Betty Askwith
Betty Askwith | |
|---|---|
| Born | Betty Ellen Askwith 26 June 1909 Chelsea, London, England |
| Died | 10 April 1995 (aged 85) |
| Occupation(s) | Writer and biographer |
| Parents |
|
Betty Ellen Askwith (26 June 1909 – 10 April 1995) was an English writer and biographer.[1][2]
Personal life
[edit]Betty Ellen Askwith was born on 26 June 1909 in Chelsea, London,[3] the only daughter of the first Lord Askwith and Ellen Graham (née Peel).[1] George Askwith had been Chief Industrial Commissioner before the First World War, and her mother was a descendant of Sir Robert Peel.[2] Both Askwith's parents were published writers, and she showed a passion for writing from a young age.[1] Her first book of poems was published in 1928, when Askwith was 19, and a second followed in 1931.[1] Although Askwith attended the Lycée Francais, she never went to university.[2]
Askwith married Keith Miller Jones, a solicitor,[2] in 1950, and the couple lived in Egerton Terrace, London.[1] Jones died in 1978.[1]
Career
[edit]During a career spanning fifty years, Askwith published poems, novels, and biographies.[2] In the 1930s, with her friend Theodora Benson, Askwith wrote three humorous books: Foreigners, or the World in a Nutshell; Muddling Through, or Britain in a Nutshell; and How to Succeed, or The Great in Nutshells.[4][5] Ruari McLean described the first of these as being "two of the funniest books published in England before the Second World War".[1] Theodora Benson dedicated her first novel, Salad Days, to Askwith.[6]
During the Second World War, Askwith worked at the Ministry of Information.[1]
Askwith's most lauded work was A Tangled Web (1960).[1] Her last novel, A Step out of Time, was published in 1966.[1] In 1969, she published a biography of Lady Dilke.[1] Two Victorian Families (1971) explored the lives of the Benson and Strachey families.[1] Gillian Wagner described her treatment of them as "admirable":
One can respect Edward White Benson, Headmaster of Wellington, Bishop of Truro, Archbishop of Canterbury, but one cannot like him. His treatment of his wife and family was dreadful - his three sons, A.C., R.H. and E.F., grew up emotionally crippled. Yet Askwith did him absolute justice.[1]
Two further biographical works followed: The Lytteltons: a family chronicle of the 19th century (1975), and Piety and Wit: the biography of Harriet, Countess Granville 1785-1862 (1982). [1]
Death and legacy
[edit]Betty Askwith died on 10 April 1995.[1] Her obituary in The Times stated that "Although she never attained real literary celebrity, her life was full of interest, warm friendship and solid achievement.[2]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Wagner, Gillian (1 May 1995). "OBITUARY: Betty Askwith". The Independent.
- ^ a b c d e f "Betty Askwith". The Times. 25 April 1995. p. 19.
- ^ "Betty Ellen Askwith". England and Wales Birth Registration Index, 1837-2008. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
- ^ "English girls' clever book of satire". Examiner. 11 January 1936. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
- ^ "Hon Theodora Benson". The Times. 28 December 1968. p. 8.
- ^ "Betty Askwith | Orlando". orlando.cambridge.org. Retrieved 2024-12-28.