Rosamond Lehmann with her brother John and Lytton Strachey

Rosamond Nina Lehmann (3 February 1901 – 12 March 1990) was an English novelist and translator. Her first novel, '' Dusty Answer'' (1927), was a ''

succès de scandale ''Succès de scandale'' ( French for "success from scandal") is a term for any artistic work whose success is attributed, in whole or in part, to public controversy surrounding the work. In some cases the controversy causes audiences to seek o ...

''; she subsequently became established in the literary world, and intimate with members of the Bloomsbury set. Her novel '' The Ballad and the Source'' received particular critical acclaim.

Early life

Rosamond Lehmann was born in

Bourne End, Buckinghamshire Bourne End is a village mostly in the parish of Wooburn, but partly in that of Little Marlow in Buckinghamshire, England. It is about five miles (8 km) south-east of High Wycombe and three miles (5 km) east of Marlow, near the bo ...

, the second of four children of Rudolph Chambers Lehmann (1856–1929) and his American wife, Alice Mary Davis (1873–1956), from New England. Rosamond's father was a Liberal MP from 1906 to 1910, and founder of ''

Granta ''Granta'' is a literary magazine and publisher in the United Kingdom whose mission centres on its "belief in the power and urgency of the story, both in fiction and non-fiction, and the story's supreme ability to describe, illuminate and make ...

'' magazine and editor of the '' Daily News''. Because of this, Rosamond grew up in an affluent, well-educated, and well-known family; the American playwright

Owen Davis Owen Gould Davis (January 29, 1874 – October 14, 1956) was an American dramatist known for writing more than 200 plays and having most produced. In 1919, he became the first elected president of the Dramatists Guild of America. He received th ...

was Rosamond's cousin, and her great-grandfather Robert Chambers founded ''

Chambers Dictionary ''The Chambers Dictionary'' was first published by William and Robert Chambers as ''Chambers's English Dictionary'' in 1872. It was an expanded version of ''Chambers's Etymological Dictionary'' of 1867, compiled by James Donald. A second editio ...

''.Introduction to

Virago Press Virago is a British publisher of women's writing and books on feminist topics. Started and run by women in the 1970s and bolstered by the success of the Women's Liberation Movement (WLM), Virago has been credited as one of several British femin ...

edition, publ. 2000, Her great-uncle was the artist Rudolf Lehmann. Lehmann's older sister Helen was born in 1899, and her two younger siblings were born in 1903 and 1907 respectively. Her younger sister

Beatrix Beatrix is a Latin feminine given name, most likely derived from ''Viatrix'', a feminine form of the Late Latin name ''Viator'' which meant "voyager, traveller" and later influenced in spelling by association with the Latin word ''beatus'' or "ble ...

(1903–1979) became an actress; her younger brother,

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

(1907–1987), a writer and publisher."Rosamond Nina Lehmann" in the 1911 England Census (Class: ''RG14''; Piece: ''7895''; Schedule Number: ''238)'' Purportedly, Rosamond's father favoured Beatrix and her mother favoured John, leaving Rosamond feeling neglected. Because of this, supposedly, she turned to writing. By 1911, Lehmann was being educated at home by the family's live-in "Childrens Government", Maria Jacquemin. Also in the home lived the family's eight servants. Rosamond's mother also instilled feminist ideals into her children.Simons, Judy. "Introduction", in ''Rosamond Lehmann'', Liverpool University Press, 2011, pp. 1–8. ''JSTOR'', http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv5rf161.6. Accessed 30 July 2020. In 1919 Lehmann won a scholarship to

Girton College, Cambridge Girton College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon as the first women's college at Cambridge. In 1948, it was granted full college status by the un ...

. She graduated with second-class degrees in both English Literature (1921) and Modern and Medieval Languages (1922). There, she also met her first husband, Leslie Runciman (later 2nd Viscount Runciman of Doxford). They married in December 1923, and the couple went to live in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

. It was an unhappy marriage: "He uncimanpanicked when ehmannbecame pregnant and insisted on an abortion, after which he praised her for being once again "all clean and clear inside". The two separated in 1927 and were officially divorced later that year.

