Edith Joan Lyttleton (18 December 187310 March 1945) was an

Australasia Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologica ...

n author, who wrote as G. B. Lancaster.

Life and career

Lyttleton was born on the family farm near

Campbell Town, Tasmania Campbell Town is a town in Tasmania, Australia, on the Midland Highway. At the 2021 census, the town had a population of 823. History Traditional owners of the Campbell Town area The traditional custodians of the Campbell Town area were t ...

, and brought up from 1879 in New Zealand on a

sheep station A sheep station is a large property ( station, the equivalent of a ranch) in Australia or New Zealand, whose main activity is the raising of sheep for their wool and/or meat. In Australia, sheep stations are usually in the south-east or sout ...

Rakaia Rakaia is a town seated close to the southern banks of the Rakaia River on the Canterbury Plains in New Zealand's South Island, approximately 57 km south of Christchurch on State Highway 1 and the Main South Line. Immediately north of the ...

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

. Between 1904 and 1943 she produced 13

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

s, a collection of stories, two serialised novels and over 250 stories. She was

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

's most widely read writer of the first half of the twentieth century. She wrote about the formation of colonial identity and the legacy of

imperialism Imperialism is the state policy, practice, or advocacy of extending power and dominion, especially by direct territorial acquisition or by gaining political and economic control of other areas, often through employing hard power (economic and ...

in the lives of settlers and their descendants. Her settings were

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and

. She was influenced by

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work. ...

and R. L. Stevenson. Her first success was with ''The Law-Bringers'' (1913), which was made into a

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

in the 1920s (as was ''The Altar Stairs''). ''

Pageant Pageant may refer to: * Procession or ceremony in elaborate costume * Beauty pageant, or beauty contest * Latter Day Saint plays and pageants, run by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or by members local to the area of the pageant * ...

'' (1933) topped the American best-seller list for six months. Other successes were ''Promenade'' (1938) and ''Grand Parade'' (1943). Lyttleton left New Zealand in 1909 for America, before settling in England. She died in a nursing home in London on 10 March 1945.

Awards and recognition

Lyttleton was awarded the Australian Literary Society Gold Medal for an outstanding literary work in the previous calendar year, for ''Pageant'' in 1933. Lyttleton Crescent, a street in the Canberra suburb of

Cook Cook or The Cook may refer to: Food preparation * Cooking, the preparation of food * Cook (domestic worker), a household staff member who prepares food * Cook (professional), an individual who prepares food for consumption in the food industry * ...

, is named in her honour.

Novels

* ''Sons O' Man'' (1904) * ''The Spur to Smite'' (1905) * ''The Tracks We Tread'' (1907) * ''The Altar Stairs'' (1907) * ''Jim of the Ranges'' (1910) * ''The Honorable Peggy'' (1911) * ''The Law-Bringers'' (1913) * ''Food Divine'' (1917) * ''The Savignys'' (1918) * ''

'' (1933) * ''The World is Yours'' (1933) * ''Promenade'' (1938) * ''Grand Parade'' (1943)

Film adaptations

* ''

Rider of the Law ''Rider of the Law'' is a 1919 American Western film directed by John Ford and featuring Harry Carey. The film is considered to be lost. Cast * Harry Carey as Jim Kyneton * Vester Pegg as Nick Kyneton (as Vesta Pegg) * Ted Brooks as The Kid * ...

'' (1919) - original screenplay with H. Tipton Steck * ''

The Altar Stairs ''The Altar Stairs'' is a 1922 American silent drama film directed by Lambert Hillyer and featuring Frank Mayo, Louise Lorraine, Lawrence Hughes and Boris Karloff in an early role. The screenplay was written by Doris Schroeder, George Hively an ...

'' (1922) - based on her novel of the same name * '' The Eternal Struggle'' (1923) - based on her novel ''The Law-Bringers'' * ''

The Little Irish Girl ''The Little Irish Girl'' is a 1926 American silent romantic drama film produced and distributed by Warner Bros., directed by Roy Del Ruth and starring Dolores Costello. Based on the story ''The Grifters'', written by Edith Joan Lyttleton, it ...

'' (1926) - based on her story "The Grifters" * ''

Bred in Old Kentucky ''Bred in Old Kentucky'' is a 1926 American silent sports film directed by Edward Dillon and starring Viola Dana, Jerry Miley and Jed Prouty.Munden p.84 Cast * Viola Dana as Katie O'Doone * Jerry Miley as Dennis Reilly * Jed Prouty as Jake Tr ...

'' (1926) - original screenplay with Louis WeadockIMDB - Bred in Old Kentucky
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References

External links