Dodie Smith
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Dorothy Gladys "Dodie" Smith (3 May 1896 – 24 November 1990) was an English
novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...
and
playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...
. She is best known for writing '' I Capture the Castle'' (1948) and the children's novel '' The Hundred and One Dalmatians'' (1956). Other works include '' Dear Octopus'' (1938) and '' The Starlight Barking'' (1967). ''The Hundred and One Dalmatians'' was adapted into a 1961
animated film Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby still images are manipulated to create moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Animati ...
and a 1996
live-action film Live action is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live action with animation to create a Live-action animation, live-action animated feature film. Live action is used to define ...
, both produced by
Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
. Her novel ''I Capture the Castle'' was voted number 82 as "one of the nation's 100 best-loved novels" by the British public as part of the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
's
The Big Read The Big Read was a survey on books that was carried out by the BBC in the United Kingdom in 2003, when over three-quarters of a million votes were received from the British public to find the nation's best-loved novel. The year-long survey was th ...
(2003), and was adapted into a
film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...
released the same year.


Biography


Early life

Smith was born on 3 May 1896 in a house named Stoneycroft (number 118) on Bury New Road, Whitefield, near Bury in
Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...
, England. She was an only child. Her parents were Ernest and Ella Smith (née Furber). Ernest was a bank manager; he died in 1898 when Dodie was two years old. Dodie and her mother moved to
Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...
to live with her grandparents, William and Margaret Furber. Dodie's childhood home, Kingston House, was at 609 Stretford Road, and faced the
Manchester Ship Canal The Manchester Ship Canal is a inland waterway in the North West England, North West of England linking Manchester to the Irish Sea. Starting at the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary at Eastham, Merseyside, Eastham, near Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, it ...
. She lived with her mother, maternal grandparents, two aunts and three uncles. In Smith's autobiography ''Look Back with Love'' (1974), she credits her grandfather William as one of three reasons she became a playwright. He was an avid theatregoer, and they had long talks about
Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...
and
melodrama A melodrama is a Drama, dramatic work in which plot, typically sensationalized for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodrama is "an exaggerated version of drama". Melodramas typically concentrate on ...
. The second reason was that her uncle Harold Furber, an amateur actor, read plays with her and introduced her to contemporary drama. Thirdly, her mother had wanted to be an actress, an ambition frustrated except for walk-on parts, once in the company of
Sarah Bernhardt Sarah Bernhardt (; born Henriette-Rosine Bernard; 22 October 1844 – 26 March 1923) was a French stage actress who starred in some of the most popular French plays of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including by Alexandre Dumas fils, ...
. Smith wrote her first play at the age of ten, and she began acting in minor roles during her teens at the Manchester Athenaeum Dramatic Society. There is a
blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom, and certain other countries and territories, to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving a ...
commemorating the building where Dorothy grew up. The formative years of Dorothy's childhood were spent at this house.


Move to London

In 1910 Ella remarried and moved to London with her new husband and the 14-year-old Dodie, who attended school both in
Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
and at St Paul's Girls' School, London. In 1914 Dodie entered the
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, also known by its abbreviation RADA (), is a drama school in London, England, which provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in Bloomsbury, Central London ...
(RADA). Her first role came in Arthur Wing Pinero's play ''Playgoers''. Other roles after RADA included a Chinese girl in ''Mr. Wu'', a parlour maid in ''Ye Gods'', and a young mother in ''Niobe'', which was directed by
Basil Dean Basil Herbert Dean CBE (27 September 1888 – 22 April 1978) was an English actor, writer, producer and director in the theatre and in cinema. He founded the Liverpool Playhouse, Liverpool Repertory Company in 1911 and in the First World War, a ...
, who would later buy her play ''Autumn Crocus''. She was also in the
Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...
Repertory Theatre, travelled with a
YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...
company to entertain troops in France during World War I, toured with the French comedy ''French Leave'', and appeared as Anne in Galsworthy's play ''The Pigeon'' at the Everyman Theatre and at a festival in
Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...
, Switzerland. While Ella was dying of
breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...
, she and Dodie became devotees of
Christian Science Christian Science is a set of beliefs and practices which are associated with members of the Church of Christ, Scientist. Adherents are commonly known as Christian Scientists or students of Christian Science, and the church is sometimes in ...
.


