Lady Violet Georgiana Powell (''née'' Pakenham; 13 March 1912 – 12 January 2002) was a British writer and critic. Her husband was the author

Anthony Powell Anthony Dymoke Powell ( ; 21 December 1905 – 28 March 2000) was an English novelist best known for his 12-volume work ''A Dance to the Music of Time'', published between 1951 and 1975. It is on the list of longest novels in English. Powell' ...

Life and career

Lady Violet was the third daughter of

Thomas Pakenham, 5th Earl of Longford Thomas Pakenham, 5th Earl of Longford, KP, MVO (19 October 1864 – 21 August 1915), known as Lord Silchester until 1887, was an Irish peer and soldier. Biography Born in Dublin, Longford was the eldest son of William Pakenham, 4th Earl of Lo ...

, and the former Lady Mary Child-Villiers, daughter of

Victor Child-Villiers, 7th Earl of Jersey Victor Albert George Child Villiers, 7th Earl of Jersey, (20 March 1845 – 31 May 1915) was a British banker, Conservative politician and colonial administrator from the Villiers family. He served as Governor of New South Wales between 1891 an ...

. She was educated at

St Margaret's School, Bushey St Margaret's School is an independent boarding and day school co-educational aged 2–18 in Bushey, Hertfordshire. As well as day places, the school offers boarding options for pupils from year 7 (age 11) and is situated in of countryside ...

. Lady Violet was a member of a literary family; her brothers were

Edward Pakenham Major General Sir Edward Michael Pakenham, (19 March 1778 – 8 January 1815), was a British Army officer and politician. He was the son of the Baron Longford and the brother-in-law of the Duke of Wellington, with whom he served in the Penin ...

and

Frank Pakenham Francis Aungier Pakenham, 7th Earl of Longford, 1st Baron Pakenham, Baron Pakenham of Cowley, (5 December 1905 – 3 August 2001), known to his family as Frank Longford and styled Lord Pakenham from 1945 to 1961, was a British politician and ...

, while her sisters included the novelist and biographer Lady Pansy Lamb and the historian Lady Mary Clive. She was herself a distinguished memoirist and biographer. Her ''The Life of a Provincial Lady'' (1988), on the life of E. M. Delafield, has been called by the scholar

Nicholas Birns Nicholas Birns is a scholar of literature, including fantasy and Australian literature. As a Tolkien scholar he has written on a variety of topics including The Scouring of the Shire and Tolkien's biblical sources. His analysis of the writings of A ...

"one of the best literary biographies of a British writer in the twentieth century". Those who knew the couple well believed that Lady Violet made significant contributions to the richness, depth and polish of her husband's work.

, ''Understanding Anthony Powell'' (2004), p. 7 She also wrote a biography of the English novelist

Flora Annie Steel Flora Annie Steel (2 April 1847 – 12 April 1929) was a writer who lived in British India for 22 years. She was noted especially for books set in the Indian sub-continent or connected with it. Her novel ''On the Face of the Waters'' (1896) desc ...

Influence

She is generally taken to be the model for the character of Isobel Tolland in her husband's

novel sequence A book series is a sequence of books having certain characteristics in common that are formally identified together as a group. Book series can be organized in different ways, such as written by the same author, or marketed as a group by their pub ...

A Dance to the Music of Time ''A Dance to the Music of Time'' is a 12-volume ''roman-fleuve'' by English writer Anthony Powell, published between 1951 and 1975 to critical acclaim. The story is an often comic examination of movements and manners, power and passivity in Eng ...

''.

Books

Some of her books are: * ''The Album of Anthony Powell's Dance to the Music of Time'' * ''A Compton-Burnett Compendium'' * ''A Jane Austen Compendium: The Six Major Novels'' * ''The Constant Novelist: A Study of Margaret Kennedy, 1896–1967'' * ''Flora Annie Steel: Novelist of India'' * ''The Irish Cousins: The Books and Background of Somerville and Ross'' * ''The Life of a Provincial Lady: A Study of E.M. Delafield and Her Works'' * '' Margaret, Countess of Jersey: A Biography'' * ''A Substantial Ghost: The Literary Adventures of Maude ffoulkes''

Autobiography

# ''Five Out of Six: An Autobiography'' (a reference to her birth order amongst her siblings) # ''Within the Family Circle: An Autobiography'' # ''The Departure Platform: An Autobiography'' # ''A Stone in the Shade: Last Memoirs''

Personal life

She married Anthony Powell (21 December 1905 – 28 March 2000) on 1 December 1934 at All Saints Anglican Church,

Ennismore Gardens ''Ennismore'' is the second solo studio album by the English singer Colin Blunstone of rock band the Zombies. The name of the album comes from Ennismore Gardens, a square in Knightsbridge where Blunstone was living; the name being a variant spel ...

Knightsbridge Knightsbridge is a residential and retail district in central London, south of Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park. It is identified in the London Plan as one of two international retail centres in London, alongside the West End of London, West End. ...

; they had two children, Tristram and John.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Powell, Violet 1912 births 2002 deaths English biographers Daughters of Irish earls People educated at St Margaret's School, Bushey

Violet Violet may refer to: Common meanings * Violet (color), a spectral color with wavelengths shorter than blue * One of a list of plants known as violet, particularly: ** ''Viola'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants Places United States * Viol ...

English women writers Women autobiographers English autobiographers