Joy Petersen Packer (12 February 1905 – 7 September 1977) was a South African

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

of autobiography and romantic adventure novels.

Biography

Packer was born and educated in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

, graduating as a journalist from the

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...

. She worked initially as a free-lance journalist, in 1931 becoming a reporter for London's ''

Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet i ...

''. After this, she spent time on radio in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

as well as a stint writing for British publications in

the Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

saw her as a broadcaster to South Africa 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 ...

, then later working in the Ministry of Information in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

, as at Allied Headquarters in Italy. Her travelling was tied up with her marriage to a British admiral, Sir Herbert Packer. When her husband was

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

ed in the 1950

Honours list Crown Honours Lists are lists of honours conferred upon citizens of the Commonwealth realms. The awards are presented by or in the name of the reigning monarch, currently King Charles III, or his vice-regal representative. New Year Honours Ho ...

, Mrs. Joy Packer automatically became known as "Lady Packer", a

courtesy title A courtesy title is a title that does not have legal significance but rather is used through custom or courtesy, particularly, in the context of nobility, the titles used by children of members of the nobility (cf. substantive title). In some co ...

Works

Her first works of note were three volumes of memoirs published from 1945 to 1953 dealing with her travels throughout the world during the period before, during, and just after

with her husband. Places visited included

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, the

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, and China. In the early 1950s, she went on a substantial tour of Africa, which is included in her later published final three volumes of memoirs. In the 1950s, she also began publishing novels, starting with ''Valley of the Vines'' in 1955, which sold more than 600,000 copies in English, and was translated into at least nine European languages. Although her novels' principal themes were romantic, several sources state them as also important for their sociopolitical commentary of South Africa at the time. Her second novel, ''Nor the Moon by Night'' was made into a British film of the same name. In America, it was released as ''Elephant Gun''.

Novels

* ''Valley of the Vines'' (1955) * ''The High Roof'' (1959) * ''Nor the Moon by Night(1957) * ''The Glass Barrier'' (1961) * ''The Man in the Mews'' (1964) * ''The Blind Spot'' (1967) * ''Leopard in the Fold'' (1969) * ''Veronica'' (1970) * ''Boomerang'' (1972) * ''Dark Curtain'' (1977)

Memoirs

* ''Pack and Follow'' (1945) * ''Grey Mistress'' (1949) on HMS ''Warspite'' * ''Apes and Ivory'' (1953) * ''Home from the Sea'' (1963) * ''The World is a Proud Place'' (1966) * ''Deep as the Sea'' (1975) A biography of Admiral Sir Bertie Packer

References

Sources

* Book jackets from original editions of ''Nor the Moon by Night'' and ''Valley of the Vines''

External links

Summary of a biography published on Joy Packer

page for film ''Nor the Moon by Night''

Record on Library of Congress database

www.getawaytoafrica.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Packer, Joy 1905 births 1977 deaths University of Cape Town alumni South African women novelists 20th-century South African women writers 20th-century South African novelists South African memoirists Women memoirists 20th-century memoirists