Pamela Morris (10 November 1906 – 20 October 2002) was an English publisher and teacher who co-founded the publishing firm

Boriswood Boriswood Limited was a small London publishing house which was active from 1931 until 1938. The directors, at various times, were Cecil J Greenwood, Kenneth W Marshall, John Morris and the New Zealander Terence T Bond. It also incorporated anothe ...

with her husband, John Morris, and their friend Cecil Greenwood and later Oxford English Centre with Anne Dreydel in 1953 (now called St Clare's, Oxford). She translated ''

Diary of a Country Priest ''Diary of a Country Priest'' (french: Journal d'un curé de campagne) is a 1951 French drama film written and directed by Robert Bresson, and starring Claude Laydu in his debut film performance. A faithful adaptation of Georges Bernanos' nove ...

'' by

Georges Bernanos Louis Émile Clément Georges Bernanos (; 20 February 1888 – 5 July 1948) was a French author, and a soldier in World War I. A Catholic with monarchist leanings, he was critical of elitist thought and was opposed to what he identified as defea ...

and published Archibald MacLeish's ''Land of the Free''. Morris taught

English as a second or foreign language English as a second or foreign language is the use of English by speakers with different native languages. Language education for people learning English may be known as English as a second language (ESL), English as a foreign language (EF ...

at St Clare's as well as French and English literature and administered the school's courses. The St Clare's Science and Mathematics building opened in 2017 was named after her.

Biography

On 10 November 1906, Morris was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Paris, France. She was the daughter of Nico Paramythioti, the Greek businessperson, and Amy Horrocks, the English composer. Morris grew up in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

because her father had business interests in the city, learning to become fluent in both English and French. She went on to establish the publishing firm

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

with her husband and their friend Cecil Greenwood. The publishing firm was responsible for finding multiple authors such as James Hanley and

Rex Warner Rex Warner (9 March 1905 – 24 June 1986) was an English classicist, writer, and translator. He is now probably best remembered for ''The Aerodrome'' (1941).Chris Hopkins, ''English Fiction in the 1930s: Language, Genre, History'' Continuum Inte ...

. Morris translated ''

'' by

and this helped to cement the reputation of the company. She also published Archibald MacLeish's ''Land of the Free''. During the

Second World War 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 ...

, the Morrises sold the publishing firm to

The Bodley Head The Bodley Head is an English publishing house, founded in 1887 and existing as an independent entity until the 1970s. The name was used as an imprint of Random House Children's Books from 1987 to 2008. In April 2008, it was revived as an adul ...

and relocated to

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. In Oxford, she taught

(EFL), and met Anne Dreydel. The two women established the Oxford English Centre in Banbury Road in 1953 (now called St Clare's, Oxford). Morris continued teaching EFL as well as French, English literature. She also administered every course ran by the centre such as EFL, A-Level programmes, external honours degrees from London and courses for American university students. Morris frequently toured the continent visiting

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lan ...

offices and universities promoting the international educational objective of St. Clare's, and continued administered courses at St Clare's until 1960. In 1972, she retired as co-principal of the trust after she and her family moved to

Shilton Shilton may refer to: Places *Shilton, Oxfordshire, England *Shilton, Warwickshire, England **Shilton railway station, a former station Other * Shilton (surname) *Earl Shilton Earl Shilton is a market town in Leicestershire, England, about ...

close to

Burford Burford () is a town on the River Windrush, in the Cotswolds, Cotswold hills, in the West Oxfordshire district of Oxfordshire, England. It is often referred to as the 'gateway' to the Cotswolds. Burford is located west of Oxford and southeas ...

. Morris read contemporary novels every week and frequently went to the local library in her final years whilst being cared for by staff at a local nursing home. Her life is chronicled in a memoir 'The Blind Horse of Corfu', written by her daughter Anne Norrington.The Blind Horse of Corfu by Anne Norrington, published by Green Branch Press (2007)

Personal life

She was married to John Morris from 1925 until his death in 1985 and the couple had two children. Morris moved to a nursing home in Burford in 1995 and died there on 20 October 2002.

Legacy

The Science and Mathematics building at St Clare's that was designed to complement the existing structure from the Edwardian and Victorian eras opened in 2017 was named for her.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Pamela 1906 births 2002 deaths English people of Greek descent 20th-century English women 20th-century English people 21st-century English women Women book publishers (people) English book publishers (people) English translators Teachers of English as a second or foreign language English women educators 20th-century English educators 21st-century English educators 20th-century English businesspeople