Nell Mary Dunn (born 9 June 1936) is an English playwright, screenwriter and author. She is known especially for a volume of short stories, '' Up the Junction'', and a novel, '' Poor Cow''.

Early years

The second daughter of Sir Philip Dunn and maternal granddaughter of the 5th Earl of Rosslyn, Dunn was born in London and educated at a convent up to the age of 14. She and her older sister Serena were evacuated to America in the war. Her parents divorced in 1944. Her father did not believe his daughters needed qualifications. As a result, she has never passed an exam in her life. She only learnt to read at nine years old. Dunn said, "Whenever my father saw my appalling spelling, he would laugh. But it wasn't an unkind laugh. In his laugh there was the message, 'You are a completely original person, and everything you do has your own mark on it.' He wanted us all to be unique." Despite her upper-class background, Dunn moved in 1959 to

Battersea Battersea is a large district in south London, part of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross and extends along the south bank of the River Thames. It includes the Battersea Park. History Batt ...

, made friends there and worked for a time in a sweet factory. This milieu inspired much of what Dunn would later write. She attended the

Courtauld Institute of Art The Courtauld Institute of Art (), commonly referred to as The Courtauld, is a self-governing college of the University of London specialising in the study of the history of art and conservation. It is among the most prestigious specialist coll ...

Career

After her marriage to Jeremy Sandford in 1957, they gave up their smart

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

home and went to live in unfashionable

where they joined and observed the lower strata of society. From this experience he published the play ''

Cathy Come Home ''Cathy Come Home'' is a 1966 BBC television play about homelessness. It was written by Jeremy Sandford, produced by Tony Garnett and directed by Ken Loach. A 1998 ''Radio Times'' readers' poll voted it the "best single television drama" an ...

'' in 1963, and she wrote '' Up the Junction''. Dunn came to notice with the publication of '' Up the Junction'' (1963), a series of short stories set in South London, some of which had already appeared in the ''

New Statesman The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members ...

''. The book, awarded the

John Llewellyn Rhys Prize The John Llewellyn Rhys Prize was a literary prize awarded annually for the best work of literature (fiction, non-fiction, poetry, drama) by an author from the Commonwealth aged 35 or under, written in English and published in the United Kingdo ...

, was a controversial success at the time for its vibrant, realistic and non-judgemental portrait of its working-class protagonists. It was adapted for television by Dunn, with

Ken Loach Kenneth Charles Loach (born 17 June 1936) is a British film director and screenwriter. His socially critical directing style and socialist ideals are evident in his film treatment of social issues such as poverty ('' Poor Cow'', 1967), homelessn ...

, for '' The Wednesday Play'' series, directed by Loach and broadcast in November 1965. A cinema film version was released in 1968. ''Talking to Women'' (1965) was a collection of interviews with nine friends, "from society heiresses to factory workers (Dunn herself was both)".Kate Webb
Something to say for herself: hearing and recording female voices
''

Times Literary Supplement ''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp. History The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to '' The Times'' but became a separate publication ...

'', 17 July 2018. The interviewees included Edna O’Brien,

Pauline Boty Pauline Boty (6 March 1938 – 1 July 1966) was a British painter and co-founder of the 1960s' British Pop art movement of which she was the only acknowledged female member. Boty's paintings and collages often demonstrate a joy in self-assured ...

, Ann Quin and Paddy Kitchen. Dunn's first novel, '' Poor Cow'' (1967) was made into a film in the same year, starring Carol White and

Terence Stamp Terence Henry Stamp (born 22 July 1938) is an English actor. Stamp is known for his sophisticated villain roles. He was named by ''Empire Magazine'' as one of the 100 Sexiest Film Stars of All Time in 1995. He has received various accolades inc ...

, under Loach's direction. Her later books are ''Grandmothers'' (1991) and ''My Silver Shoes'' (1996). Dunn's first play ''

Steaming Steaming is a method of cooking using steam. This is often done with a food steamer, a kitchen appliance made specifically to cook food with steam, but food can also be steamed in a wok. In the American southwest, steam pits used for cooking ha ...

'' was produced in 1981 and a television film ''Every Breath You Take'' in 1987. She also wrote ''Sisters'', a film script commissioned by the BBC. She won the 1982

Susan Smith Blackburn Prize The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize established in 1978, is the largest and oldest playwriting prize for women+ writing for English-speaking theatre. Named for Susan Smith Blackburn (1935–1977), alumna of Smith College, who died of breast cancer. W ...

for her play ''Steaming''.

Personal life

Dunn was married to writer Jeremy Sandford from 1957 to 1979, and they had three sons. For some time the family lived on a small hill farm called Wern Watkin, outside

Crickhowell Crickhowell (; cy, Crucywel , non-standard spelling ') is a town and community in southeastern Powys, Wales, near Abergavenny, and is in the historic county of Brecknockshire. Location The town lies on the River Usk, on the southern edge ...

in South Wales. Their farm is mentioned in a 2000 biography by their neighbour, the young Carlo Gébler, son of novelist

Edna O'Brien Josephine Edna O'Brien (born 15 December 1930) is an Irish novelist, memoirist, playwright, poet and short-story writer. Elected to Aosdána by her fellow artists, she was honoured with the title Saoi in 2015 and the "UK and Ireland Nobel" ...

. She became a patron of Dignity in Dying after her partner, Dan Oestreicher, died of lung cancer.

Works

*'' Up the Junction'' 1963 *'' Poor Cow'' 1967 *''I Want (with Adrian Henri)'' 1972 *''Tear His Head Off His Shoulders'' 1974 *''The Only Child'' 1978 *''Grandmothers'' 1991 *''My Silver Shoes'' 1996 *''The Muse'' 2020

Plays

*''

'', 1981 *''Variety Night'', 1982 *''The Little Heroine'', 1988 *''Consequences'', 1988 *''Babe XXX'', 1998 *''Cancer Tales'', 2003 *''Home Death'' 2011

Film scripts

*'' Poor Cow'' (co-written with

) *''Every Breath You Take'' 1987 *''Sisters'', 1994

References

External links

*
Nell Dunn
at Doollee.com, archived in August 2005 * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dunn, Nell 1936 births Living people Writers from London John Llewellyn Rhys Prize winners English screenwriters Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature Laurence Olivier Award winners English women dramatists and playwrights British women screenwriters 20th-century English novelists 20th-century British dramatists and playwrights 20th-century English women writers 21st-century English writers 21st-century British dramatists and playwrights 21st-century English women writers British women short story writers English short story writers English women novelists Alumni of the Courtauld Institute of Art 20th-century British short story writers 21st-century British short story writers Daughters of baronets