Career

In 1927, Lehmann published her first novel, '' Dusty Answer'', to great critical and popular acclaim. The novel's heroine, Judith, is attracted to both men and women, and interacts with fairly openly gay and lesbian characters during her years at Cambridge. The novel was considered a ''

'' and is thought to be based on her Cambridge years. Lehmann went on to publish six more novels, as well as a play (''No More Music'', 1939), a collection of short stories (''The Gypsy's Baby & Other Stories'', 1946), a spiritual autobiography (''The Swan in the Evening'', 1967), and a photographic memoir of her friends (''Rosamond Lehmann's Album'', 1985), many of whom were famous (

Bloomsbury Group The Bloomsbury Group was a group of associated British writers, intellectuals, philosophers and artists in the early 20th century. Among the people involved in the group were Virginia Woolf, John Maynard Keynes, E. M. Forster, Vanessa Bell, a ...

). She also translated two French novels into English: Jacques Lemarchand's ''Genevieve'' (1948) and

Jean Cocteau Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau ( , ; ; 5 July 1889 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, film director, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost avant-garde artists of the 20th-c ...

's 1929 novel '' Les Enfants Terribles'' as ''The Holy Terrors'' (1955). Lehmann's novel ''The Weather in the Streets'' (1936) was made into a film in 1983, which starred

Michael York Michael York (born Michael Hugh Johnson; 27 March 1942) is an English film, television, and stage actor. After performing on stage with the Royal National Theatre, he had a breakthrough in films by playing Tybalt in Franco Zeffirelli's ''Romeo ...

and

Joanna Lumley Dame Joanna Lamond Lumley (born 1 May 1946) is an Indian-born British actress, presenter, author, television producer, activist and former model. She has won two BAFTA TV Awards for her role as Patsy Stone in the BBC sitcom ''Absolutely Fabulo ...

. Her 1953 novel ''The Echoing Grove'' was made into the 2002 film '' Heart of Me'', starring

Helena Bonham Carter Helena Bonham Carter (born 26 May 1966) is an English actress. Known for her roles in Blockbuster (entertainment), blockbusters and independent films, particularly period dramas, List of awards and nominations received by Helena Bonham Carter ...

as the main character, Dinah.

Personal life and death

After Lehmann's divorce from Leslie Runciman, she married Wogan Philipps in 1928. Phillips was an artist who later succeeded his father as 2nd Baron Milford. Together they had two children: a son, Hugo (1929–1999), and a daughter, Sarah, also known as Sally (1934–1958). The family lived at

Ipsden Ipsden is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Chiltern Hills in South Oxfordshire, about southeast of Wallingford, Oxfordshire, Wallingford. It is almost equidistant from Oxford and Reading, Berkshire, Reading, Berkshi ...

House in

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

between 1930 and 1939. While living in Oxfordshire, Lehmann began to mingle with prominent figures of the

, including

Leonard Leonard or ''Leo'' is a common English language, English masculine given name and a surname. The given name and surname originate from the Old High German ''Leonhard'' containing the prefix ''levon'' ("lion") from the Greek wikt:Λέων#Greek, Λ ...

and

Virginia Woolf Adeline Virginia Woolf (; ; 25 January 1882 28 March 1941) was an English writer and one of the most influential 20th-century modernist authors. She helped to pioneer the use of stream of consciousness narration as a literary device. Vir ...

, though "Lehmann was unsure how to respond to the older woman's combination of teasing and flattery". Lehmann's marriage with Phillips fell apart during the late 1930s, after Phillips left for Spain during the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

to support the

anti-fascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were op ...

cause. The separation, and Lehmann's affair with the journalist Goronwy Rees, led the two to divorce in 1944. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Lehmann lived in the English countryside with her two children, and contributed to and helped to edit '' New Writing'', a periodical edited by her brother John Lehmann. She was also an active opponent of

fascism Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hie ...

