Clemence Dane CBE is the pseudonym of Winifred Ashton (21 February 1888 – 28 March 1965), an English novelist and

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

Life and career

After completing her education, Dane went to Switzerland to work as a French tutor, but returned home after a year. She studied art in London and Germany. After the First World War, she taught at a girls' school and began writing. She took the pseudonym "Clemence Dane" from the church,

St Clement Danes St Clement Danes is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London. It is situated outside the Royal Courts of Justice on the Strand. Although the first church on the site was reputedly founded in the 9th century by the Danes, the current ...

on the

Strand, London Strand (or the Strand) is a major thoroughfare in the City of Westminster, Central London. It runs just over from Trafalgar Square eastwards to Temple Bar, where the road becomes Fleet Street in the City of London, and is part of the A4 ...

. Her first novel, ''

Regiment of Women ''Regiment of Women'' is the debut novel of Winifred Ashton writing as Clemence Dane. First published in 1917, the novel has gained some notoriety due to its more or less veiled treatment of lesbian relationships inside and outside a school se ...

,'' written in 1914, was a study of life in a girls' school. Michael Cox and Jack Adrian, ''The Oxford Book of Historical Stories''. Oxford; Oxford University Press, 1994. (p.436). In 1919 she wrote ''Legend'', the story of a group of acquaintances who debate the meaning of a dead friend's life and work. Dane's 1921 play, '' A Bill of Divorcement'', tells the story of a daughter who cares for her deranged father and faces the fact that his mental illness may be hereditary. The smash hit play was adapted for the screen three times, using the same title as the play: a silent film in 1922, a 1932 film starring

Katharine Hepburn Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an American actress in film, stage, and television. Her career as a Hollywood leading lady spanned over 60 years. She was known for her headstrong independence, spirited perso ...

and John Barrymore, and a 1940 film starring Maureen O’Hara and Adolphe Menjou. Dane began writing screenplays as well as novels. In 1933-1934 she travelled to Hollywood on a contract with RKO and returned again in 1937-8 and in 1947 after the war. In England she worked with Alexander Korda. She co-wrote the screenplay for '' Anna Karenina'', starring Greta Garbo and ''Fire over England'' based on the novel by

A.E.W. Mason Alfred Edward Woodley Mason (7 May 1865 – 22 November 1948) was an English author and politician. He is best remembered for his 1902 novel of courage and cowardice in wartime, ''The Four Feathers'' and is also known as the creator of Inspecto ...

, starring a young

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier (; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud, was one of a trio of male actors who dominated the Theatre of the U ...

and Vivian Leigh. The pinnacle of Dane's success was winning an Academy Award with Anthony Pelissier for the film '' Perfect Strangers'', released in the United States as ''Vacation from Marriage'', starring Robert Donat and

Deborah Kerr Deborah Jane Trimmer CBE (30 September 192116 October 2007), known professionally as Deborah Kerr (), was a British actress. She was nominated six times for the Academy Award for Best Actress. During her international film career, Kerr won a G ...

as a married couple transformed by their experiences in the Second World War. Dane, at the age of 30, was one of the women eligible to vote for the first time under the

Representation of the People Act 1918 The Representation of the People Act 1918 was an Act of Parliament passed to reform the electoral system in Great Britain and Ireland. It is sometimes known as the Fourth Reform Act. The Act extended the franchise in parliamentary elections, also ...

. Her opinions on ''The Women's Side'' were published in 1926 and she argued that women should do more with their freedom. She compared the modern girl's choices with the popular gambling card game

Speculation In finance, speculation is the purchase of an asset (a commodity, good (economics), goods, or real estate) with the hope that it will become more valuable shortly. (It can also refer to short sales in which the speculator hopes for a decline i ...

Jane Austen Jane Austen (; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for her six major novels, which interpret, critique, and comment upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen's plots of ...

's Mansfield Park. She wrote for ''

Time and Tide Time and Tide (usually derived from the proverb ''Time and tide wait for no man'') may refer to: Music Albums * ''Time and Tide'' (Greenslade album), 1975 * ''Time and Tide'' (Basia album), 1987 * ''Time and Tide'' (Battlefield Band album), ...

'' and was a member of the

Six Point Group The Six Point Group was a British feminist campaign group founded by Lady Rhondda in 1921 to press for changes in the law of the United Kingdom in six areas. Aims The six original specific aims were: # Satisfactory legislation on child assault; ...

. Dane's 1931 novel ''

Broome Stages Broome Stages is a 1931 historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction li ...

'' followed the fortunes of an acting family from the time of Queen Anne to the present. ''Broome Stages'' became a surprise bestseller. Dane and Helen de Guerry Simpson, both members of the Detection Club, wrote three detective novels together featuring their creation Sir John Saumarez. The first, '' Enter Sir John'', was filmed by

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...

in 1930 as '' Murder!'' and in a German- language version as ''Mary''. Dane contributed to the Club's serials '' The Scoop'' and '' The Floating Admiral''. Dane's '' The Arrogant History of White Ben'' (1939) is a

dystopia A dystopia (from Ancient Greek δυσ- "bad, hard" and τόπος "place"; alternatively cacotopiaCacotopia (from κακός ''kakos'' "bad") was the term used by Jeremy Bentham in his 1818 Plan of Parliamentary Reform (Works, vol. 3, p. 493). ...

n novel set in a politically unstable near future. Dane's last play, ''

Eighty in the Shade ''Eighty in the Shade'' is a 1958 play by the British writer Clemence Dane. It was her final play and was written as a vehicle for her friend Sybil Thorndike who plays a famous stage actress celebrating fifty years on the stage while confronting ...

