Carola Oman

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(11 May 1897 – 11 June 1978) was an English historical novelist, biographer and children's writer. She was best known for her retelling of the

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary noble outlaw, heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature, theatre, and cinema. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions o ...

legend and for a 1946 biography of

Admiral Lord Nelson Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte ( – 21 October 1805) was a Royal Navy officer whose leadership, grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics brought about a number of decisive British naval victories during the French ...

.Entry for Carola Oman in ''The Cambridge Guide to Women's Writing in English'
Retrieved 8 July 2012. Pay-walled.
/ref>

Background

Carola Mary Anima Oman was born on 11 May 1897 in

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, the second of three children of the military historian Sir

Charles Oman Sir Charles William Chadwick Oman, (12 January 1860 – 23 June 1946) was a British Military history, military historian. His reconstructions of medieval battles from the fragmentary and distorted accounts left by chroniclers were pioneering. ...

(1860–1946) of All Souls and his wife Mary (1866–1950), daughter of General Robert Maclagan of the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

. She described her sumptuous upbringing in her final book, illustrated with photographs: ''An Oxford Childhood''. As a child, Oman wrote several plays that were performed by friends. Another early interest was photography. She was sent in 1906 to Miss Batty's, later Wychwood School in

. She would have liked to have gone to boarding school, but her parents would not agree, and she continued at Miss Batty's until the spring of 1914.ODNB entry by Mark Bostridge
Retrieved 8 July 2012. Pay-walled.
/ref>Orlando project
Retrieved 8 July 2012.
/ref> The family moved in 1908 into Frewin Hall, now part of

Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The l ...

. Her brother Charles (C. C. Oman) became a keeper of the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...

and wrote several books on silverware and other domestic metalwork. The set designer Julia Trevelyan Oman (1930–2003) was her niece. Oman worked as a VAD in England and then in France in 1918–1919: soon after her 1919 discharge, she met Gerald Foy Ray Lenanton (1896–1952), a soldier returning from France who would later join his family business as a timber broker. After marrying Lenanton on 26 April 1922, Oman became Lady Lenanton when her husband was knighted in 1946 for his World War II service as director of home timber production. The couple, who remained childless, lived from 1928 at Bride Hall, a Jacobean mansion in

Ayot St Lawrence Ayot St Lawrence is a small English village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Hertfordshire, west of Welwyn. There are several other ''Ayots'' in the area, including Ayot Green and Ayot St Peter, where the census population of Ayot ...

, Hertfordshire. In 1965, Oman produced ''Ayot Rectory – A Family Memoir'', about the Sneade family, who had lived in the village from 1780 to 1858. Oman was quoted as speaking warmly of fellow villager

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 188 ...

, who had been the Lenantons' first caller at Bride Hall in 1928. Gerald Lenanton died in 1952 after a period of incapacitation from a stroke. The novelist

Georgette Heyer Georgette Heyer (; 16 August 1902 – 4 July 1974) was an English novelist and short-story writer, in both the Regency romance and detective fiction genres. Her writing career began in 1921, when she turned a story conceived for her ail ...

was a lifelong friend, who compiled a 16-page index for Oman's ''Britain against Napoleon'', published in 1942 by

Faber Faber may refer to: People * Faber (surname) Companies * Faber & Faber, publishing house in the United Kingdom * Faber-Castell, German manufacturer of writing instruments * Faber Music, British sheet music publisher * Eberhard Faber, German ...

. Another writer friend in Oxford was Joanna Cannan, who dedicated her 1931 novel ''High Table'' to Oman.

Writings

In her writing career of over half a century, Oman produced over 30 books of fiction, history and biography for adults and children. Her first publication, a book of verse entitled ''The Menin Road and Other Poems'' (1919), drew on her war work as a probationary VAD nurse in Oxford, Dorset, London and France in 1918–1919. She was included in the 1931 edition of ''The Bookman Treasury of Living Poets'', edited by Arthur St. John Adcock. However, Oman largely abandoned poetry for the genre of

historical fiction Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the Setting (narrative), setting of particular real past events, historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literatur ...

; her 1924 debut novel ''The Road Royal'' focused on

Mary Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was List of Scottish monarchs, Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legit ...

. It was followed by '' Princess Amelia'' (1924), ''King Heart'' (on

James IV of Scotland James IV (17 March 1473 – 9 September 1513) was List of Scottish monarchs, King of Scotland from 11 June 1488 until his death at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. He inherited the throne at the age of fifteen on the death of his father, James I ...

/ 1926), ''Crouchback'' (on the

Wars of the Roses The Wars of the Roses, known at the time and in following centuries as the Civil Wars, were a series of armed confrontations, machinations, battles and campaigns fought over control of the English throne from 1455 to 1487. The conflict was fo ...

/ 1929), ''Major Grant'' ( Colquhoun Grant/ 1931), ''The Empress'' (on

Empress Matilda Empress Matilda (10 September 1167), also known as Empress Maud, was one of the claimants to the English throne during the civil war known as the Anarchy. The daughter and heir of Henry I, king of England and ruler of Normandy, she went to ...

/ 1932), ''The Best of His Family'' (on Shakespeare, 1933), and ''Over the Water'' (on

Bonnie Prince Charlie Charles Edward Louis John Sylvester Maria Casimir Stuart (31 December 1720 – 30 January 1788) was the elder son of James Francis Edward Stuart, making him the grandson of James VII and II, and the Stuart claimant to the thrones of England, ...

