Valerie Grosvenor Myer
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Valerie Winifred Grosvenor Myer (April 13, 1935 – August 9, 2007) was a British writer, university teacher, and editor.


Early life

Valerie Winifred Grosvenor Godwin was born in Lower Soudley in the
Forest of Dean The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the county of Gloucestershire, England. It forms a roughly triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and northwest, Herefordshire to the n ...
,
Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...
, England, to Donald Godwin, who worked in insurance and as a
smallholder A smallholding or smallholder is a small farm operating under a small-scale agriculture model. Definitions vary widely for what constitutes a smallholder or small-scale farm, including factors such as size, food production technique or technology ...
, having started work aged 14 looking after pit-ponies in coalmines, and "educated and ambitious" Margaret (née Jones). She was raised in "tranquil poverty"; the village had no electricity or indoor sanitation until she was in her late teens. Her parents were second cousins, and there was an "alluring legend" that the family descended from nobility via a bastard child several generations ago.The article previously stated, lacking a source for the information, that this alleged "illegitimate connection" dated "from the early nineteenth century", linking the family to "the Grosvenor family, Marquesses and later Dukes of Westminster". She studied at East Dean Grammar School, but had to leave at the age of 16 to train as a librarian in Gloucester; a "crisis in family finances" meant she was unable to go on to the university education her mother had led her to hope for.


Reporter

She began writing freelance reports for the ''Forest of Dean Mercury'' before being taken on as a reporter, and moved in 1958 to the ''
Dartford Chronicle Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames estuary, is Thurrock in E ...
'' in
Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
. She then worked for two
Fleet Street Fleet Street is a major street mostly in the City of London. It runs west to east from Temple Bar at the boundary with the City of Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the London Wall and the River Fleet from which the street was na ...
women's magazines, ''Housewife'' (sub-editor) and ''Flair'' (Chief sub-editor). After marrying Michael Myer (who later took the "Grosvenor" part of his wife's name - becoming Michael Grosvenor Myer - to distinguish himself from other similarly-named men)''Dictionary of Pseudonyms: 13,000 Assumed Names and Their Origins'', 5th edition, Adrian Room, McFarland Inc., 2014, p. 211 in 1959, she attended a course at the
City Literary Institute City Lit is an adult education college in Holborn, central London, founded by the London County Council in 1919, which has charitable status. It offers part-time courses across four schools and five "centres of expertise", covering humanities an ...
.


Cambridge education

On the advice of her lecturer, she entered for and won a Mature State Scholarship with an extended essay on one of Jane Austen's juvenilia, "
Catherine, or the Bower Catharine, or the Bower (''Kitty, or the Bower'') is an unfinished novel from Jane Austen's juvenilia. With its realistic setting and characters, it represents something of a bridge between her early burlesques and the soberer novels that made her ...
", and its relationship to her mature work, and went up to
Newnham College, Cambridge Newnham College is a women's Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1871 by a group organising Lectures for Ladies, members of which included philosopher Henry Sid ...
in 1963 to read English, graduating at the age of 31 with a
first class degree The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied (sometimes with significant variati ...
. During her time at Cambridge, she wrote theatre criticism for ''
The 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 ...
''. Sue Limb, "Valerie Grosvenor Myer: Fervent communicator and university teacher in dangerous places", ''The Guardian'', 15 August 2007
Retrieved 10 May 2013
Biography at GoodReads.com
Retrieved 10 May 2013


