Hilda Mary Hooke (after marriage, Smith; 3 October 1898 – 1978) was an English-born Canadian writer of dramas, poetry, and prose. Her 1938 play, ''Here Will I Nest'' was adapted into Canada's first colour feature-length motion picture, ''Talbot of Canada'', for which she wrote the screenplay. Hooke died in 1978.

Biography

Hilda Mary Hooke was born at

Odcombe Odcombe is a village and civil parish in south Somerset, England, west of the town of Yeovil, with a population of 759 in 2011. The upper part of the village, Higher Odcombe, sits on the crest of the hill, while the lower part, Lower Odcombe, i ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, England, 3 October 1898. Her parents were Oswald Edgar Smith and Louisa Elizth (Tapscott) Smith."Canada, Ontario Marriages, 1869-1927," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKMR-SW7W : 8 March 2021), Richard Tapscott Smith and Hilda Mary Hooke, 26 Sep 1925; citing registration , London, Middlesex, Ontario, Canada, Archives of Ontario, Toronto; FHL microfilm 2,413,315. She came to Canada in 1902. For some years after her arrival, she was engaged in musical and dramatic work. Hooke was affiliated with the Little Theatre in

London, Ontario London (pronounced ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximate ...

, since the 1920s as producer, director, and playwright. ''Here Will I Nest'', first performed in 1938, became the first Canadian play to be adapted into a motion picture. She wrote three plays around the central figure of Lord Talbot and another three centered on Dr.

John Troyer John Troyer (3 February 1753 – 28 February 1842)Hugh F. Gingerich and Rachel W. Krider, ''Amish and Amish Mennonite Genealogies'', Masthof Press, Morgantown, PA, revised 2007 ed., pp. 526–527, #TY1. This genealogy gives several generations of ...

. Later in her writing career, she became a poet. She also wrote a book about folklore (''Thunder in the Mountains: Legends of Canada''). While serving as secretary to the Chief Inspector of Public Schools,

, she published less. In 1946, she also served as secretary to Canon Quintin Warner. On 26 September 1925, she married Richard Tapscott Smith. She died in

Comox, British Columbia Comox () is a town on the southern coast of the Comox Peninsula in the Strait of Georgia on the eastern coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Thousands of years ago, the warm dry summers, mild winters, fertile soil, and abundant sea life ...

, 1978.

Selected works

Plays

* ''Here Will I Nest'', 1938 * ''A Time of Grace: A Play in Three Acts'', 1941 * ''One-Act Plays from Canadian History'', 1942 * ''The Streamlined Madonna'', 1946 * ''Legend'', 1949

Screenplays

* ''Here Will I Nest'' (alt. ''Talbot of Canada), 1942

Prose

* ''Thunder in the Mountains: Legends of Canada'', 1947

Song lyrics

* "The challenger. A part song for mixed voices.", 1919 (music by

Peter C. Lutkin Peter Christian Lutkin (March 27, 1858 – December 27, 1931) was an American organist, choral conductor, and composer. Career Peter Lutkin was born in Caledonia, Wisconsin, Thompsonville, Wisconsin on March 27, 1858. His parents, Peter Chri ...

)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hooke, Hilda Mary 1898 births 1978 deaths 20th-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Canadian poets 20th-century Canadian women writers People from Somerset British emigrants to Canada Canadian women dramatists and playwrights Canadian women poets