Career after acting

Even though Smith had sold a movie script, ''Schoolgirl Rebels'', using the pseudonym Charles Henry Percy, and written a one-act play, ''British Talent'', that premiered at the Three Arts Club in 1924, she still had a hard time finding steady work. In 1923, she accepted a job in Heal and Son's furniture store in London and became the toy buyer (and mistress of the chairman, Ambrose Heal).Alan Crawford
"Heal, Sir Ambrose (1872–1959)"
, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004, retrieved 12 August 2007
She wrote her first staged play, ''Autumn Crocus'', in 1931 using the pseudonym C.L. Anthony. Its success, and the discovery of her identity by journalists, inspired the newspaper headline, "Shopgirl Writes Play". The show starred Fay Compton and Francis Lederer. Smith's fourth play '' Call It a Day'' was acted by the
Theatre Guild The Theatre Guild is a theatrical society founded in New York City in 1918 by Lawrence Langner, Philip Moeller, Helen Westley and Theresa Helburn. Langner's wife, Armina Marshall, then served as a co-director. It evolved out of the work of ...
on 28 January 1936 and ran for 194 performances. It ran in London for 509 performances, the longest run of any of Smith's plays to date. American critic Joseph Wood Krutch compared it favorably to George S. Kaufman and
Edna Ferber Edna Ferber (August 15, 1885 – April 16, 1968) was an American novelist, short story writer and playwright. Her novels include the Pulitzer Prize-winning '' So Big'' (1924), '' Show Boat'' (1926; made into the celebrated 1927 musical), '' Cima ...
's play '' Dinner at Eight'' and Edward Knoblock's ''Grand Hotel''. He said the London production "stays pretty consistently on the level of comedy and imposes upon its brittle structure no greater emotional weight than that structure is capable of bearing." The success of ''Call It a Day'' enabled Smith to purchase The Barretts, a cottage near the village of
Finchingfield Finchingfield is a village in the Braintree district of North Essex, England, a primarily rural area. It is approximately from Thaxted, with the nearest larger towns being Saffron Walden and Braintree. Nearby villages include Great Bardfie ...
,
Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...
. Her next play, '' Bonnet Over the Windmill'' (1937), was not as successful. It concerns three aspiring young actresses and their landlady, a middle-aged former music-hall performer, and the young women's attempts to attract the attention of a playwright and a theatre producer with hopes of obtaining dramatic roles. Her next play, '' Dear Octopus'' (1938), featured Dame Marie Tempest and Sir John Gielgud. The unusual title refers to a toast in the play: "To the family—that dear octopus from whose tentacles we never quite escape, nor, in our inmost hearts, ever quite wish to."
Brooks Atkinson Justin Brooks Atkinson (November 28, 1894 – January 14, 1984) was an American theater critic. He worked for ''The New York Times'' from 1922 to 1960. In his obituary, the ''Times'' called him "the theater's most influential reviewer of his ...
termed Smith a "domestic panoramatist" and compared her to many English novelists, from
Samuel Richardson Samuel Richardson (baptised 19 August 1689 – 4 July 1761) was an English writer and printer known for three epistolary novels: '' Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded'' (1740), '' Clarissa: Or the History of a Young Lady'' (1748) and '' The Histo ...
to Archibald Marshall; he also described her as the "appointed recorder" of the English family. The production in London ran for 376 performances, compared to that in New York of only 53. When Smith travelled to America to cast ''Dear Octopus'', she brought with her Alec Macbeth Beesley (son of ''
Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British ocean liner that sank in the early hours of 15 April 1912 as a result of striking an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United States. Of the estimated 2,224 passengers a ...
'' survivor Lawrence Beesley), who had also worked at Heal's and had become her longtime friend and business manager. The two married in 1939. She would not have another play staged in London until 1952, though ''Lovers and Friends'' did play at the Plymouth Theatre in 1943. The show featured Katharine Cornell and Raymond Massey. Smith lived for many years in Dorset Square,
Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also ) is an area in London, England, and is located in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. Oxford Street forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropo ...
, London, which a
blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom, and certain other countries and territories, to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving a ...
now commemorates; her date of birth is shown inaccurately as 1895 instead of 1896.


