Angela Busson du Maurier (1 March 1904 – 5 February 2002) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

actress and novelist who also wrote two volumes of autobiography, ''It's Only the Sister'' (1951) and ''Old Maids Remember'' (1965). Her sister was the novelist

Daphne du Maurier Dame Daphne du Maurier, Lady Browning, (; 13 May 1907 – 19 April 1989) was an English novelist, biographer and playwright. Her parents were actor-manager Sir Gerald du Maurier and his wife, actress Muriel Beaumont. Her grandfather was Geo ...

, and her grandfather was

George du Maurier George Louis Palmella Busson du Maurier (6 March 1834 – 8 October 1896) was a Franco-British cartoonist and writer known for work in ''Punch'' and a Gothic novel ''Trilby'', featuring the character Svengali. His son was the actor Sir Gerald ...

, a writer and

cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and g ...

Life

Angela du Maurier was born on 1 March 1904 in St Pancras,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

, the eldest of three daughters of the actor-manager Sir Gerald du Maurier and his wife, actress Muriel Beaumont. Her paternal grandfather was the author and ''

Punch Punch commonly refers to: * Punch (combat), a strike made using the hand closed into a fist * Punch (drink), a wide assortment of drinks, non-alcoholic or alcoholic, generally containing fruit or fruit juice Punch may also refer to: Places * Pu ...

'' cartoonist

, who created the character of

Svengali Svengali () is a character in the novel ''Trilby'' which was first published in 1894 by George du Maurier. Svengali is a man who seduces, dominates and exploits Trilby, a young half-Irish girl, and makes her into a famous singer. Definition ...

in the novel ''

Trilby A trilby is a narrow-brimmed type of hat. The trilby was once viewed as the rich man's favored hat; it is sometimes called the "brown trilby" in Britain Roetzel, Bernhard (1999). ''Gentleman's Guide to Grooming and Style''. Barnes & Noble. and ...

''. Her paternal uncle

Guy du Maurier Guy Louis Busson du Maurier DSO (18 May 1865, London, England – 9 March 1915, Kemmel, Flanders, Belgium) was an English army officer and playwright. He was the son of the writer George du Maurier and brother of Sylvia Llewelyn Davies and ...

was a playwright. Her mother was a paternal niece of journalist, author, lecturer and editor

Comyns Beaumont William Comyns Beaumont, also known as Comyns Beaumont and Appian Way, (17 October 1873 – 30 December 1955)
Benny J Peise ...

. Her middle sister ( Daphne) became a popular writer, while her younger sister ( Jeanne) was a painter.Dunn, Jane ''Daphne du Maurier and her Sisters''HarperPress (2013) She was also a cousin of the

Llewelyn Davies boys The Davies boys (the middle name ''Llewelyn'' was a tradition begun with their grandfather, not a true double-barreled surname, though the family sometimes treated it as such) were the inspiration for the stories of Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie ...

, who served as

J. M. Barrie Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, (; 9 May 1860 19 June 1937) was a Scottish novelist and playwright, best remembered as the creator of Peter Pan. He was born and educated in Scotland and then moved to London, where he wrote several succ ...

's inspiration for the characters in the play '' Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up''. As a young child, du Maurier met many prominent theatre actors, thanks to the celebrity of her father. Originally aspiring to follow the family tradition of acting, she planned to be an actress and spent two seasons on the stage. She played

Wendy Darling Wendy Moira Angela Darling is a fictional character and one of the main protagonists of the 1904 play and 1911 novel ''Peter and Wendy'' by J. M. Barrie, as well as in most adaptations in other media. Her exact age is not specified in the origin ...

alongside both

Gladys Cooper Dame Gladys Constance Cooper, (18 December 1888 – 17 November 1971) was an English actress, theatrical manager and producer, whose career spanned seven decades on stage, in films and on television. Beginning as a teenager in Edwardian mus ...

and

Dorothy Dickson Dorothy Dickson (July 25, 1893 – September 25, 1995) was an American-born, London-based theater actress and singer, and a centenarian. Biography and Career Dickson is known mostly for her rendition of the Jerome Kern song "Look for the S ...

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythi ...

. After her father's death in 1934, du Maurier, together with her mother and her younger sister Jeanne, moved from

Cannon Hall Cannon Hall is a country house museum located between the villages of Cawthorne and High Hoyland some 5 miles (8 km) west of Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England. Originally the home of the Spencer and later the Spencer-Stanhope family, it ...

, the family home in

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the London Borough o ...

, to a smaller house nearby. The three of them also spent a lot of time at Ferryside, their home in

Bodinnick Bodinnick ( kw, Bosdinek, meaning ''fortified dwelling'') is a riverside village in south-east Cornwall, in the United Kingdom. According to the Post Office the population of the 2011 Census was included in the civil parish of Lanteglos-by-Fowe ...

, Cornwall, where they lived permanently after 1939. She worked on the land in

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a Historic counties of England, historic county and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people ...

during the

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, and travelled extensively in Europe. She later turned to writing, with the release of her earlier works coinciding with the publication of her sister's ''Rebecca'' and ''Frenchman's Creek''. She published 12 novels and 2 autobiographies. She died at age 97 on 5 February 2002 in

Wandsworth Wandsworth Town () is a district of south London, within the London Borough of Wandsworth southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Toponymy Wandsworth takes its nam ...

. Although she was the eldest of the sisters, she outlived her middle sister Daphne by thirteen years, and her youngest sister Jeanne by five years.

Bibliography

* 1939 ''The Perplexed Heart'' * 1940 ''The Spinning Wheel'' * 1941 ''The Little Less'' * 1942 ''Treveryan'' * 1946 ''Lawrence Vane'' * 1948 ''Birkinshaw and other stories'' * 1950 ''Reveille'' * 1951 ''It's Only the Sister: an autobiography'' * 1952 ''Shallow Waters'' * 1963 ''The Road to Leenane'' * 1965 ''Old Maids Remember: autobiography'' * 1967 ''Pilgrims by the Way'' * 1967 ''S is for Sin'' * 1969 ''The Frailty of Nature''

Life

Bibliography

References

Further reading