Daphne Olivier (October 1889 – 14 July 1950) was the third daughter of the British politician

Sydney Olivier, 1st Baron Olivier Sydney Haldane Olivier, 1st Baron Olivier, (16 April 1859 – 15 February 1943) was a British civil servant. A Fabian and a member of the Labour Party, he served as Governor of Jamaica and as Secretary of State for India in the first gover ...

, and Margaret Cox. She was the sister of Margery (1886–1974),

Brynhild Brunhild, also known as Brunhilda or Brynhild ( , , or ), is a female character from Germanic heroic legend. She may have her origins in the Visigothic princess and queen Brunhilda of Austrasia. In the Norse tradition, Brunhild is a shield ...

(1887–1935) and Noël (1893–1969), and the first cousin of the actor

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier ( ; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director. He and his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud made up a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage of the m ...

(1907–1989).The Peerage
/ref>Paul Delany. ''The Neo-Pagans - Friendship and Love in the Rupert Brooke Circle''. (1987 Macmillan London) p.230. She established the first

Rudolf Steiner school Waldorf education, also known as Steiner education, is based on the educational philosophy of Rudolf Steiner, the founder of anthroposophy. Its educational style is holistic, intended to develop pupils' intellectual, artistic, and practical ski ...

in England.

Biography

Daphne Olivier studied medieval and modern languages at

Newnham College Newnham College is a women's constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1871 by a group organising Lectures for Ladies, members of which included philosopher Henry Sidgwick and suffragist campaigner Millicen ...

, Cambridge and, together with her sisters Bryn and Noël, belonged to the social circle that gathered around

Rupert Brooke Rupert Chawner Brooke (3 August 1887 – 23 April 1915The date of Brooke's death and burial under the Julian calendar that applied in Greece at the time was 10 April. The Julian calendar was 13 days behind the Gregorian calendar.) was an En ...

: a group that

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 ...

named the Neo-Pagans. Olivier was also a friend of

John Maynard Keynes John Maynard Keynes, 1st Baron Keynes ( ; 5 June 1883 – 21 April 1946), was an English economist and philosopher whose ideas fundamentally changed the theory and practice of macroeconomics and the economic policies of governments. Originall ...

. Upon graduating in 1913, she became a teacher. Some years later, she developed an interest in the anthroposophical and educational work of

Rudolf Steiner Rudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner (; 27 or 25 February 1861 – 30 March 1925) was an Austrian occultist, social reformer, architect, esotericist, and claimed clairvoyant. Steiner gained initial recognition at the end of the nineteenth century ...

; according to

Owen Barfield Arthur Owen Barfield (9 November 1898 – 14 December 1997) was an English philosopher, author, poet, critic, and member of the Inklings. Life Barfield was born in London, to Elizabeth (née Shoults; 1860–1940) and Arthur Edward Barfield (186 ...

, she possibly attended an educational conference that Steiner held in Stuttgart in 1922. That same year she met both Barfield and his close friend Cecil Harwood at a concert tour of the English Folk Dance Society, where she sang and played the fiddle. It was through her that they both became acquainted with

anthroposophy Anthroposophy is a spiritual new religious movementSources for 'new religious movement': which was founded in the early 20th century by the esotericist Rudolf Steiner that postulates the existence of an objective, intellectually comprehensibl ...

. Olivier approached Steiner for support in starting a

Waldorf School Waldorf education, also known as Steiner education, is based on the educational philosophy of Rudolf Steiner, the founder of anthroposophy. Its educational style is holistic, intended to develop pupils' intellectual, artistic, and practical ski ...

in England, gathered a group of three other women and, on being advised by Steiner to include also a male teacher, asked her friend Harwood to join. The school, called at the time "The New School" was founded in 1925 in South London. It later moved to

Forest Row Forest Row is a village and a large civil parish in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England. The village is located three miles (5 km) south-east of East Grinstead. In January 2023, it ranked as Britain’s 3rd poshest village. His ...

East Sussex East Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Kent to the north-east, West Sussex to the west, Surrey to the north-west, and the English Channel to the south. The largest settlement ...

and was renamed Michael Hall.Alfred Cecil Harwood
/ref> She and Harwood were married on 14 August 1925, and subsequently had five children. Besides her work as a teacher, Daphne translated a number of Steiner's works into English. Harwood was a friend of

C.S. Lewis CS, C-S, C.S., Cs, cs, or cs. may refer to: Job titles * Chief Secretary (Hong Kong) * Chief superintendent, a rank in the British and several other police forces * Company secretary, a senior position in a private sector company or public se ...

and Barfield, a fellow follower of Steiner. Lewis was a frequent visitor to the couple's home in London and became godfather to their son Laurence. She died in 1950 of cancer.

References

Bibliography

* (alternative title: ''Noble Savages. The Olivier Sisters: Four lives in seven fragments'') * Delany, Paul. ''The Neo-Pagans - Friendship and Love in the Rupert Brooke Circle.'' Macmillan. London. 1987. (hc) * ''C. S. Lewis, My Godfather: Letters, Photos and Recollections'' by Laurence Harwood, IVP Books 2007 * ''All My Road Before Me: The Diary of C. S. Lewis, 1922-1927'' by C. S. Lewis; edited by Walter Hooper, HarperCollins 1991 * ''A Good School: A History of Michael Hall'' by Joy Mansfield; edited by Brien Masters and Stephen Sheen, Blue Filter 2014 {{DEFAULTSORT:Olivier, Daphne 1889 births 1950 deaths Anthroposophists Alumni of Newnham College, Cambridge Daughters of barons

Daphne Daphne (; ; , , ), a figure in Greek mythology, is a naiad, a variety of female nymph associated with fountains, wells, springs, streams, brooks and other bodies of freshwater. There are several versions of the myth in which she appears, but t ...