Ruth Augusta Adam, née King (14 December 1907 – 3 February 1977), was an English journalist and writer of novels, comics and non-fiction

feminist literature Feminist literature is fiction, nonfiction, drama, or poetry, which supports the feminist goals of defining, establishing, and defending equal civil, political, economic, and social rights for women. It often identifies women's roles as unequal ...

Early life

She was born on 14 December 1907 in

Arnold, Nottinghamshire Arnold () is a market town and unparished area in the Borough of Gedling in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire in the East Midlands of England. It is situated to the north-east of Nottingham's city boundary ...

, daughter of Annie Margaret (née Wearing) and Rupert William King, a

vicar A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...

of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

. She attended St Elphin's girls' boarding school in

Darley Dale Darley Dale, also known simply as Darley, is a town and civil parish in the Derbyshire Dales district of Derbyshire, England, with a population of 5,413. It lies north of Matlock, on the River Derwent and the A6 road. The town forms part o ...

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

, from 1920 to 1925.

Career

In 1925, she became a teacher in elementary schools in impoverished mining areas of

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...

. Her first novel, ''War On Saturday Week'', dealt with political extremism in Britain during the years leading up to the Second World War. Her second novel, ''I'm Not Complaining'' (1938), depicted women's lives in

the Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagion ...

from the point of view of an unmarried female teacher. She worked for the Ministry of Information during the Second World War, and wrote radio scripts, including some for ''

Woman's Hour ''Woman's Hour'' is a radio magazine programme broadcast in the United Kingdom on the BBC Light Programme, BBC Radio 2, and later BBC Radio 4. It has been on the air since 1946. History Created by Norman Collins and originally presented by A ...

'', which started on BBC radio in 1946. From 1944 to 1976 she wrote the

women's page The women's page (sometimes called home page or women's section) of a newspaper was a section devoted to covering news assumed to be of interest to women. Women's pages started out in the 19th century as society pages and eventually morphed into ...

for the ''

Church of England Newspaper The ''Church of England Newspaper'' is an independent Anglican weekly newspaper. Based in London, it is published on Fridays. The ''Church of England Newspaper'' is notable as the earliest church paper, and one of the oldest newspapers still i ...

'', which expressed her position as a Christian socialist feminist. One such article, "Comics and Shockers" in 1948, put her on the same page as Marcus Morris, whose religious ideals and concerns about the influence of American comics led him to launch ''

Eagle Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...

'' in 1950, and ''

Girl A girl is a young female human, usually a child or an adolescent. When a girl becomes an adult, she is accurately described as a ''woman''. However, the term ''girl'' is also used for other meanings, including ''young woman'',Dictionary ...

'' the following year. Adam wrote strips for ''Girl'', in which she attempted to counteract the passiveness of many girls' heroines by introducing young female characters who were resourceful, brave and clever. Her best-known strip was "Susan of St. Bride's" (1954–61), about a student nurse, who also featured in spin-off novels written by Adam. She also wrote "Lindy Love" (1954–55), about a girl just out of school who has to care for her family, drawn by

Peter Kay Peter John Kay (born 2 July 1973) is an English actor, comedy writer and stand-up comedian. He has written, produced and acted in several television and film projects, and has written three books. Born and brought up in Bolton, Kay studied ...

. In 1955 she and

Peggy Jay Margaret Christian Jay, Baroness Jay ( Garnett; 4 January 1913 – 21 January 2008) was an English Labour councillor. Education and professional life As a young girl, Garnett attended St Paul's Girls' School in London, where she befriended Shiel ...

founded the Fisher Group, a think-tank advising governments on social policy. She wrote twelve novels, including two about girls in care, ''Fetch Her Away'' (1954) and ''Look Who's Talking'' (1960), and ''A House in the Country'' (1957), a comic novel based on her family's attempt to live in a commune, as well as biographies of

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...

and

Beatrice Webb Martha Beatrice Webb, Baroness Passfield, (née Potter; 22 January 1858 – 30 April 1943) was an English sociologist, economist, socialist, labour historian and social reformer. It was Webb who coined the term ''collective bargaining''. She ...

, the latter co-written with

Kitty Muggeridge Kathleen Rosalind Dobbs Muggeridge (née Dobbs;Albin Kreb ''New York Times'', 15 November 1990. ''The Independent'' obituary (below) of Kitty Muggeridge appears to be the main source to identify her first name as 'Kathleen'. 8 December 1903 – ...

. The 1951 film '' The Quiet Woman'' was based on a story by Adam, and ''Look Who's Talking'' was adapted for television as part of the BBC's Studio 4 series in 1962. Her final book, ''A Woman's Place: 1910-1975'', a

social history Social history, often called the new social history, is a field of history that looks at the lived experience of the past. In its "golden age" it was a major growth field in the 1960s and 1970s among scholars, and still is well represented in his ...

of women in the 20th century, was published in 1975. She died at the

Hospital of St John and St Elizabeth The Hospital of St John and St Elizabeth in St John's Wood, London, England, is a Catholic charitable general hospital in north London. History and operations The hospital was founded in 1856 with a Roman Catholic affiliation and is a register ...

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary. An Civil parish#Ancient parishes, ancient parish and latterly a ...

, London, on 3 February 1977.

Personal life

In 1932 she married

Kenneth Adam Kenneth Adam (1 March 1908 – 18 October 1978) was an English journalist and broadcasting executive, who from 1957 until 1961 served as the Controller of the BBC Television Service. Early life and education He was born in Nottingham. After ...

, a journalist on the ''

Manchester Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' and later director of

BBC television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 193 ...

. They had four children: three sons and one daughter, the journalist Corinna Adam, later Corinna Ascherson.

Selected works

*War On Saturday Week (1937) *''I'm Not Complaining'' (1938) (Reprinted by

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 ...

in 1983) *''There Needs No Ghost'' (1939) *''Murder in the Home Guard'' (1942) An experiment with the murder novel formula, where Adam presents a murder as seen from a series of different viewpoints. *'' The Quiet Woman'' (1951 film) (co-written with ''

John Gilling John Gilling (29 May 1912 – 22 November 1984) was an English film director and screenwriter, born in London. He was known for his horror film, horror movies, especially those he made for Hammer Films, for whom he directed ''The Shadow of the ...

)'' *''Fetch Her Away'' (1954) A novel about the effect of family breakdown on a little girl and the intervention of the State in her life. Dedicated to Peggy Jay. *''House in the Country'' (1957) *''Look Who's Talking'' (1960) *''Beatrice Webb: A Life 1858-1943'' (with Kitty Muggeridge, 1967) *''A Woman's Place: 1910-1975'' (1975) (Reprinted by

Persephone Books ''Persephone Books'' is an independent publisher based in Bath, England. Founded in 1999 by Nicola Beauman, Persephone Books reprints works largely by women writers of the late 19th and 20th century, though a few books by men are included. Th ...

in 2000)''A Woman's Place: 1910-1975'' at Persephone Books
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adam, Ruth 1907 births 1977 deaths English radio writers Women radio writers English women novelists English biographers English feminist writers English comics writers Female comics writers People from Arnold, Nottinghamshire 20th-century English novelists 20th-century English women writers 20th-century biographers English women non-fiction writers Women biographers Women's page journalists