Jessie Kesson (28 October 1916 – 26 September 1994), born Jessie Grant McDonald, was a Scottish novelist, playwright and radio producer.

Life

She was born in a

workhouse In Britain, a workhouse () was an institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. (In Scotland, they were usually known as poorhouses.) The earliest known use of the term ''workhouse'' ...

Inverness Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histori ...

, to a mother who had turned to prostitution after being disowned by her family, and brought up in Elgin until the age of eight. She was then taken from her mother and placed in an orphanage at

Skene, Aberdeenshire Skene (Scottish Gaelic language, Gaelic: ''Sgainn'') is a small farming community in North East Scotland some 10 km west of Aberdeen. The two traditional villages are :wikt:kirk-town, Kirkton of Skene and Lyne of Skene. As the name suggests, ...

. In her circumstances, she was not permitted to enter further education and had to go into domestic service. While in domestic service she suffered a breakdown and was admitted to the

Royal Cornhill Hospital Royal Cornhill Hospital is a psychiatric hospital in Westburn Road, Aberdeen, Scotland. It is managed by NHS Grampian. History The hospital was founded as the Aberdeen Lunatic Asylum in 1800. The city's dancing master, Francis Peacock, donated ...

in Aberdeen for a year. After leaving the hospital she spent time living with an elderly woman on a

croft Croft may refer to: Occupations * Croft (land), a small area of land, often with a crofter's dwelling * Crofting, small-scale food production * Bleachfield, an open space used for the bleaching of fabric, also called a croft Locations In the Uni ...

Abriachan Abriachan (; Gaelic: ''Obar Itheachan''), is a village in the Highland council area of Scotland. It is situated high above the western shore of Loch Ness, 15 km to the south-west of the city of Inverness. The village has a population of a ...

. It was there in 1934, while roaming the hills, that she met and subsequently married Johnnie Kesson, a cattleman. She and her husband were farm workers in North East Scotland from 1939 to 1951; writing from this period illustrates her abiding love of nature and immersion in the changing seasons. Encounters with

Nan Shepherd Anna "Nan" Shepherd (11 February 1893 – 27 February 1981) was a Scottish Modernist writer and poet, best known for her seminal mountain memoir, ''The Living Mountain'', based on experiences of hill walking in the Cairngorms. This is noted as a ...

and then

Neil M. Gunn Neil Miller Gunn (8 November 1891 – 15 January 1973) was a prolific novelist, critic, and dramatist who emerged as one of the leading lights of the Scottish Renaissance of the 1920s and 1930s. With over twenty novels to his credit, Gunn was ...

opened opportunities in writing, including plays for the

BBC #REDIRECT 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 ex ...

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

. She moved to London in 1947, where she lived for the rest of her life. As well as domestic work, she worked as a radio producer, producing ''

Woman's Hour ''Woman's Hour'' is a radio magazine programme broadcast in the United Kingdom on the BBC Light Programme, BBC Radio 2, and later BBC Radio 4. It has been on the air since 1946. History Created by Norman Collins and originally presented by A ...

'' and more than 100 radio plays. In 1984 and in 1988 she was awarded honorary doctorates from the

University of Dundee The University of Dundee; . Abbreviated as ''Dund.'' for post-nominals. is a public university, public research university based in Dundee, Scotland. It was founded as a University college#United Kingdom, university college in 1881 with a donation ...

and the

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen ( sco, University o' 'Aiberdeen; abbreviated as ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; gd, Oilthigh Obar Dheathain) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Sc ...

and in 2009 Scotland's Creative Writing Centre,

Moniack Mhor Moniack Mhor is a creative writing centre in Scotland. Based in the Scottish Highlands, Moniack Mhor is fourteen miles from Inverness. The centre is a registered charity and is supported by Creative Scotland. History The centre has given reside ...

, established the Jessie Keeson Fellowship in honour of her life and work.

Works

Her writings include ''The White Bird Passes'' (1958), filmed for

BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 193 ...

in 1980, ''Glitter of Mica'' (1963), ''Another Time, Another Place'' (1983), which became an award-winning film, and ''Where the Apple Ripens'' (1985). As well as writing novels, she also wrote more than 100 plays for radio over 45 years. In 2000, the first edition of

Isobel Murray Isobel Murray is a Scottish literary scholar, Emeritus Professor at the University of Aberdeen. She edited the work of Oscar Wilde and Naomi Mitchison. She also edited a series of interviews which she and her husband Bob Tait carried out with Sco ...

's authorised biography ''Jessie Kesson: Writing Her Life'', published by

Canongate Books Canongate Books (trading as Canongate) is an independent publishing firm based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is named after the Canongate area of the city. It is most recognised for publishing the Booker Prizewinner ''Life of Pi''. Canongate was n ...

, won the National Library of Scotland/Saltire Research Book of the Year. The second edition, published by Kennedy & Boyd in 2011, revealed the truth about Kesson's ever-absent father.

Reviews

* Donaldson, William (1980), review of ''The White Bird Passes'', in ''

Cencrastus ''Cencrastus'' was a magazine devoted to Scottish and international literature, arts and affairs, founded after the Referendum of 1979 by students, mainly of Scottish literature at Edinburgh University, and with support from Cairns Craig, then a ...

'' No. 4, Winter 1980–81, pp. 47 & 48, * Anderson, Carol (1983), ''Shining Corn: Glittering Mica'', which includes a review of ''Glittering Mica'', in Hearn, Sheila G. (ed.), ''

'' No. 12, Spring 1983, pp. 40 & 41,

References

External links

National Library of Scotland Modern Scottish Writers

IMDB entry for Another Time, Another Place
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kesson, Jessie 1916 births 1994 deaths 20th-century British dramatists and playwrights 20th-century British novelists 20th-century British women writers 20th-century British writers 20th-century Scottish women writers 20th-century Scottish writers British women dramatists and playwrights Proletarian literature Scottish dramatists and playwrights Scottish radio producers Scottish Renaissance Scottish women novelists Women radio producers

Life

Works

Reviews

References

Further reading

External links