by sea. The count ...

. She compiled and edited the letters of writer

Charles Langbridge Morgan Charles Langbridge Morgan (22 January 1894 – 6 February 1958) was a British playwright and novelist of English and Welsh parentage. The main themes of his work were, as he himself put it, "Art, Love, and Death", and the relation between t ...

, for a collection published in 1967. She wrote a travel book, ''The Land of Wales'' (1937), in collaboration with her brother, Peter Lewis. She also wrote poetry, including the collection ''December Apples'' (1935).

After 1979

Lewis's ''Dew on the Grass'' was republished in 1984 by the

Boydell Press Boydell & Brewer is an academic press based in Woodbridge, Suffolk, England, that specializes in publishing historical and critical works. In addition to British and general history, the company publishes three series devoted to studies, edition ...

in their "Book Masters" series, with an introduction by poet and critic Glenn Cavaliero. In 1996 Cavaliero also compiled and edited ''A Companionable Talent'', a selection of Lewis's occasional pieces, short stories, poems, articles and also her ''Memoirs'', hitherto unpublished. ''Dew in the Grass'' and ''The Captain's Wife'' were reprinted in 2008, with new introductions by Katie Gramich, for the Honno Press series Welsh Women's Classics. Lewis's poem "Sing Happy Child" with music by the composer Gaynor Roberts, performed and recorded on 14 December 2019 in St.David's Hall, Cardiff was heard on

BBC Wales BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Wales. It is one of the four BBC national regions, alongside the BBC English Regions, BBC Northern Ireland and BBC Scotland. Established in 1964, BBC Cymru Wales is ...

on Christmas Day 2019. Some of her individual poems, especially "Ship's Sirens" and "The Bride Chest", have been anthologised and are often taught in schools.

Personal life

In February 1937 Lewis she married engineer and writer W. Graeme Hendrey. They had one daughter, Katrina. Lewis died in 1979, aged 78 years.

Works

*''Dew on the Grass'' (1934) *''December Apples'' (1935), poems *''The Land of Wales'' (1937), with Peter Lewis *''The Captain's Wife'' (1943) *''Morning Songs and other poems'' (1944) *''In Country Places'' (1951), collected ''Country Life'' magazine journalism *''The Leaves of the Tree'' (1953) *''Honey Pots and Brandy Bottles'' (1954), more essays from ''Country Life,'' with illustrations by

Agnes Miller Parker Agnes Miller Parker (1895–1980) was an engraver, illustrator and painter in oil and tempera. Born in Ayrshire, she spent most of her career in London and southern Britain. She is especially known as a twentieth century wood-engraver thanks to ...

*''Selected Letters of Charles Morgan'' (1967), editor *''The Old Home'' (1981), memoirs *''A Companionable Talent: stories, essays & recollections'' (1996)

References

External links

Eiluned Lewis, "We Who Were Born"
read by Jordyn Cline, on YouTube. {{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Eiluned 1900 births 1979 deaths 20th-century British journalists 20th-century Welsh novelists 20th-century Welsh poets 20th-century Welsh women writers Welsh novelists Welsh journalists Alumni of Westfield College Welsh women novelists Welsh women poets People from Montgomeryshire The Sunday Times people Welsh columnists British women columnists Welsh historical novelists Women historical novelists Welsh travel writers British women travel writers Welsh memoirists British women memoirists