Later career

Her post-graduate career was in editing, university teaching, and writing. Having studied for a Postgraduate Certificate in Education at
Hughes Hall, Cambridge Hughes Hall is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. It is the oldest of the University of Cambridge's postgraduate colleges. The college also admits undergraduates, though undergraduates admitted by the college must b ...
, she taught briefly at secondary school level; but finding this uncongenial, she appropriately combined her two areas of experience in educational journalism: Deputy Arts Editor of ''The
Times Educational Supplement ''Tes'', formerly known as the ''Times Educational Supplement'', is a weekly UK publication aimed at education professionals. It was first published in 1910 as a pull-out supplement in ''The Times'' newspaper. Such was its popularity that in 19 ...
'' before moving to ''The Teacher'' (weekly newspaper of the
National Union of Teachers The National Union of Teachers (NUT; ) was a trade union for school teachers in Education in England, England, Education in Wales, Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. It was a member of the Trades Union Congress. In March 2017, NU ...
) as Literary and Features Editor. ''Obituary'', The Stage, 4 September 2007
Retrieved 10 May 2013
She remained living in Cambridge, commuting by train to these London jobs, whilst also supervising undergraduates, having been included on the English Faculty list of Approved Supervisors, for Cambridge colleges Queens', Homerton and Robinson, and was elected to an Associateship at
Lucy Cavendish College Lucy Cavendish College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college is named in honour of Lucy Cavendish (1841–1925), who campaigned for the reform of women's education. History The college was founded in 1965 by fe ...
. Notable among her supervisees were
Richard Maher Richard Maher is a British screenwriter, author and playwright. Born in Bristol in 1957, he graduated from Queens' College, Cambridge in 1979. His television work includes writing for ''Pie in the Sky'' and ''Taggart'', and co-creating the ITV1 ...
at Queens',
Jan Ravens Janet "Jan" Ravens (born 14 May 1958) is an English actress and impressionist, known for her voice work on ''Spitting Image'' and '' Dead Ringers''. Early life Ravens grew up in Hoylake, then in Cheshire, on the west side of the Wirral with he ...
at Homerton, Andy White and
Morwenna Banks Tamsin Morwenna Banks (born 20 September 1961) is a British comedy actress, writer and producer. She appeared in the Channel 4 comedy sketch show '' Absolutely'', and wrote, produced, and appeared in the British ensemble film ''The Announcemen ...
at Robinson. On the invitation of Professor
Wu Ningkun Wu Ningkun (; September 1920 – August 10, 2019) was Professor Emeritus of English at the University of International Relations in Beijing, where he had taught since 1956. During the 1980s, he held Visiting Fellowships at Cambridge University, N ...
, who was a visiting fellow at Cambridge, she taught at the Beijing Language Institute, later the
Beijing Language and Culture University } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...
, and in 1989 worked there close to the Tiananmen Square protests, visiting her students in the square just the day before the demonstration was brought violently to an end by the
People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...
, after which she had to flee at risk of gunfire before her year's contract was complete: she spent a night at the Beijing Toronto Hotel on her way to the airport, and there were actually bullet-holes in its walls next morning. She also taught at
Fourah Bay College Fourah Bay College is a public university in the neighbourhood of Mount Aureol in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Founded on 18 February 1827, it is the first western-style university built in Sub-Saharan Africa and, furthermore, the first university-le ...
, (University of
Freetown Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and p ...
),
Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...
, where she was caught up in the Sierra Leone Civil War, civil war in 1991. "These episodes suggested that Valerie's life was becoming more adventurous and dangerous as she neared retirement age," wrote
Sue Limb Sue Limb (born 1946, Hitchin, Hertfordshire) is a British writer and broadcaster. Biography Limb was born in Hitchin, Hertfordshire. She studied Elizabethan literature, Elizabethan lyric poetry at Newnham College, Cambridge and then trained in e ...
in her obituary in ''The Guardian''.