, and spoke at anti-fascist meetings in Paris and London, as well as being active in

PEN International PEN International (known as International PEN until 2010) is a worldwide professional association, association of writers, founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere. The association ...

. Lehmann's affair with Goronwy Rees began in 1936 and ended when she found out Rees was engaged to another woman, by reading about the engagement in the newspaper. Afterward, Lehmann entered a "very public affair" for nine years (1941–1950) with the married poet

Cecil Day-Lewis Cecil Day-Lewis (or Day Lewis; 27 April 1904 – 22 May 1972), often written as C. Day-Lewis, was an Anglo-Irish poet and Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom from 1968 until his death in 1972. He also wrote mystery stories under the pseudony ...

. The two went on holidays and lived together, and Lehmann tried to convince him to leave his wife for her. In the end, however, Day-Lewis left both his wife and Lehmann for actress Jill Balcon. This heartbreak inspired Lehmann's novel ''The Echoing Grove'' (1953), to great success. Lehmann's beloved daughter, Sarah, died of

polio Poliomyelitis ( ), commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 75% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe ...

myelitis in 1958. Her death led Lehmann to retreat from the public world and turn to spiritualism. Lehmann believed that Sarah lived on after death. Her 1967 book ''The Swan in the Evening'' is an autobiography that Lehmann described as her "Last Testament". In it she intimately describes the emotions she felt at Sarah's birth, and also those she felt at her daughter's abrupt death. The memoir also recounts the psychic experiences Lehmann claims to have had in relation to Sarah's death, a theme she revisits in her 1986 anthology ''Moments of Truth'', which is a collection of letters from 'beyond the grave' purportedly dictated by Sarah. Some of these letters also appeared in an anthology of similar writings, ''The Awakening Letters'', co-edited by Lehmann. Nearly blind from

cataract A cataract is a cloudy area in the lens (anatomy), lens of the eye that leads to a visual impairment, decrease in vision of the eye. Cataracts often develop slowly and can affect one or both eyes. Symptoms may include faded colours, blurry or ...

s, Lehmann died at home in Clareville Grove, London, on 12 March 1990, aged 89.

Works

* '' Dusty Answer'' (1927) * '' A Note in Music'' (1930) * '' Invitation to the Waltz'' (1932) * '' The Weather in the Streets'' (1936) * ''No More Music'' (1939) * '' The Ballad and the Source'' (1944) * ''Orion'' (as editor) (1945) *''The Gypsy's Baby & Other Stories'' (1946) * ''The Echoing Grove'' (1953) * ''The Swan in the Evening: Fragments of an Inner Life'' (1967; non-fiction) * ''A Sea-Grape Tree'' (1976) * ''The Awakening Letters'' (1978; ed. with Cynthia, Lady Sandys) * ''Moments of Truth'' (1986; anthology, non-fiction)

Biographies

* Selina Hastings, ''Rosamond Lehmann: A Life'', 2002 *Diana E Lestourgeon, ''Rosamond Lehmann'', 1965 *Marie-Jose Codaccioni, ''L'Oeuvre de Rosamond Lehmann: Sa contribution au roman féminin (1927–1952)'', 1983 *Judy Simons, ''Rosamond Lehmann'', 1992 * Gillian Tindall, ''Rosamond Lehmann'', 1985 *Wiktoria Dorosz, ''Subjective Vision and Human Relationships in the Novels of Rosamond Lehmann'', 1975 *Wendy Pollard, ''Rosamond Lehmann and Her Critics: the Vagaries of Literary Reception'', 2004 *Françoise Bort, Marie-Françoise Cachin, ''Rosamond Lehmann et le métier d'écrivain'', 2003 *Ruth Siegel, ''Rosamond Lehmann: a Thirties Writer'', 1990

Letters

*''My Dear Alexias: Letters from Wellesley Tudor Pole to Rosamond Lehmann'', by Rosamond Lehmann (1979)