Mary Linley Taylor (1889–1982) born Hilda Mouat Biggs, was an English
stage actress
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lite ...
, who spent most of her adult life in
Korea
Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
.
Background
Marly Linley Taylor was born on September 14, 1889 in Abbey Row, Westport,
Malmesbury
Malmesbury () is a town and civil parish in north Wiltshire, England, which lies approximately west of Swindon, northeast of Bristol, and north of Chippenham. The older part of the town is on a hilltop which is almost surrounded by the upp ...
, to Dr. Charles Edward Forbes Mouat-Biggs and Mary Louisa Tickell. She had two sisters, Betty and Una. Betty was also an actress. Taylor married Albert Wilder "Bruce" Taylor on June 15, 1917 at
St. Thomas Cathedral in
Bombay
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second-m ...
, India. Their son, Bruce Tickell Taylor (1919-2015), was born in
Seoul
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...
and was granted honorary citizenship by then-mayor
Lee Myung-bak.
Married life in Korea
Mary and Albert lived in ''Dilkhusha'', a house built in 1923 but from which they were forcibly evicted in 1942 by Japanese authorities. The house's name means 'Heart's Delight' in
Urdu
Urdu (;["Urdu"](_blank)
'' Dilkusha Kothi
Dilkusha Kothi is the remains of an eighteenth-century house built in the English baroque style in the quiet Dilkusha area of Lucknow in India. , in
Lucknow
Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and division ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. Mary was an active member of the Seoul Club, well known for her hospitality and dinner parties.
Albert, like his father and grandfather, was a successful gold miner. He was also a correspondent for
United Press International
United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20t ...
. His connections, influence, and later refusal to leave Korea in 1941 led to him being deemed a criminal by the then-Japanese government, and he consequently spent six months in
Seodaemun Prison
Seodaemun Prison History Hall is a museum and former prison in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, South Korea. It was constructed beginning in 1907. The prison was opened on October 21, 1908, under the name Gyeongseong Gamok. During the early part of the Japa ...
. After returning to America the following year, he died in 1948. Mary returned to Korea to bury her husband next to his father's grave at
Yanghwajin Foreigners' Cemetery
Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery ( ko, 양화진외국인선교사묘원), also known as the Hapjeong-dong () International Cemetery, is a cemetery overlooking the Han River in the district of Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea. Designated in 189 ...
.
"Three Foreigners' Reminiscence of Seoul"
/ref> After her death, her autobiography ''Chain of Amber'' was published by her son, Bruce. ''Chain of Amber'' was translated into Korean in Seoul by Young-dahl Song in March, 2014.
Selected bibliography
* 1956 ''The Tiger's Claw'' (a biography of George Yankovsky
George (Yuri or Jerzy) Mihailovich Yankovsky (Russian: Юрий Михайлович Янковский) (5 June 1879 - 13 June 1956) was a Russian tiger hunter in Manchuria, a son of the Polish settler in the Russian Far East, Michał Jankows ...
)
* 1992 ''Chain of Amber''
* 2014 호박 목걸이(translation by Young-dahl Song)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Mary Linley
1889 births
1982 deaths
People from Malmesbury
English stage actresses