Rosamond Lehmann with her brother John and Lytton Strachey

Rosamond Nina Lehmann (3 February 1901 – 12 March 1990) was an English novelist and translator. Her first novel, '' Dusty Answer'' (1927), was a '' succès de scandale''; she subsequently became established in the literary world and intimate with members of the Bloomsbury set. Her novel '' The Ballad and the Source'' received particular critical acclaim.

Early life

Rosamond Lehmann was born in Bourne End, Buckinghamshire, the second of four children to Rudolph Chambers Lehmann (1856–1929) and his American wife, Alice Mary Davis (1873–1956), from New England. Rosamond's father was a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

MP from 1906-1910, founder of '' Granta'' magazine and editor of the '' Daily News''. Because of this, Rosamond grew up in an affluent, well-educated, and well-known family; the American playwright

Owen Davis Owen Gould Davis (January 29, 1874 – October 14, 1956) was an American dramatist known for writing more than 200 plays and having most produced. In 1919, he became the first elected president of the Dramatists Guild of America. He received t ...

was Rosamond's cousin, and her great-grandfather Robert Chambers founded Chambers Dictionary.Introduction to

Virago Press Virago is a British publisher of women's writing and books on Feminism, feminist topics. Started and run by women in the 1970s and bolstered by the success of the Women's Liberation Movement (WLM), Virago has been credited as one of several Briti ...

edition, publ. 2000, Her great-uncle was the artist Rudolf Lehmann. Lehmann was the second oldest of four children. Her two younger siblings were born in 1903 and 1907 respectively. Her younger sister would become the actress Beatrix Lehmann (1903–1979). Her younger brother,

John Lehmann Rudolf John Frederick Lehmann (2 June 1907 – 7 April 1987) was an English poet and man of letters. He founded the periodicals ''New Writing'' and ''The London Magazine'', and the publishing house of John Lehmann Limited. Biography Born in ...

(1907–1989) would become the writer and publisher."Rosamond Nina Lehmann" in the 1911 England Census (Class: ''RG14''; Piece: ''7895''; Schedule Number: ''238)'' Purportedly, Rosamond's father favoured Beatrix and her mother favoured John, leaving Rosamond feeling neglected. Because of this, supposedly, she turned to writing. By 1911, Lehmann was being educated at home by the family's live-in "Childrens Government", Maria Jacquemin. Also in the home lived the family's eight servants. Rosamond's mother also instilled feminist ideals into her children.Simons, Judy. "Introduction." ''Rosamond Lehmann'', Liverpool University Press, 2011, pp. 1–8. ''JSTOR'', http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv5rf161.6. Accessed 30 July 2020. In 1919 Lehmann won a scholarship to Girton College, Cambridge. She graduated with second-class degrees in both

English Literature English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...

(1921) and Modern and Medieval Languages (1922). There, she also met her first husband, Walter Leslie Runciman (later 2nd Viscount Runciman of Doxford). They married in December 1923, and the couple went to live in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

. It was an unhappy marriage: "He uncimanpanicked when ehmannbecame pregnant and insisted on an abortion, after which he praised her for being once again "all clean and clear inside". The two separated in 1927 and were officially divorced later that year.

Career

In 1927, Lehmann published her first novel, '' Dusty Answer'', to great critical and popular acclaim. The novel's heroine, Judith, is attracted to both men and women, and interacts with fairly openly gay and lesbian characters during her years at Cambridge. The novel was considered a '' succès de scandale'' and is thought to be based on her Cambridge years. Lehmann went on to publish six more novels, as well as a play (''No More Music'', 1939), a collection of short stories (''The Gypsy's Baby & Other Stories'', 1946), a spiritual autobiography (''The Swan in the Evening'', 1967), and a photographic memoir of her friends (''Rosamond Lehmann's Album'', 1985), many of whom were famous (

Bloomsbury Group The Bloomsbury Group—or Bloomsbury Set—was a group of associated English writers, intellectuals, philosophers and artists in the first half of the 20th century, including Virginia Woolf, John Maynard Keynes, E. M. Forster and Lytton Strac ...

