Madeleine Mathilde Henrey (1906–2004, née Gal, pseud. Mrs Robert Henrey) was a French-born writer. She wrote over 30 books, mainly of an autobiographical nature, that enjoyed considerable fame in post-war Britain and established rural lid-off-a-small-town titles as a genre.

Life

Henrey was born Madeleine Gal, the daughter of a miner and seamstress, and moved as a child to

Soho Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was develop ...

, in London, following her father's death. She met her future husband, Robert Henrey, at the

Savoy Hotel The Savoy Hotel is a luxury hotel located in the Strand in the City of Westminster in central London, England. Built by the impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte with profits from his Gilbert and Sullivan opera productions, it opened on 6 August 188 ...

; they were married in 1928 and their romance would prove to be a lifelong attachment lasting until his death in 1982. Her son

Bobby Henrey Robert Henrey (born 26 June 1939) is an British people, Anglo-French people, French former child actor best known for his role as the son of the France, French ambassador to London in the classic 1948 England, English film ''The Fallen Idol (film ...

was a child actor, notably in the film '' The Fallen Idol'', the making of which was described in her book ''A film star in Belgrave Square''. Her writing career stretched from 1941 to 1979 and during this time she brought many of the events of her childhood and career to public attention. She enjoyed a long relationship with publishers, Dent & Sons, and most of her works, particularly her early ones, were a commercial success.

Bibliography

''Bibliographical details are those of the

First Edition The bibliographical definition of an edition includes all copies of a book printed from substantially the same setting of type, including all minor typographical variants. First edition According to the definition of ''edition'' above, a b ...

s''. Publisher is ''London: J. M. Dent & Sons'', unless stated. Undated versions were typically later.

Fiction

*''Delphine'' (1947), writing as Robert Henrey, London: Peter Davies ::''A series of stories'' *''An Attic in Jermyn Street'' (1948), writing as Robert Henrey, ::''The story of a girl reporter'' *''Philippa'', writing as Mrs Robert Henrey,

Non-fiction

*''A Farm in Normandy'' (1941), writing as Robert Henrey ::''The birth of her child'' *''A Village in Picadilly'' (1942), writing as Robert Henrey ::''The author's experiences during the air raids on London'' *''Letters from Paris, 1870-1875'' (

942 Year 942 ( CMXLII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – The Hungarians invade Al-Andalus (modern Spain) and besiege the fortress ...

by C. de B., trans. and ed. by M.H. writing as Robert Henrey ::''C. de B. was a political informant to the head of the London house of

Rothschild Rothschild () is a name derived from the German ''zum rothen Schild'' (with the old spelling "th"), meaning "with the red sign", in reference to the houses where these family members lived or had lived. At the time, houses were designated by signs ...

'' *''A Journey to Gibraltar'' (1943), writing as Robert Henrey ::''The author's experiences during the

London Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...

'' *''The Incredible City'' (1944), writing as Robert Henrey ::''Part of her London trilogy'' *''Bloomsbury Fair'' (1944), writing as Robert Henrey, ::''Three London families'' *''The Foolish Decade'' (1945), writing as Robert Henrey ::''London social life and customs'' *''The Siege of London'' (1946), writing as Robert Henrey, ::''Part of her London trilogy, an account of life in London from February 1944 to May 1945'' *''The King of Brentford'' (1946), writing as Robert Henrey, London : Peter Davies ::''On the life of Thomas Selby Henrey'' *''The Return to the Farm'' (1947), writing as Robert Henrey, London: Peter Davies ::''Life on their Normandy farm during the Second World War'' *''A Film Star in Belgrave Square'', writing as Robert Henrey, London: Peter Davies ::''The making of the film'' The Fallen Idol, starring her son, Bobby. *''The Little Madeleine'', writing as Mrs Robert Henrey, ::''Her girlhood'' *''An Exile in Soho'', writing as Mrs Robert Henrey, ::''Her adolescence'' *''Madeleine Grown Up'', writing as Mrs Robert Henrey, ::''Her love story and marriage'' *''Madeleine Young Wife'', writing as Mrs Robert Henrey, ::''World War II on her farm in Normandy'' *''Mistress of Myself'', writing as Mrs Robert Henrey, ::''A golden summer by the sea, a summer on her farm'' *''Her April Days'', writing as Mrs Robert Henrey, ::''The death of her mother'' *''Wednesday at Four'', writing as Mrs Robert Henrey, ::''An afternoon in London and a journey to Moscow, one year in her life'' *''Winter Wild'', writing as Mrs Robert Henrey, ::''Clouds on the horizon'' *''London'', writing as Mrs Robert Henrey, ::''History, with watercolours by

Phyllis Ginger Phyllis Ethel Ginger (19 October 1907 – 3 May 2005) was a British artist and illustrator who, although she had a long career in several different media, is now best known for the topographical watercolours she produced during the Second Worl ...

'' *''Paloma'', writing as Mrs Robert Henrey, ::''The story of a friend, a story of friendship'' *''Madeleine's Journal'', writing as Mrs Robert Henrey, ::''London during coronation year, her contemporary journal'' *''This Feminine World'', writing as Mrs Robert Henrey ::''Paris dressmakers'' *''A Daughter for a Fortnight'', writing as Mrs Robert Henrey *''The Virgin of Aldermanbury'', writing as Mrs Robert Henrey ::''Rebuilding of the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...

'' *''Spring in a Soho Street'', writing as Mrs Robert Henrey *''The Dream Makers'', writing as Mrs Robert Henrey ::''The world of women's magazines'' *''Milou's Daughter'', writing as Mrs Robert Henrey ::''She goes in search of her father's

MIDI MIDI (; Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a technical standard that describes a communications protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, computers, and re ...

, a winter in the Midi'' *''A Month in Paris'', writing as Mrs Robert Henrey ::''She revisits the city of her birth'' *''A Journey to Vienna'', writing as Mrs Robert Henrey ::''The making of the film The Wonder Kid starring her son, Bobby'' *''Mathilda and the Chickens'', writing as Mrs Robert Henrey ::''The farm in Normandy just after the war, one of her "Farm Books"''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Henrey, Madeleine 1906 births 2004 deaths People from Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine British writers Writers from Île-de-France French emigrants to the United Kingdom