Florence Gertrude James (2 September 1902 – 25 August 1993) was an Australian writer and literary agent, born in New Zealand.

Life

James was born in

Gisborne, New Zealand Gisborne is a List of cities in New Zealand, city in northeastern New Zealand and the largest settlement in the Gisborne District (or Gisborne Region). It has a population of Gisborne District Council has its headquarters in the central city. ...

, daughter of a refrigeration engineer with a successful consulting practice. She moved with her family to Sydney in 1920, studying at Sydney University 1923–26, and it was there that her friendship with Dymphna Cusack began, later to become a notable collaboration. They were both involved in debating and theatre; they shared a feminist, unionist and pacifist outlook. Both were much later to become opponents of nuclear weapons. Around 1930 she moved to London, working as a journalist, briefly sharing a room with Christina Stead. While there she married lawyer William J. "Pym" Heyting in 1932 and had two daughters, Julie and Frances, by him. They returned to Sydney in 1938. He joined the

RAAF The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the principal aerial warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Army. Constitutionally the governor-general of Aus ...

as an Intelligence officer, and became a

Wing Commander Wing commander (Wg Cdr or W/C) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Wing commander is immediately se ...

. She worked as Public Appeals Officer for The Royal Prince Alfred Hospital from 1940 to the end of 1944, when she resigned. From 1945 to 1947 she, her daughters, Dymphna Cusack and her niece shared a rented cottage 'Pinegrove' at Hazelbrook in the Blue Mountains. It was there that they collaborated on a children's book ''Four Winds and a Family'' and '' Come In Spinner'', which was to become the most successful book about life in wartime

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. It won the ''

Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was foun ...

s £1000 novel competition in 1948 and the prizemoney was handed over but not announced. Publishers demanded substantial edits and it was not finally published until 1951. She returned with her daughters to London in 1947 to join her husband who was stationed there. They divorced in May 1949. She remained there until 1963, working as a literary agent, initially for Constable and Company, where authors she signed included Mary Durack, Sylvia Townsend Warner and Colin Johnson (aka Mudrooroo Narogin). She became active in the

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) is an organisation that advocates unilateral nuclear disarmament by the United Kingdom, international nuclear disarmament and tighter international arms regulation through agreements such as the Nucl ...

, participating in the Aldermaston March and activities of

Bertrand Russell Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, and public intellectual. He had influence on mathematics, logic, set theory, and various areas of analytic ...

's Committee of One Hundred. She returned to Australia in 1963 and joined the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in 1968. In 1984 she restored the unexpurgated MS of ''Come In Spinner'' for Richard Walsh of

Angus and Robertson Angus & Robertson (A&R) is a major Australian bookseller, publisher and printer. As book publishers, A&R has contributed substantially to the promotion and development of Australian literature.Alison, Jennifer (2001). "Publishers and editors: A ...

. She died in 1993 at the Wesley Heights retirement village at Manly, where her friend and collaborator Dymphna Cusack died twelve years earlier.

Works

*''Four Winds and a Family'' by Dymphna Cusack and Florence James (1946) pub. Shakespeare Head Press *'' Come in Spinner'' by Dymphna Cusack and Florence James (1951) pub. Heinemann

References

*North, Marilla (ed) (2001) ''Yarn Spinners: a story in letters of Dymphna Cusack, Florence James and Miles Franklin'', St Lucia, University of Queensland Press

External links

*
AustLit: The Australian Literary Resource
(Full biography only available to subscribers, which includes many or most libraries and educational institutions). {{DEFAULTSORT:James, Florence 1902 births 1993 deaths 20th-century Australian novelists Australian women novelists New Zealand writers New Zealand women writers 20th-century Australian women writers Australian feminists Australian Quakers Quaker feminists New Zealand feminists People from Gisborne, New Zealand Nonviolence advocates Australian Christian pacifists New Zealand Christian pacifists 20th-century Quakers