). She also translated two French novels into English: Jacques Lemarchand's ''Genevieve'' (1948) and

Jean Cocteau Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau (, , ; 5 July 1889 – 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, filmmaker, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost creatives of the su ...

's 1929 novel '' Les Enfants Terribles'' as ''The Holy Terrors'' (1955). Lehmann's novel ''The Weather in the Streets'' (1936) was made into a movie in 1983 and starred Michael York and Joanna Lumley. Her 1953 novel ''The Echoing Grove'' was made into the 2002 film '' Heart of Me'', starring Helena Bonham Carter as the main character, Dinah.

Personal life and death

After Lehmann's divorce from Leslie Runciman, she married Wogan Philipps in 1928. Phillips was an artist who later succeeded his father as

Wogan Philipps, 2nd Baron Milford Wogan Philipps, 2nd Baron Milford (25 February 1902 – 30 November 1993) was the only member of the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) ever to sit in the House of Lords. Early life Philipps was the eldest son of Laurence Philipps, 1st Baro ...

. Together, they had two children, a son

Hugo Hugo or HUGO may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Hugo'' (film), a 2011 film directed by Martin Scorsese * Hugo Award, a science fiction and fantasy award named after Hugo Gernsback * Hugo (franchise), a children's media franchise based on a ...

(1929–1999) and a daughter Sarah, also known as Sally (1934–1958). The family lived at

Ipsden Ipsden is a village and civil parish in the Chiltern Hills in South Oxfordshire, about southeast of Wallingford. It is almost equidistant from Oxford and Reading, Berkshire. Parish church The Church of England parish church of Saint Mary the ...

House in

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

between 1930 and 1939. While living in Oxfordshire, Lehmann began to mingle with

Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural, intellectual, and educational institutions. Bloomsbury is home of the British Museum, the largest mus ...

leaders, including

Leonard Leonard or ''Leo'' is a common English language, English masculine given name and a surname. The given name and surname originate from the Old High German ''Leonhard'' containing the prefix ''levon'' ("lion") from the Greek wikiwikiweb:Λέων, � ...

and

Virginia Woolf Adeline Virginia Woolf (; ; 25 January 1882 28 March 1941) was an English writer, considered one of the most important modernist 20th-century authors and a pioneer in the use of stream of consciousness as a narrative device. Woolf was born i ...

, though "Lehmann was unsure how to respond to the older woman's combination of teasing and flattery". Lehmann's marriage with Phillips fell apart during the late 30s, after Phillips left for Spain during the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

to support the

anti-fascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were ...

cause. The separation, and Lehmann's affair with

Goronwy Rees Goronwy Rees (29 November 1909 – 12 December 1979) was a Welsh journalist, academic and writer. Background Rees was born in Aberystwyth, where his father was minister of the Tabernacle Calvinistic Methodist Church. The family later moved t ...

, caused the two to get divorced in 1943. During

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 ...

, Lehmann lived in the English countryside with her two children and helped to edit and also contributed to '' New Writing'', a periodical edited by her brother,

. She was also an active opponent of

fascism Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...

and spoke at anti-fascist meetings 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 ...

and

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, as well as being active in PEN International. Lehmann had an affair with the journalist

, starting in 1936 and ending when Lehmann found out Rees was engaged to another woman, by reading about the engagement in the newspaper. Afterwards, Lehmann entered a "very public affair" for nine years (1941–1950) with the married poet

Cecil Day-Lewis Cecil Day-Lewis (or Day Lewis; 27 April 1904 – 22 May 1972), often written as C. Day-Lewis, was an Irish-born British poet and Poet Laureate from 1968 until his death in 1972. He also wrote mystery stories under the pseudonym of Nicholas Bla ...