Later life

During the 1940s Smith and Beesley relocated to the United States to avoid difficulties due to his being a
conscientious objector A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of conscience or religion. The term has also been extended to objecting to working for the military–indu ...
. She felt homesick for Britain, which inspired her first novel, written in
Doylestown, Pennsylvania Doylestown is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in and the county seat of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the borough population was 8,300. Doylestown is located northwest of Trent ...
, named '' I Capture the Castle'' (1948). She and Beesley also spent time in
Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hil ...
, Malibu, and
Wilton, Connecticut Wilton is a New England town, town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the town population was 18,503. The town is part of the Western Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut, Wester ...
. During their American interlude, the couple became friends with writers Christopher Isherwood,
Charles Brackett Charles William Brackett (November 26, 1892 – March 9, 1969) was an American screenwriter and film producer. He collaborated with Billy Wilder on sixteen films. Life and career Brackett was born in Saratoga Springs, New York, the son of ...
and
John Van Druten John William Van Druten (1 June 190119 December 1957) was an English playwright and theatre director. He began his career in London, and later moved to America, becoming a U.S. citizen. He was known for his plays of witty and urbane observations ...
. In her memoirs Smith credits Beesley with suggesting to Van Druten that he adapt Isherwood's
Sally Bowles Sally Bowles () is a fictional character created by English-American novelist Christopher Isherwood and based upon 19-year-old cabaret singer Jean Ross. The character debuted in Isherwood's 1937 novella ''Sally Bowles'' published by Hogarth Pre ...
story '' Goodbye to Berlin'' into a play (the Van Druten play, '' I Am a Camera'', later became the musical ''
Cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, casino, hotel, restaurant, or nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or drinking, ...
''). In her memoirs, Smith acknowledges having received writing advice from her friend, the novelist
A. J. Cronin Archibald Joseph Cronin (Cronogue) (19 July 1896 – 6 January 1981) was a Scottish physician and novelist. His best-known novel is ''The Citadel (novel), The Citadel'' (1937), about a Scottish physician who serves in a Welsh coal mining, minin ...
. Smith's first play back in London, ''Letter from Paris'', was an adaptation of
Henry James Henry James ( – ) was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the ...
's short novel '' The Reverberator''. She used the adapting style of William Archibald's play '' The Innocents'' (adapted from '' The Turn of the Screw'') and Ruth and Augustus Goetz's play '' The Heiress'' (adapted from '' Washington Square''). In the 1970s she lived in Stambourne, Essex.


Death

Smith died in 1990 (three years after Beesley) in
Uttlesford Uttlesford is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in Essex, England. Its council is based in the town of Saffron Walden. The district also includes the town of Great Dunmow and numerous villages, including Stansted Mountfitchet ...
, north
Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...
, England. She was cremated and her ashes scattered to the wind. She had named
Julian Barnes Julian Patrick Barnes (born 19 January 1946) is an English writer. He won the Man Booker Prize in 2011 with ''The Sense of an Ending'', having been shortlisted three times previously with ''Flaubert's Parrot'', ''England, England'', and ''Arthu ...
as her literary executor, a job she thought would not involve much work. Barnes writes of the complicated task in his essay "Literary Executions", revealing among other things how he secured the return of the film rights to ''I Capture the Castle'', which had been owned by Disney since 1949. Smith's personal papers are housed in
Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...
's Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center, and include manuscripts, photographs, artwork and correspondence (including letters from Christopher Isherwood and
John Gielgud Sir Arthur John Gielgud ( ; 14 April 1904 – 21 May 2000) was an English actor and theatre director whose career spanned eight decades. With Ralph Richardson and Laurence Olivier, he was one of the trinity of actors who dominated the Britis ...
).


