Ann Jennifer Evelyn Elizabeth Ross (; 16 March 1916 – 10 December 2003) was a British literary muse who for a time financed ''

The London Magazine ''The London Magazine'' is the title of six different publications that have appeared in succession since 1732. All six have focused on the arts, literature and poetry. A number of Nobel Laureates, including Annie Ernaux, Albert Camus, Doris Les ...

''. She was the only child of Sir Geoffrey Fry, 1st Baronet and his wife Alathea Gardner. She grew up at Oare House,

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

. Her father was private secretary to two prime ministers, and descended from the

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

family of cocoa manufacturers. Her mother was the daughter of Lord Burghclere. Alathea's sister was Evelyn Gardner, who married the writer

Evelyn Waugh Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires ''Decli ...

and was known as one of the

Bright Young Things __NOTOC__ The Bright Young Things, or Bright Young People, was a group of Bohemian young aristocrats and socialites in London during the Roaring Twenties. The name was given to them by the tabloid press. They threw flamboyant fancy dress part ...

of interwar London. In 1942, already pregnant, Ann Fry married

Robert Heber-Percy Robert Vernon Heber-Percy (5 November 1911 – 29 October 1987), known for much of his life as "the Mad Boy", was "an English eccentric in the grand tradition". Early life Heber-Percy was born in 1911, the fourth and youngest son of Algernon ...

, who had for the past decade been the boyfriend of the composer

Lord Berners Gerald Hugh Tyrwhitt-Wilson, 14th Baron Berners (18 September 188319 April 1950), also known as Gerald Tyrwhitt, was a British composer, novelist, painter, and aesthete. He was also known as Lord Berners. Biography Early life and education B ...

, and was known as "the Mad Boy". For two years she formed a ''

ménage à trois A () is a domestic arrangement or committed relationship consisting of three people in polyamorous romantic or sexual relations with each other, and often dwelling together. The phrase is a loan from French meaning "household of three". ...

'' with them at

Faringdon House Faringdon House is a Grade I listed 14,510 square feet house in Faringdon, Oxfordshire, England. It was built in about 1770– for the Poet Laureate Sir Henry James Pye. It became the country home of Lord Berners, who inherited it in 1918. He m ...

, Oxfordshire.Sofka Zinovieff. ''The Mad Boy, Lord Berners, My Grandmother and Me'' (Jonathan Cape, 2014). They divorced in 1947. She loved and was loved by men such as

Cyril Connolly Cyril Vernon Connolly CBE (10 September 1903 – 26 November 1974) was an English literary critic and writer. He was the editor of the influential literary magazine ''Horizon (British magazine), Horizon'' (1940–49) and wrote ''Enemies of Pro ...

Henry Green Henry Green was the pen name of Henry Vincent Yorke (29 October 1905 – 13 December 1973), an English writer best remembered for the novels ''Party Going'', ''Living (novel), Living,'' and ''Loving (novel), Loving''. He published a total of n ...

, and the filmmaker Michael Luke. She next married, in 1949, the poet

Alan Ross Alan John Ross (6 May 1922 – 14 February 2001) was a British poet, writer, editor and publisher. Early years Ross was born in Calcutta, India, son of John Brackenridge Ross, CBE, a former Lieutenant in the Indian Army Reserve ( Supply and ...

, editor of ''The London Magazine'', which she supported with her money and intellect. She championed

Jean Rhys Jean Rhys, ( ; born Ella Gwendoline Rees Williams; 24 August 1890 – 14 May 1979) was a novelist who was born and grew up in the Caribbean island of Dominica. From the age of 16, she resided mainly in England, where she was sent for her educa ...

's novel ''

Wide Sargasso Sea ''Wide Sargasso Sea'' is a 1966 historical novel by Dominican-British author Jean Rhys. The novel is set in Jamaica between the 1830-40s and serves as a postcolonial and feminist prequel to Charlotte Brontë's novel ''Jane Eyre'' (1847), descr ...

'' to Francis Wyndham. Her friends included " ir

John Betjeman Sir John Betjeman, (; 28 August 190619 May 1984) was an English poet, writer, and broadcaster. He was Poet Laureate from 1972 until his death. He was a founding member of The Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architect ...

...

Anthony Anthony, also spelled Antony, is a masculine given name derived from the '' Antonii'', a '' gens'' ( Roman family name) to which Mark Antony (''Marcus Antonius'') belonged. According to Plutarch, the Antonii gens were Heracleidae, being descenda ...

and

Violet Powell Lady Violet Georgiana Powell (''née'' Pakenham; 13 March 1912 – 12 January 2002) was a British writer and critic. Her husband was the author Anthony Powell. Life and career Lady Violet was the third daughter of Thomas Pakenham, 5th Ear ...

, Heywood and Anne Hill, ndPrim Rollo, who married the actor

David Niven James David Graham Niven (; 1 March 1910 – 29 July 1983) was an English actor, soldier, raconteur, memoirist and novelist. Niven was known as a handsome and debonair leading man in Classic Hollywood films. His accolades include an Academ ...

". She volunteered with the Prisoners' Wives Service, which Cressida Connolly links to her ancestor

Elizabeth Fry Elizabeth Fry (née Gurney; 21 May 1780 – 12 October 1845), sometimes referred to as Betsy Fry, was an English prison reformer, social reformer, philanthropist and Quaker. Fry was a major driving force behind new legislation to improve the tr ...

, the great social reformer. Her daughter with Heber-Percy, Victoria Gala Heber-Percy, was born in 1947. She married the British composer, musician and inventor

Peter Zinovieff Peter Zinovieff (26 January 1933 – 23 June 2021) was a British composer, musician and inventor. In the late 1960s, his company, Electronic Music Studios (EMS), made the VCS3, a synthesizer used by many early progressive rock bands such as Pi ...

. Their children included the author

Sofka Zinovieff Sofka Zinovieff (born 1961) is a British author and journalist. Early life Zinovieff was born in London. Her parents were Peter Zinovieff and Victoria Gala Heber-Percy. Her paternal grandparents were White Russians who had left Soviet Russia ...

, who in 2014 wrote a memoir about her grandparents and Lord Berners at Faringdon.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ross, Jennifer 1916 births 2003 deaths Fry family 20th-century British women Muses (persons) British magazine people Daughters of baronets 20th-century English businesspeople