Academic work and novels

As well as the Cambridge University supervisions and the university teaching in
Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
and
Freetown Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and p ...
noted above, she lectured at various times in the USA (
School of the Art Institute of Chicago The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) is a private art school associated with the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC) in Chicago, Illinois. Tracing its history to an art students' cooperative founded in 1866, which grew into the museum and ...
), Canada (
University of New Brunswick The University of New Brunswick (UNB) is a public university with two primary campuses in Fredericton and Saint John, New Brunswick. It is the oldest English-language university in Canada, and among the oldest public universities in North Americ ...
at St John), France (
University of Bourges The University of Bourges (french: Université de Bourges) was a university located in Bourges, France. It was founded by Louis XI in 1463 and closed during the French Revolution. Until the mid-17th century, lack of suitable legal training at hom ...
), and Sweden (
Lund University , motto = Ad utrumque , mottoeng = Prepared for both , established = , type = Public research university , budget = SEK 9 billion University of the Third Age The University of the Third Age (U3A) is an international movement whose aims are the education and stimulation of mainly retired members of the community—those in their third 'age' of life. There is no universally accepted model for the U3A. It ...
, and several Cambridge-based international Summer Schools. Her writings included a study of
Margaret Drabble Dame Margaret Drabble, Lady Holroyd, (born 5 June 1939) is an English biographer, novelist and short story writer. Drabble's books include '' The Millstone'' (1965), which won the following year's John Llewellyn Rhys Memorial Prize, and ''Jer ...
, ''Puritanism and Permissiveness'' in 1974, biographies of
Jane Austen Jane Austen (; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for her six major novels, which interpret, critique, and comment upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen's plots of ...
,
Harriette Wilson Harriette Wilson (2 February 1786 – 10 March 1845) was the author of ''The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson: Written by Herself'' (1825). Wilson was a famed British Regency courtesan who became the mistress of William, Lord Craven, at the age of ...
and
Mary Kingsley Mary Henrietta Kingsley (13 October 1862 – 3 June 1900) was an English ethnographer, scientific writer, and explorer whose travels throughout West Africa and resulting work helped shape European perceptions of both African cultures and ...
, critical studies of
Charlotte Brontë Charlotte Brontë (, commonly ; 21 April 1816 – 31 March 1855) was an English novelist and poet, the eldest of the three Brontë sisters who survived into adulthood and whose novels became classics of English literature. She enlisted i ...
,
Samuel Richardson Samuel Richardson (baptised 19 August 1689 – 4 July 1761) was an English writer and printer known for three epistolary novels: ''Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded'' (1740), '' Clarissa: Or the History of a Young Lady'' (1748) and ''The History of ...
and
Laurence Sterne Laurence Sterne (24 November 1713 – 18 March 1768), was an Anglo-Irish novelist and Anglican cleric who wrote the novels ''The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman'' and ''A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy'', published ...
. Poems appeared in ''Peepshow'', ''New Poetry'' (ed Norman Hidden), ''The Interpreter's House'' (ed Merryn Williams), Chelmer Festival Anthology, &c. She also wrote novels: ''Culture Shock'' (
Duckworth Duckworth may refer to: * Duckworth (surname), people with the surname ''Duckworth'' * Duckworth (''DuckTales''), fictional butler from the television series ''DuckTales'' * Duckworth Books, a British publishing house * , a frigate * Duckworth, W ...
1988), and ''The Butterfly House'' (Fern House 1998) which drew on her experience in China. She collaborated with Beijing colleague Professor Li Yanshu in a standard comprehension textbook for Chinese students of English. Her study of ''Ten Great English Novelists'' was published simultaneously by Vision Press London & S. Martin's Press New York (1990). She contributed short stories to Arts Council UK anthologies edited by
Margaret Drabble Dame Margaret Drabble, Lady Holroyd, (born 5 June 1939) is an English biographer, novelist and short story writer. Drabble's books include '' The Millstone'' (1965), which won the following year's John Llewellyn Rhys Memorial Prize, and ''Jer ...
and
Angus Wilson Sir Angus Frank Johnstone-Wilson, CBE (11 August 191331 May 1991) was an English novelist and short story writer. He was one of England's first openly gay authors. He was awarded the 1958 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for ''The Middle Age of ...
, and literary articles to ''
The Oxford Companion to English Literature ''The Oxford Companion to English Literature'' first published in 1932, edited by the retired diplomat Sir Paul Harvey (1869–1948), was the earliest of the Oxford Companions to appear. It is currently in its seventh edition (2009), edited by D ...
'', '' The Cambridge Guide to Literature in English'' (ed
Ian Ousby Ian Vaughan Kenneth Ousby (26 June 1947 – 6 August 2001) was a British historian, author and editor. Biography Ian Ousby was born in Marlborough, Wiltshire to an army officer and his wife. Ousby's father was stabbed to death in India in 1947 ...
), ''The
Continuum Continuum may refer to: * Continuum (measurement), theories or models that explain gradual transitions from one condition to another without abrupt changes Mathematics * Continuum (set theory), the real line or the corresponding cardinal number ...
Encyclopedia of American Literature''. She was for many years Cambridge theatre critic for ''
The Stage ''The Stage'' is a British weekly newspaper and website covering the entertainment industry and particularly theatre. It was founded in 1880. It contains news, reviews, opinion, features, and recruitment advertising, mainly directed at those wh ...
''. Her final work was to co-edit with Steven R. Serafin the ''Continuum Encyclopedia of British Literature'' (2003), an ambitious work published in New York aimed at American students. She was also a keen and accomplished black-&-white photographer, having a darkroom built into her Cambridgeshire home, holding several exhibitions in Cambridge, and contributing publicity and record-sleeve photographs to her friends, the folksingers
Nic Jones Nic Jones (born Nicolas Paul Jones; 9 January 1947) is an English singer, songwriter and musician. Regarded as a prominent figure of the British folk revival, he has recorded five solo albums and collaborated with various musicians. Biography ...
,
Peter Bellamy Peter Franklyn Bellamy (8 September 1944 – 24 September 1991) was an English folk singer. He was a founding member of The Young Tradition and also had a long solo career, recording numerous albums and touring folk clubs and concert halls. He ...
, and Anthea Bellamy-Birch.


Illness and death

After she was diagnosed with
Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...
in the 1990s, she told her husband Michael that she would commit suicide when she judged the degeneration caused by the illness to have become intolerable, but before she lost the necessary physical ability, and did so in 2007. Andrew Alderson, "Why Michael Grosvenor Myer left his wife to die alone"
''Sunday Telegraph'', 29 November 2008. Retrieved 10 May 2013


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Myer, Valerie Grosvenor 1935 births 2007 suicides People from Forest of Dean District English biographers English women novelists Drug-related suicides in England Alumni of Newnham College, Cambridge 20th-century English novelists 20th-century English women writers 20th-century biographers English women non-fiction writers Women biographers