Jennifer Dawson, (23 January 1929 – 14 October 2000) was an English novelist. Her works explored the theme of mental illness and society's attitudes to those suffering from such conditions. She won the

James Tait Black Memorial Prize The James Tait Black Memorial Prizes are literary prizes awarded for literature written in the English language. They, along with the Hawthornden Prize, are Britain's oldest literary awards. Based at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, Uni ...

for her first novel, ''The Ha-Ha'' (1961), and the Cheltenham Festival Award for her second novel, ''Fowler's Snare'' (1962).

Early life and education

Dawson was born in London, the daughter of a journalist mother and a travel agent father. She attended the

Mary Datchelor School Mary Datchelor School was an endowed grammar school for girls on Camberwell Grove in Camberwell, Greater London, England. It was established in 1877 and closed in 1981. It was known for its innovations in encouraging teacher training, and for it ...

in Camberwell and went on to read Modern History at St Anne's College, Oxford. During her time at Oxford she studied with

Iris Murdoch Dame Jean Iris Murdoch ( ; 15 July 1919 – 8 February 1999) was an Irish and British novelist and philosopher. Murdoch is best known for her novels about good and evil, sexual relationships, morality, and the power of the unconscious. Her ...

. Also at Oxford, she suffered a breakdown and spent several months in Warneford Hospital, Oxford.

Career

Following the completion of her studies, Dawson worked as a teacher at a convent in Laval in France, and later at

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

where she made editorial contributions to a number of reference works. In addition to these roles, she also worked as social worker in a psychiatric hospital in Worcester and it was her experiences here, and as a patient of such an institution, that formed the basis for her

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to p ...

''The Ha-Ha'' (1961). The novel, which explores

schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social wit ...

, received considerable critical acclaim, and was awarded the James Tait Black Memorial Prize. It was adapted for the London stage by

Richard Eyre Sir Richard Charles Hastings Eyre (born 28 March 1943) is an English film, theatre, television and opera director. Biography Eyre was born in Barnstaple, Devon, England, the son of Richard Galfridus Hastings Giles Eyre and his wife, Minna Mar ...

, and was later broadcast by the BBC on both radio and television. Dawson continued to explore similar themes throughout the 1960s and 1970s via novels such as ''The Cold Country'', ''Strawberry Boy'' and ''A Field of Scarlet Poppies''. In the 1980s two further novels ''The Upstairs People'' and ''Judasland'' were released by the

Virago Press Virago is a British publisher of women's writing and books on feminist topics. Started and run by women in the 1970s and bolstered by the success of the Women's Liberation Movement (WLM), Virago has been credited as one of several British femini ...

. "Jennifer Dawson's prose is as jagged and angular as her tone on behalf of the marginalised—women, immigrants, the poor, the sick—is resenting and bitter," wrote

Valentine Cunningham Valentine David Cunningham, OBE, MA, DPhil (Oxon), (born October 28, 1944) is a retired professor of English language and literature at the University of Oxford, and emeritus fellow in English literature at Corpus Christi College, Oxford Corpu ...

when reviewing ''Judasland'' in ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...

'' in 1989. She worked on the

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) is an organisation that advocates unilateral nuclear disarmament by the United Kingdom, international nuclear disarmament and tighter international arms regulation through agreements such as the Nuc ...

, and participated in the 1963

Aldermaston March The Aldermaston marches were anti-nuclear weapons demonstrations in the 1950s and 1960s, taking place on Easter weekend between the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment at Aldermaston in Berkshire, England, and London, over a distance of fifty- ...

Awards and distinctions

(1961) *Cheltenham Festival Award (1962)

Works

*''The Ha-Ha'' (1961) *''Fowler's Snare'' (1963) *''The Cold Country'' (1965) *''The Queen of Trent'' (1972) *''Strawberry Boy'' (1976) *''Hospital Wedding'' (1978). *''A Field of Scarlet Poppies'' (1979) *''The Upstairs People'' (1988) *''Judasland'' (1989)

Personal life

Dawson married philosopher Michael Hinton in 1964. He died in February 2000, and she died in October 2000, at the age of 71, in a hospice in

Charlbury Charlbury () is a town and civil parish in the Evenlode valley, about north of Witney in the West Oxfordshire district of Oxfordshire, England. It is on the edge of Wychwood Forest and the Cotswolds. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's po ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dawson, Jennifer 1929 births 2000 deaths English women novelists Alumni of St Anne's College, Oxford James Tait Black Memorial Prize recipients 20th-century English women writers 20th-century English novelists