Winifred Ashton CBE, better known by the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

Clemence Dane (21 February 1888 – 28 March 1965), was an English

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

and

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

Life and career

After completing her education, Dane went to Switzerland to work as a French tutor, but returned home after a year. She studied art in London and Germany. After the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, she taught at a girls' school and began writing. She took the pseudonym "Clemence Dane" from the church, St Clement Danes on the Strand, London. Her first novel, '' Regiment of Women,'' written in 1914, was a study of life in a girls' school. Michael Cox and Jack Adrian, ''The Oxford Book of Historical Stories''. Oxford;

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 1994. (p.436). In 1919 she wrote ''Legend'', the story of a group of acquaintances who debate the meaning of a dead friend's life and work. Dane's 1921 play, '' A Bill of Divorcement'', tells the story of a daughter who cares for her deranged father and faces the fact that his mental illness may be hereditary. The smash hit play was adapted for the screen three times, using the same title as the play: a silent film in 1922, a 1932 film starring

Katharine Hepburn Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an American actress whose Katharine Hepburn on screen and stage, career as a Golden Age of Hollywood, Hollywood leading lady spanned six decades. She was known for her headstrong ...

and John Barrymore, and a 1940 film starring Maureen O’Hara and Adolphe Menjou. Dane began writing screenplays as well as novels. In 1933-1934 she travelled to Hollywood on a contract with RKO and returned again in 1937-8 and in 1947 after the war. In England she worked with Alexander Korda. She co-wrote the screenplay for '' Anna Karenina'', starring Greta Garbo and ''Fire over England'' based on the novel by A.E.W. Mason, starring a young Laurence Olivier and Vivian Leigh. The pinnacle of Dane's success was winning an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

with Anthony Pelissier for the film '' Perfect Strangers'', released in the United States as ''Vacation from Marriage'', starring Robert Donat and Deborah Kerr as a married couple transformed by their experiences in the Second World War. Dane, at the age of 30, was one of the women eligible to vote for the first time under the

Representation of the People Act 1918 The Representation of the People Act 1918 ( 7 & 8 Geo. 5. c. 64) was an act of Parliament passed to reform the electoral system in Great Britain and Ireland. It is sometimes known as the Fourth Reform Act. The act extended the franchise in pa ...

. Her opinions on ''The Women's Side'' were published in 1926 and she argued that women should do more with their freedom. She compared the modern girl's choices with the popular gambling card game

Speculation In finance, speculation is the purchase of an asset (a commodity, good (economics), goods, or real estate) with the hope that it will become more valuable in a brief amount of time. It can also refer to short sales in which the speculator hope ...

Jane Austen Jane Austen ( ; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for #List of works, her six novels, which implicitly interpret, critique, and comment on the English landed gentry at the end of the 18th century ...

's '' Mansfield Park''. She wrote for '' Time and Tide'' and was a member of the Six Point Group. Dane's 1931 novel '' Broome Stages'' followed the fortunes of an acting family from the time of Queen Anne to the present. ''Broome Stages'' became a surprise bestseller. Dane and Helen de Guerry Simpson, both members of the Detection Club, wrote three detective novels together featuring their creation Sir John Saumarez. The first, '' Enter Sir John'', was filmed by

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English film director. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featu ...

in 1930 as '' Murder!'' and in a German- language version as ''Mary''. Dane contributed to the Club's serials '' The Scoop'' and '' The Floating Admiral''. Dane's '' The Arrogant History of White Ben'' (1939) is a

dystopia A dystopia (lit. "bad place") is an imagined world or society in which people lead wretched, dehumanized, fearful lives. It is an imagined place (possibly state) in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmen ...

n novel set in a politically unstable near future. Dane's last play, '' Eighty in the Shade'' (1959) was written for and starred her friend, Dame Sybil Thorndike. Early in her career, Dane had been on stage under the pseudonym Diana Cortis. She made her a début in H. V. Esmond’s ‘Eliza Comes to Stay’ but gave up to write her first novel in 1914. Years after Dane expressed an interest in returning to acting, and her friend

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time (magazine), Time'' called "a sense of personal style, a combination of c ...