''The Hundred and One Dalmatians''

Smith and Beesley loved dogs and kept Dalmatians as pets; at one point the couple had nine of them. The first was named ''Pongo'', which became the name Smith used for the canine protagonist of her '' The Hundred and One Dalmatians'' novel. Smith had the idea for the novel when one of her friends observed a group of her Dalmatians and said "Those dogs would make a lovely fur coat". The novel has been adapted by
Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
twice, an animated film in 1961 called ''
One Hundred and One Dalmatians ''One Hundred and One Dalmatians'' (also known as ''101 Dalmatians'') is a 1961 American Animated film, animated adventure film, adventure comedy film produced by Walt Disney Productions with distribution by Buena Vista Distribution. Adapted fr ...
'' and a live-action film in 1996 called '' 101 Dalmatians''. Although both of the Disney films spawned a sequel film, '' 101 Dalmatians II: Patch's London Adventure'' and ''
102 Dalmatians ''102 Dalmatians'' is a 2000 American crime comedy film produced by Walt Disney Pictures and distributed by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution. Directed by Kevin Lima from a screenplay by Kristen Buckley, Brian Regan, Bob Tzudiker and N ...
'', neither sequel has any connection to Smith's own sequel, '' The Starlight Barking''.


Works


Autobiography

* ''Look Back with Love: A Manchester Childhood'' (1974) * ''Look Back with Mixed Feelings'' (1978) * ''Look Back with Astonishment'' (1979) * ''Look Back with Gratitude'' (1985)


Novels

* '' I Capture the Castle'' (1948) * '' The Hundred and One Dalmatians'' (1956) * ''The New Moon with the Old'' (1963) * ''The Town in Bloom'' (1965) * ''It Ends with Revelations'' (1967) * '' The Starlight Barking'' (1967) * ''A Tale of Two Families'' (1970) * ''The Girl from the Candle-lit Bath'' (1978) * ''The Midnight Kittens'' (1978)


Plays

* '' Autumn Crocus'' (1931) * ''
Service Service may refer to: Activities * Administrative service, a required part of the workload of university faculty * Civil service, the body of employees of a government * Community service, volunteer service for the benefit of a community or a ...
'' (1932) * '' Touch Wood'' (1934) * '' Call It a Day'' (1935) * '' Bonnet Over the Windmill'' (1937) * '' Dear Octopus'' (1938) * ''Lovers and Friends'' (1943) * '' Letter from Paris'' (1952) * '' I Capture the Castle'' (1954) * ''These People, Those Books'' (1958) * ''Amateur Means Lover'' (1961)


Screenplays

* '' The Uninvited'' (1944), written by Smith and
Frank Partos Frank Partos (born Ferenc Pártos; July 2, 1901 – December 23, 1956) was a Hungarian-American screenwriter and an early executive committee member of the Screen Actors Guild, which he helped found. Emigration from Europe Born in Budapest on ...
* '' Darling, How Could You!'' (1951), written by Smith and Lesser Samuels


Film adaptations

* '' Looking Forward'' (1933) based on ''Service'' * '' Autumn Crocus'' (1934) * '' Call It a Day'' (1937) * '' Dear Octopus'' (1943) * '' The First Day of Spring'' (1956), based on ''Call It a Day'' * ''
One Hundred and One Dalmatians ''One Hundred and One Dalmatians'' (also known as ''101 Dalmatians'') is a 1961 American Animated film, animated adventure film, adventure comedy film produced by Walt Disney Productions with distribution by Buena Vista Distribution. Adapted fr ...
'' (1961) * '' 101 Dalmatians'' (1996) * '' I Capture the Castle'' (2003) Film sequels unconnected with Smith's own '' The Starlight Barking''. * ''
102 Dalmatians ''102 Dalmatians'' is a 2000 American crime comedy film produced by Walt Disney Pictures and distributed by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution. Directed by Kevin Lima from a screenplay by Kristen Buckley, Brian Regan, Bob Tzudiker and N ...
'' (2000) * '' 101 Dalmatians II: Patch's London Adventure'' (2003) * '' Cruella'' (2021)


References


Sources

* * * * * *


Further reading

* * * * *


External links

* *
The Dodie Smith Information Site
(archived 2006-04-30) * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Dodie 20th-century English novelists 20th-century English dramatists and playwrights 20th-century English women writers 20th-century British autobiographers 1896 births 1990 deaths English children's writers People educated at St Paul's Girls' School English Christian Scientists People from Whitefield, Greater Manchester English expatriates in the United States People from Finchingfield People from Marylebone Writers from the City of Westminster Writers from Essex Writers from Lancashire