'' (1959) was written for and starred her friend, Dame Sybil Thorndike. Early in her career, Dane had been on stage under the pseudonym Diana Cortis. She made her a début in H. V. Esmond’s ‘Eliza Comes to Stay’ but gave up to write her first novel in 1914. Years after Dane expressed an interest in returning to acting, and her friend

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time'' magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and ...

wrote the part of Madame Arcati, the eccentric medium in ''

Blithe Spirit Blithe Spirit may refer to: * ''Blithe Spirit'' (play), a 1941 comic play written by Noël Coward * ''Blithe Spirit'' (1945 film), a British comedy film based on the play * ''Blithe Spirit'' (2020 film), a British-American comedy film based on th ...

'' for her. 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, with s ...

contains two works by Dane, both of Coward. One is an oil painting and the other is a bronze bust. The gallery also contains a portrait of Dane by Frederic Yates. According to Arthur Marshall, she was famous for her indecent, though entirely innocent, remarks. "The physical side of life had passed her by, together with the words, slang and otherwise, that accompany it. Time and again she settled for an unfortunate word or phrase. Inviting Noël Coward to lunch during the war, when food was difficult, she boomed encouragement down the telephone; 'Do come! I've got such a lovely cock.' ('I do wish you'd call it a hen', Noel answered). To use correctly, in a literary sense, the words 'erection', 'tool' and 'spunk' was second nature to her. When wishing to describe herself as being full of life and creative energy, she chose, not really very wisely, the word 'randy'." In 1955, Dane edited the ''Novels of Tomorrow'' series for publisher Michael Joseph. This was a series of science fiction novels featuring such authors as John Wyndham, Robert Sheckley, and Cyril M. Kornbluth. Dane also wrote a book on the history of

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...

(where she lived for a number of years) titled ''London has a Garden and'' published in 1964. By the time of her death in London, on 28 March 1965, Dane had written more than 30 plays and 16 novels.

Novels and plays

* ''

'' (1917) * ''First the Blade: A Comedy of Growth'' (1918) * ''Legend'' (1919) * '' A Bill of Divorcement'' (1921) * ''Will Shakespeare: An Invention in Four Acts'' (1921) * ''Shivering Shocks or The Hiding Place'' (published in ''The Graphic Christmas Number'', 1922) - a play for boys sometimes misattributed to

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictiona ...

* ''Naboth's Vineyard: A Piece in Three Acts'' (1925) * ''Granite'' (1926) * ''The Women's Side'' (1926) * ''The Babyons'' (1927) * ''The Dearly Beloved of Benjamin Cobb'' (1927) - short story''Classic English Short Stories'', Oxford University Press, 1956 * ''Mariners'' (1927) * ''Adam’s Opera: The Text of a Play'' (1928) * '' Enter Sir John'' (1928) (with Helen Simpson) * ''Third Person Singular'' (1928) * ''The King Waits'' (1929) * ''Printer's Devil'', published in US as ''Author Unknown'' (1930) (with Helen Simpson) * ''

'' (1931) * ''Theater Royale'' (1931) * ''

Re-enter Sir John ''Re-enter Sir John'' is a 1932 Literature of the United Kingdom, British crime novel written by Clemence Dane and Helen de Guerry Simpson, Helen Simpson. It was the sequel to the 1928 novel ''Enter Sir John'', which had been adapted into a film ' ...

'' (1932) (with Helen Simpson) * ''Julia Newberry's Diary'' (1933) * ''Come of Age: The Text of a Play in Music and Words'' (1934) (with Richard Addinsell) * ''Moonlight is Silver: A Play in Three Acts'' (1934) * ''Wild Decembers: A Play in Three Acts'' (1932) * ''Edmond Rostand's L'aiglon'' (1934) * ''The Amateur Gentleman: From the Novel By Jeffery Farnol'' (1936) * ''The Moon Is Feminine'' (1938) * ''Hebbel's Herod and Mariamne'' (1938) * ''The Arrogant History of White Ben'' (1939) * ''The Lion and the Unicorn. A Play in Three Acts'' (1943) * ''He Brings Great News'' (1946) * ''Bonny Prince Charlie'' (1948) (with Dorothy Middleton) * ''The Flower Girls'' (1954) * ''

'' (1959) *'' Marriage Lines'' (1949) * ''The Godson: A Fantasy'' (1964)

Non fiction

* '' Claude Houghton: Appreciations'' (with Hugh Walpole) * ''London has a Garden'' (1964)

Life and career

Novels and plays

Non fiction

Notes

Further reading

External links