Sheila Pim (21 September 190916 December 1995), was an Irish crime novelist and horticulturalist.

Biography

Sheila Pim was born in September 1909 to a

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

father and English mother in Ireland. She was a twin but her brother died. She was sent to the French School in Bray before being sent to

Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR-74), ...

, Switzerland to

Finishing school A finishing school focuses on teaching young women social graces and upper-class cultural rites as a preparation for entry into society. The name reflects that it follows on from ordinary school and is intended to complete the education, wit ...

. Pim then went on to Girton College, Cambridge to study modern languages, intending to graduate with a degree in French and Italian. Her mother's ill heath, and death in 1940, caused her to return to Ireland to look after her and she remained taking care of her father, who died in 1958, and an older incapacitated brother, Tom. During the 1950s and 1960s Pim wrote seven novels, mostly crime fiction in a light hearted style. During this time she was a member of

Irish PEN Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

. She was also an avid amateur horticulturalist and wrote for the magazine ''My Garden''. Her more serious undertaking was a biography of the Irish plant collector

Augustine Henry Augustine Henry (2 July 1857 – 23 March 1930) was a British-born Irish plantsman and sinologist. He is best known for sending over 15,000 dry specimens and seeds and 500 plant samples to Kew Gardens in the United Kingdom. By 1930, he was a rec ...

. Her brother Tom died in 1964 in an accident leaving Pim with no further responsibilities. This allowed her to spend significant time researching through Henry's papers. This book was published in 1966. When she had completed the biography Pim focused on philanthropy. She dedicated her time to the Friends Historical Society and was particularly interested in helping out in the traveller community. She supported a young group of children and their grandfather. They brought her considerable joy. The

Royal Horticultural Society of Ireland The Royal Horticultural Society of Ireland (RHSI), founded in 1816, is the Ireland's leading gardening charity. History The RHSI was founded as a charity in 1816 promoting and educating on all aspects of gardening in Ireland. The inaugural meetin ...

awarded Pim the Society's Medal of Honour and made her an honorary life member for her services to the study of horticulture. As she got older she went deaf finally forcing her to move into sheltered housing where she died in 1995.

Bibliography

Fiction

* ''Common Or Garden Crime'' (Hodder and Stoughton, London, 1945) * ''Creeping Venom'' (Hodder and Stoughton, London, 1946) * ''The Flowering Shamrock'' (Hodder and Stoughton, London, 1949) * ''A Brush With Death'' (Hodder and Stoughton, London, 1950) * ''A Hive of Suspects'' (Hodder and Stoughton, London, 1952) * ''Other People's Business'' (Hodder and Stoughton, London, 1957) * ''The Sheltered Garden'' (Hodder and Stoughton, London, 1964)

Non-Fiction

* ''Getting Better: A Handbook for Convalescents'' (Faber & Faber, London, 1945) * ''Bringing the Garden Indoors'' (My Garden, London, 1949) * ''The Wood and the Trees: A Biography of Augustine Henry'' (Macdonald, London, 1966)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pim, Sheila 1909 births 1995 deaths Alumni of Girton College, Cambridge 20th-century Irish women writers Crime novelists