wrote the part of Madame Arcati, the eccentric medium in '' Blithe Spirit'' for her. The National Portrait Gallery contains two works by Dane, both of Coward. One is an oil painting and the other is a bronze bust. The gallery also contains a portrait of Dane by Frederic Yates. According to Arthur Marshall, she was famous for her indecent, though entirely innocent, remarks. "The physical side of life had passed her by, together with the words, slang and otherwise, that accompany it. Time and again she settled for an unfortunate word or phrase. Inviting Noël Coward to lunch during the war, when food was difficult, she boomed encouragement down the telephone; 'Do come! I've got such a lovely cock.' ('I do wish you'd call it a hen', Noel answered). To use correctly, in a literary sense, the words 'erection', 'tool' and 'spunk' was second nature to her. When wishing to describe herself as being full of life and creative energy, she chose, not really very wisely, the word 'randy'." In 1955, Dane edited the ''Novels of Tomorrow'' series for publisher Michael Joseph. This was a series of science fiction novels featuring such authors as

John Wyndham John Wyndham Parkes Lucas Beynon Harris (; 10 July 1903 – 11 March 1969) was an English science fiction writer best known for his works published under the pen name John Wyndham, although he also used other combinations of his name ...

, Robert Sheckley, and Cyril M. Kornbluth. Dane also wrote a book on the history of Covent Garden (where she lived for a number of years) titled ''London has a Garden and'' published in 1964. She was awarded the CBE in 1953. By the time of her death in London, on 28 March 1965, Dane had written more than 30 plays and 16 novels.

Novels and plays

* '' Regiment of Women'' (1917) * ''First the Blade: A Comedy of Growth'' (1918) * ''Legend'' (1919) * '' A Bill of Divorcement'' (1921) * ''Will Shakespeare: An Invention in Four Acts'' (1921) * ''Shivering Shocks or The Hiding Place'' (published in ''The Graphic Christmas Number'', 1922) - a play for boys sometimes misattributed to

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English people, English author known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving ...

* ''Naboth's Vineyard: A Piece in Three Acts'' (1925) * ''Granite'' (1926) * ''The Women's Side'' (1926) * ''The Babyons'' (1927) * ''The Dearly Beloved of Benjamin Cobb'' (1927) - short story''Classic English Short Stories'', Oxford University Press, 1956 * ''Mariners'' (1927) * ''Adam’s Opera: The Text of a Play'' (1928) * '' Enter Sir John'' (1928) (with Helen Simpson) * ''Third Person Singular'' (1928) * ''The King Waits'' (1929) * ''Printer's Devil'', published in US as ''Author Unknown'' (1930) (with Helen Simpson) * '' Broome Stages'' (1931) * ''Theater Royale'' (1931) * '' Re-enter Sir John'' (1932) (with Helen Simpson) * ''Julia Newberry's Diary'' (1933) * ''Come of Age: The Text of a Play in Music and Words'' (1934) (with Richard Addinsell) * ''Moonlight is Silver: A Play in Three Acts'' (1934) * ''Wild Decembers: A Play in Three Acts'' (1932) * ''Edmond Rostand's L'aiglon'' (1934) * ''The Amateur Gentleman: From the Novel By Jeffery Farnol'' (1936) * ''The Moon Is Feminine. A novel'' (1938) * ''Hebbel's Herod and Mariamne'' (1938) * ''The Arrogant History of White Ben'' (1939) * ''The Lion and the Unicorn. A Play in Three Acts'' (1943) * ''He Brings Great News. A novel'' (1946) * ''Bonny Prince Charlie'' (1948) (with Dorothy Middleton) * ''The Flower Girls. A novel'' (1954) * '' Eighty in the Shade'' (1959) *'' Marriage Lines'' (1949) * ''The Godson: A Fantasy'' (1964)

Non fiction

* '' Claude Houghton: Appreciations'' (with

Hugh Walpole Sir Hugh Seymour Walpole, Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (13 March 18841 June 1941) was an English novelist. He was the son of an Anglican clergyman, intended for a career in the church but drawn instead to writing. Among ...

) * ''London has a Garden'' (1964) * The Welcoming Land (poem)

Life and career

Novels and plays

Non fiction

Notes

Further reading

External links