Gwen John (born Gladys Jones; 1878–1953) was a British author and playwright and supporter of women's suffrage.
Early life
Gwen John was born Gladys Jones in 1878 the daughter of a solicitor W.T. Jones.
The family lived at Spital Lodge, Chesterfield until about 1910 when her father died and John moved with her mother and older sister, Winifred, to London. All three were sympathetic to the suffrage movement and
Winifred Jones was a notable suffragist.
Career
In 1912 John's short play ''Edge O' Dark'' was banned by the
Lord Chamberlain
The Lord Chamberlain of the Household is the most senior officer of the Royal Households of the United Kingdom, Royal Household of the United Kingdom, supervising the departments which support and provide advice to the Monarchy of the United Ki ...
who
licensed plays for performance though it was published in full in ''
The English Review
''The English Review'' was an English-language literary magazine published in London from 1908 to 1937. At its peak, the journal published some of the leading writers of its day.
History
The magazine was started by 1908 by Ford Madox Hueffer (l ...
''.
The play was set in an impoverished mining household in Derbyshire; a sexual assault of the female character is implied and the men dominate the woman who lacked her own economic power.
There was support for the ban
as well as support for John tackling what was a distasteful and contentious subject.
''Luck of War'' was produced by
Edith Craig
Edith Ailsa Geraldine Craig ( Edith Godwin; 9 December 1869 – 27 March 1947), known as Edy Craig, was a prolific theatre director, producer, costume designer and early pioneer of the women's suffrage movement in England. She was the daughte ...
and performed by the
Pioneer Players in 1917.
It was a social-realist drama portraying the life of a working class woman who remarries when her husband is presumed missing in
World War 1
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
but later faces a dilemma when he returns; she is eventually reconciled with him.
''Plays of Innocence'' were satirical and ''Mr Jardyne'' was described as cynical. The plot attacks commercial theatre management with the central character being a playwright who dies of starvation after his scripts are returned to him.
''Gloriana'' which tells the story of
Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...
was produced by
Israel Zangwill
Israel Zangwill (21 January 18641 August 1926) was a British author at the forefront of Zionism during the 19th century, and was a close associate of Theodor Herzl. He later rejected the search for a Jewish homeland in Palestine and became the ...
in London in 1925.
Plays
* ''Plays'' (1916) - includes six short plays: ''Outlaws, Corinna or The Strenuous Life, Stealing the Contract, Edge O' Dark, The Case of Teresa, In the Rector's Study''
* ''Luck of War'' (1917)
* ''The Only Daughter'' (1920)
* ''The Goblin, the Student and the Huckster'' (1921) - title later changed to ''The Goblin''
* ''Plays of Innocence'' (1925) - includes four short plays: ''A Tale that is Told, On the Road, Luck of War, A Peakland Wakes''
* ''Gloriana'' (1925) - also played as ''The Prince''
* ''Mr Jardyne'' (1925) - a mystery
* ''Mere Immortals: three imaginary conversations'' (1930)
* ''The Dyer's Hand'' (1931)
Other works
* ''Syringa and other verses'' (1922)
References
External links
Gwen John on Deeds Not Words Towards Liberation websiteGladys Jones in Extraordinary Women of Chesterfield on Chesterfield Museum websitePicture of Gladys Jones's shoes in the Chesterfield Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:John, Gwen
English dramatists and playwrights
British suffragettes
1878 births
1953 deaths