Gladys Huntington (1887 – 1959), née Parrish, was an American writer. Huntington's works include the novel ''Carfrae's Comedy'', the play ''Barton's Folly'', and the bestselling book ''Madame Solario''. Gladys Huntington writer

Biography

Huntington was born Gladys Theodora Parrish in Philadelphia to a

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family on 13 December 1887. Her parents were Alfred Parrish and Katharine Broadwood Jennings. From a young age, she lived in New York, Paris, London, Biarritz, Rome, and "a villa on Lake Como." She married Boston native Constant Davis Huntington on 17 October 1916. The two moved to London where Constant opened Putnam's London office. The two resided in Hyde Park Gardens and then at Amberley House in

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

, where they remained until her death. On 31 May 1959, three years after the publication of ''Madame Solario'', Huntington committed suicide.

Writing

Huntington published two novels, a play, and two short stories in ''

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''. She is best known for ''Madame Solario''. The novel was anonymously published in 1956 (likely due to what was considered scandalous content), and her identity as the author would not be revealed for three decades. It is mainly thanks to the French journalist and novelist Bernard Cohen, who investigated in 2009, that Huntington was recognized as Madame Solario's author. The book was immediately republished in France with the author's name on the cover. The story takes place in

Cadenabbia Cadenabbia (Cadenabbia di Griante) is a small community in Lombardy, Italy, in the province of Como, on the west shore of Lake Como. The community is part of the comune of Griante, between the communities of Menaggio and Tremezzo. Cadenabbia i ...

Lake Como Lake Como ( , ) also known as Lario, is a lake of glacial origin in Lombardy, Italy. It has an area of , making it the third-largest lake in Italy, after Lake Garda and Lake Maggiore. At over deep, it is one of the deepest lakes in Europe. ...

in 1906. The novel has been translated into seven languages. However, it went out of print for a period of time.

Persephone Books ''Persephone Books'' is an independent publisher based in Bath, England. Founded in 1999 by Nicola Beauman, Persephone Books reprints works largely by women writers of the late 19th and 20th century, though a few books by men are included. Th ...

released a new edition in 2016 with a foreword by

Alison Adburgham Alison Adburgham (28 January 1912 – 23 May 1997) was an English journalist, author and social historian, best known for her work as fashion editor of ''The Guardian'' newspaper, a position she held for 20 years. Along with Prudence Glynn of ...

. It was adapted into a French film by

René Féret René Féret (26 May 1945 – 28 April 2015) was a French actor, screenwriter, film director and producer.Marguerite Yourcenar Marguerite Yourcenar (, ; ; born Marguerite Antoinette Jeanne Marie Ghislaine Cleenewerck de Crayencour; 8 June 190317 December 1987) was a Belgian-born French novelist and essayist who became a US citizen in 1947. Winner of the Prix Femina and ...

, who discussed it on several occasions in her correspondence. In a segment on neglected books,

Mary Renault Eileen Mary Challans (4 September 1905 – 13 December 1983), known by her pen name Mary Renault ("She always pronounced it 'Ren-olt', though almost everyone would come to speak of her as if she were a French car." ), was a British writer best k ...

in ''The American Scholar'' praised the book and called it "one of the finest novels of our century." In a letter,

Paul Bowles Paul Frederic Bowles (; December 30, 1910November 18, 1999) was an American expatriate composer, author, and translator. He became associated with the Moroccan city of Tangier, where he settled in 1947 and lived for 52 years to the end of his ...

called it "beautifully imagined and written," adding, "What a shame that the author never wrote anything else! And didn't even dare sign her name to it for fear of scandalizing her British in-laws. (She was American, of course!)" When

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published the novel in paperback in 1978, ''

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'' wrote, "When first published 1956, this anonymous novel was acclaimed for its elegant style and disturbing urgency. It deserves a new audience." Huntington's prose is often compared to that 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 ...

. After her death, Huntington left behind a manuscript of a play entitled ''The Ladies’ Mile'' (dating from 1944), which she had planned to adapt into a novel.

Works

* ''Carfrae's Comedy'' (1915) * ''Madame Solario'' (1956)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Huntington, Gladys 1887 births 1959 deaths 20th-century American women writers Writers from Philadelphia American dramatists and playwrights People from Amberley, West Sussex 1959 suicides Suicides in England