Radclyffe Hall

12 August 1880 - 7 October 1943. Born as Marguerite Radclyffe-Hall. English author, poet and openly lesbian. Her most famous novel was The Well of Loneliness (1928), which was banned in Britain.

Life

Marguerite Radclyffe-Hall was born in Bournemouth, Hampshire in 1880. In her early years, she enjoyed the piano, composing music and lyrics, horses and motor cars. She was educated at King's College London and later in Germany. When she was 21, she inherited a huge amount of money from her paternal grandfather and started to travel to France and Italy. At the age of 28 (22 August 1907) she met Mabel Veronica Batten, with whom she lived until Mabel Batten's death in 1916. Mabel Batten was 50-years-old and married. After her husband's death in 1910 Mabel and John (Radclyffe Hall's nickname) lived together in one house. Because of Mabel, Radclyffe-Hall began to publish some poetry and later began to write fiction. Also Mabel Batten introduced her to Catholicism and lesbian societies. Radclyffe-Hall began to develop a more masculine style, wearing tailored jackets and stiff collars.

In 1915, Radclyffe-Hall had an affair with Una Troubridge, who was a professional artist and also married. This affair turned into a relationship when Mabel Batten died. After Batten's death, Radclyffe-Hall and Una Troubridge developed an interest for spirituality and tried to communicate with Batten's ghost, which gave them both words of advice. Una Troubridge was married to admiral Ernest Troubridge until 1919, when he agreed to a legal separation.

Novels

- The Forge (1924)

- The Unlit Lamp (1924)

- A Saturday Life (1925)

- Adam's Breed (1926)

- The Well of Loneliness (1928)

- The Master of the House (1932)

- Miss Ogilvy Finds Herself (1934)

- The Sixth Beatitude (1936)

Poetry

- The Forgotten Island (London: Chapman & Hall, 1915)

- Dedicated to Sir Arthur Sullivan (England: s.n., 1894)

- A Sheaf Of Verses: Poems (London: J. And E. Bumpus, 1908)

- Twixt Earth And Stars (London: John And Edward Bumpus Ltd., 1906)

- Poems Of The Past & Present (London: Chapman And Hall, 1910)

- Songs Of Three Counties And Other Poems (London: Chapman & Hall, Ltd. 1913)

- Rhymes and Rhythms (Mailand, 1948)

Sources

[1] Bookrags

[2] Brittanica

[3] Frauen Biographieforschung

[4] Encyclopedia of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender,&queer culture.

--Christian Wolbeck 15:25, 7 December 2011 (UTC)