Bridget Boland (13 March 1913 – 19 January 1988) was an Irish-British screenwriter, playwright and novelist.

Life

Bridget Boland was the daughter of Irish politician John Pius Boland and Eileen Querin Boland ( Moloney). Born in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, Bridget Boland was educated at the Convent of the Sacred Heart, Roehampton and at

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...

, where she studied philosophy, politics, and economics, graduating B.A. in 1935. In 1937 she became a film writer. From 1941 to 1946 she served in the

Auxiliary Territorial Service The Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS; often pronounced as an acronym) was the women's branch of the British Army during the Second World War. It was formed on 9 September 1938, initially as a women's voluntary service, and existed until 1 Februa ...

, producing plays for the troops to boost morale from 1943 to 1946. Ronald Hayman, 'Bridget Boland', in K. A. Berney, ed., ''Contemporary British Dramatists'', Gale, 1994, pp. 81-83 Boland reflected on her life and work in 1987:

Works

Selected filmography

* '' Laugh It Off'' (1940) * ''

Gaslight Gas lighting is the production of artificial light from combustion of a gaseous fuel, such as hydrogen, methane, carbon monoxide, propane, butane, acetylene, ethylene, coal gas (town gas) or natural gas. The light is produced either direct ...

'' (1940) * ''

Freedom Radio ''Freedom Radio'' (a.k.a. ''A Voice in the Night'') is a 1941 British propaganda film directed by Anthony Asquith and starring Clive Brook, Diana Wynyard, Raymond Huntley and Derek Farr. It is set in Nazi Germany during the Second World Wa ...

'' (1941) * '' He Found a Star'' (1941) * '' This England'' (1941) * ''

Prelude to Fame ''Prelude to Fame'' is a 1950 British drama film set in Italy, directed by Fergus McDonell and starring Guy Rolfe, Kathleen Byron and Kathleen Ryan. It is based on the 1924 story "Young Archimides" by Aldous Huxley, about a mathematical prodi ...

'' (1950) * '' The Fake'' (1953) * ''

The Prisoner ''The Prisoner'' is a 1967 British television series about an unnamed British intelligence agent who is abducted and imprisoned in a mysterious coastal village, where his captors designate him as Number Six and try to find out why he abruptl ...

'' (1955) * ''

War and Peace ''War and Peace'' (russian: Война и мир, translit=Voyna i mir; pre-reform Russian: ; ) is a literary work by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy that mixes fictional narrative with chapters on history and philosophy. It was first published ...

'' (1956) * ''

Anne of the Thousand Days ''Anne of the Thousand Days'' is a 1969 British period historical drama film based on the life of Anne Boleyn, directed by Charles Jarrott and produced by Hal B. Wallis. The screenplay by Bridget Boland and John Hale is an adaptation of the 19 ...

'' (1969)

Plays

* ''The Arabian Nights'', produced 1948. * ''Cockpit'', produced 1948. In ''Plays of the Year'' 1, 1949. (Filmed as ''

The Lost People ''The Lost People'' is a 1949 British drama film directed by Muriel Box and Bernard Knowles and starring Dennis Price, Mai Zetterling and Richard Attenborough. It is based on the play ''Cockpit'' by Bridget Boland. It was shot partly at Den ...

'') * ''The Damascus Blade'', produced 1950 * ''The Return'', produced 1952 as ''Journey to Earth'' and 1953 as ''The Return''. 1954. * ''The Prisoner'', produced 1954. In ''Plays of the Year'' 10, 1954 * ''Gordon'', produced 1961. In ''Plays of the Year'' 25, 1962 * ''The Zodiac in the Establishment'', produced 1963. 1963 * ''A Juan by Degrees'', produced 1965. Adaptation of a play by Pierre Humblot.

Novels

* ''The Wild Geese'', 1938 * ''Portrait of a Lady in Love'', 1942 * ''Caterina'', 1975

Other

* (with Maureen Boland) ''Old Wives' Lore for Gardeners'', 1976 * ''Gardener's Magic and Other Old Wives' Lore'', 1977 * ''At My Mother's Knee'', 1978 * (ed.) ''The Lisle Letters: An Abridgement'', 1983. Abridgement of the 6-volume edition edited by Muriel St. Clare Byrne

References

External links

* 1913 births 1988 deaths Writers from London British women novelists British women dramatists and playwrights 20th-century British women writers 20th-century British novelists 20th-century British dramatists and playwrights 20th-century British screenwriters {{UK-writer-stub