. The two vacationed and lived together, and Lehmann tried to convince him to leave his wife for her. In the end, however, Day-Lewis left both his wife and Lehmann for a younger actress, Jill Balcon. This heartbreak inspired Lehmann's novel ''The Echoing Grove'' (1953), to great success. Lehmann's beloved daughter, Sarah, died of

polio Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe s ...

myelitis in 1958. Her death caused Lehmann to retreat from the public world, and turn to spiritualism. Lehmann believed that Sarah lived on after death. Her 1967 novel, ''The Swan in the Evening'', is an autobiography which Lehmann described as her "Last Testament". In it, she intimately describes the emotions she felt at the birth of her daughter, and also when she died abruptly. The novel also recounts the psychic experiences Lehmann claims to have had in relation to Sarah's death, a theme she revisits in her 1986 anthology ''Moments of Truth,'' which is a collection of letters from 'beyond the grave' purportedly dictated by Sarah. Some of these letters also appeared in book form in an anthology of similar writings, ''The Awakening Letters'', co-edited by Lehmann. Nearly blind from cataracts, Lehmann died at home in Clareville Grove, London on 12 March 1990, aged 89.

Works

* '' Dusty Answer'' (1927) * '' A Note in Music'' (1930) * '' Invitation to the Waltz'' (1932) * ''

The Weather in the Streets ''The Weather in the Streets'' is a novel by Rosamond Lehmann which was first published in 1936. When it was published it was an instant best-seller, selling particularly well in France. Content The story involves the description of Olivia Curti ...

'' (1936) * ''No More Music'' (1939) * '' The Ballad and the Source'' (1944) * ''Orion'' (as editor) (1945) *''The Gypsy's Baby & Other Stories'' (1946) * ''The Echoing Grove'' (1953) * ''The Swan in the Evening: Fragments of an Inner Life'' (1967) (non-fiction) * ''A Sea-Grape Tree'' (1976) * ''The Awakening Letters'' (1978) (ed. with Cynthia, Lady Sandys) * ''Moments of Truth'' (1986) (anthology, non-fiction)

Biographies

* Selina Hastings, ''Rosamond Lehmann: A Life'', 2002 *Diana E Lestourgeon, ''Rosamond Lehmann'', 1965 *Marie-Jose Codaccioni, ''L'Oeuvre de Rosamond Lehmann: Sa contribution au roman féminin (1927–1952)'', 1983 *Judy Simons, ''Rosamond Lehmann'', 1992 *

Gillian Tindall Gillian Tindall (born 4 May 1938) is a British writer and historian. Among her books are ''City of Gold: The Biography of Bombay'' (1992) and ''Celestine: Voices from a French Village'' (1997). Her novel ''Fly Away Home'' won the Somerset Maugha ...

, ''Rosamond Lehmann'', 1985 *Wiktoria Dorosz, ''Subjective Vision and Human Relationships in the Novels of Rosamond Lehmann'', 1975 *Wendy Pollard, ''Rosamond Lehmann and Her Critics: the Vagaries of Literary Reception'', 2004 *Françoise Bort, Marie-Françoise Cachin, ''Rosamond Lehmann et le métier d'écrivain'', 2003 *Ruth Siegel, ''Rosamond Lehmann: a Thirties Writer'', 1990

Letters

*''My Dear Alexias: Letters from

Wellesley Tudor Pole Wellesley Tudor Pole OBE (23 April 1884 – 13 September 1968) was a spiritualist and early British Baháʼí. He authored many pamphlets and books and was a lifelong pursuer of religious and mystical questions and visions, being particular ...

to Rosamond Lehmann'', by Rosamond Lehmann (1979)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lehmann, Rosamond 1901 births 1990 deaths Lehmann family Alumni of Girton College, Cambridge Commanders of the Order of the British Empire English feminist writers English women novelists English anti-fascists English people of German descent English people of Scottish descent People from Buckinghamshire 20th-century English women writers 20th-century English novelists English women non-fiction writers Presidents of the English Centre of PEN