/ 1935). Oman also had two novels published under the pseudonym C. Lenanton, though her identity was an open secret: ''Miss Barrett's Elopement'' (1929) focusing on

Elizabeth Barrett Browning Elizabeth Barrett Browning (née Moulton-Barrett; 6 March 1806 – 29 June 1861) was an English poet of the Victorian era, popular in Britain and the United States during her lifetime and frequently anthologised after her death. Her work receiv ...

and ''Fair Stood the Wind'' (1930), an early venture of hers into the genre of contemporary fiction. While Oman's historical novels were well received, she would herself later speak of them as "very bad" and from the mid-1930s channelled her interest into the past, writing biographies, beginning with ''

Henrietta Maria Henrietta Maria of France (French language, French: ''Henriette Marie''; 25 November 1609 – 10 September 1669) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England, List of Scottish royal consorts, Scotland and Ireland from her marriage to K ...

'' (1936), followed by one of

Elizabeth of Bohemia Elizabeth Stuart (19 August 1596 – 13 February 1662) was Electress of the Palatinate and briefly Queen of Bohemia as the wife of Frederick V of the Palatinate. The couple's selection for the crown by the nobles of Bohemia was part of the po ...

: ''The Winter Queen'' (1938). However, Oman produced several historical novels for younger readers, notably ''

: Prince of Outlaws'' (1937), cited as "one of the most influential of the juvenile literary publications", which remained continuously in print for at least 40 years. Oman's first novel for younger readers: ''Ferry the Fearless'' (focusing on the

Third Crusade The Third Crusade (1189–1192) was an attempt led by King Philip II of France, King Richard I of England and Emperor Frederick Barbarossa to reconquer the Holy Land following the capture of Jerusalem by the Ayyubid sultan Saladin in 1187. F ...

), had been published in 1936. Her later output in that genre included '' Alfred, King of the English'' (1939) and ''Baltic Spy'' (1940) (focusing on James Robertson). Oman also wrote two more contemporary novels for adults – her last: ''Nothing to Report'' (1941) and ''Somewhere in England'' (1943). Oman's signature work was a 1946 biography of

Horatio Nelson Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte ( – 21 October 1805) was a Royal Navy officer whose leadership, grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics brought about a number of decisive British naval victories during the French ...

that drew on a wealth of material unavailable to

Alfred Thayer Mahan Alfred Thayer Mahan (; September 27, 1840 – December 1, 1914) was a United States Navy officer and historian whom John Keegan called "the most important American strategist of the nineteenth century." His 1890 book '' The Influence of Sea Pow ...

, author of the hitherto definitive biography of Nelson, published in 1897. Oman notably gained access to the papers of Lady Nelson assembled by the founder of the Nelson Museum, Monmouth. ''Nelson: a Biography'' won for Oman the ''

Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

'' Prize for English Literature, Oman's 1953 biography of the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French ...

general '' Sir John Moore'' was awarded the

James Tait Black Memorial Prize The James Tait Black Memorial Prizes are literary prizes awarded for literature written in the English language. They, along with the Hawthornden Prize, are Britain's oldest literary awards. Based at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, Un ...

. The academic standing of this is clear from the way she was called upon on 10 July 1954 to lecture on Moore to the Anglo-American Conference of Historians at the

Institute of Historical Research The Institute of Historical Research (IHR) is a British educational organisation providing resources and training for historical researchers. It is part of the School of Advanced Study in the University of London and is located at Senate Hou ...

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

. Her later biographical output covered ''

David Garrick David Garrick (19 February 1716 – 20 January 1779) was an English actor, playwright, Actor-manager, theatre manager and producer who influenced nearly all aspects of European theatrical practice throughout the 18th century, and was a pupil a ...

'' (1958), ''

Mary of Modena Mary of Modena (; ) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England, List of Scottish royal consorts, Scotland and Ireland as the second wife of James VII and II. A devout Catholic, Roman Catholic, Mary married the widower James, who was t ...

'' (1962) and Sir

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...

: ''The Wizard of the North'' (1973). The warm reviews of the last include one by the English poet Elizabeth Jennings in '' The Catholic Herald''. According to an obituary, "She did not so much popularise history as elevate the level of popular history."

Honours

Carola Oman was appointed a trustee of the

National Maritime Museum The National Maritime Museum (NMM) is a maritime museum in Greenwich, London. It is part of Royal Museums Greenwich, a network of museums in the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site. Like other publicly funded national museums in the Unit ...

and later of the

National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: * National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra * National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London ...

. She was appointed a

in 1957. She died at

on 11 June 1978. There is a memorial to her and her husband in the village church.

References

External resources

*The full text of the David Garrick biography online
Retrieved 8 July 2012.
*Carola Oman's World War I poem "Unloading Ambulance Train", on a school website
Retrieved 1 August 2012.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oman, Carola 1897 births 1978 deaths English children's writers English historians English women historians English historical novelists 20th-century English women writers 20th-century English biographers 20th-century English novelists James Tait Black Memorial Prize recipients People from Ayot St Lawrence English women historical novelists English women non-fiction writers Writers of historical fiction set in the Middle Ages Writers of historical fiction set in the early modern period English women biographers Writers from Oxford People educated at Wychwood School Voluntary Aid Detachment nurses Commanders_of_the_Order_of_the_British_Empire