Kathleen Farrell (4 August 1912 – 25 November 1999) was a British novelist of the

post–World War II The aftermath of World War II saw the rise of two global superpowers, the United States (U.S.) and the Soviet Union (U.S.S.R.). The aftermath of World War II was also defined by the rising threat of nuclear warfare, the creation and implementati ...

period who was known for her unsparing and sometimes bitingly funny studies of character.

Biography

Kathleen Farrell was born in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

on 4 August 1912. The daughter of a wealthy builder, she was financially independent throughout her life. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, she served as an assistant to

Hastings Lees-Smith Hastings Bertrand Lees-Smith PC (26 January 1878 – 18 December 1941) was a British Liberal turned Labour politician who was briefly in the cabinet as President of the Board of Education in 1931. He was the acting Leader of the Opposition an ...

, the secretary general of the Labour Party. Following the war, she founded a literary agency called Gilbert Wright. Farrell's first book, ''Johnny's Not Home from the Fair'' (1942), was in part a ghost story and its dedication—"For my mother, without her permission"—hinted at autobiographical elements. Following this, she wrote five novels of life in the 1950s: ''Mistletoe Malice'' (1951), ''Take It to Heart'' (1953), ''The Cost of Living'' (1956), ''The Common Touch'' (1958), and ''Limitations of Love'' (1962). In Limitations of Love the characters Mr Flask & Mrs Walk appear, which is a play on

Flask Walk Flask Walk is a street in Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden. It runs eastwards from Hampstead High Street to a junction with Well Walk and New End Square. It is primarily residential but the western end of the street is a pedestrianised ...

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...

where Farrell lived with Kay Dick. Farrell, who was typically compared to

Barbara Pym Barbara Mary Crampton Pym (2 June 1913 – 11 January 1980) was an English novelist. In the 1950s she published a series of social comedies, of which the best known are '' Excellent Women'' (1952) and '' A Glass of Blessings'' (1958). In 1977 ...

in contemporary reviews, was known for her sharp depictions of character, frequently verging on the cynical.

C. P. Snow Charles Percy Snow, Baron Snow (15 October 1905 – 1 July 1980) was an English novelist and physical chemist who also served in several important positions in the British Civil Service and briefly in the UK government.''The Columbia Encyclop ...

praised ''Mistletoe Malice'' as a "savagely witty and abnormally penetrating" study of a dysfunctional family collected together at Christmas. ''The Cost of Living'' is a darkly humorous portrait of two impoverished women—a freelance typist and an artist—and their attempts to meet people and develop romantic relationships. A passage from this book gives a sense of Farrell's characteristically acerbic tone: :"By that time I had nearly finished the novel. It seemed to get longer and longer towards the end; and sadder, too, and much sillier. There was only one woman in it, and she spent most of her life retching and clinging to park railings; and when she wasn’t doing that she was leaning her forehead against the wall in some dark alleyway. Leaning her forehead against the wall was to stop her being completely overcome by nausea. I can’t remember that it ever did. I wondered how such young men managed to make women feel so sick, so often. And I thought, poor young men, how they suffer." She was well connected in British literary circles, counting among her friends

Ivy Compton-Burnett Dame Ivy Compton-Burnett, (; 5 June 188427 August 1969) was an English novelist, published in the original editions as I. Compton-Burnett. She was awarded the 1955 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for her novel ''Mother and Son''. Her works co ...

Olivia Manning Olivia Mary Manning (2 March 1908 – 23 July 1980) was a British novelist, poet, writer, and reviewer. Her fiction and non-fiction, frequently detailing journeys and personal odysseys, were principally set in the United Kingdom, Euro ...

Pamela Hansford Johnson Pamela Hansford Johnson, Baroness Snow, (29 May 1912 – 18 June 1981) was an English novelist, playwright, poet, literary and social critic. Life Johnson was born in London. Her mother, Amy Clotilda Howson, was a singer and actress, from a ...

, and

Quentin Crisp Quentin Crisp (born Denis Charles Pratt; – ) was an English raconteur, whose work in the public eye included a memoir of his life and various media appearances. Before becoming well known, he was an artist's model, hence the title of h ...

, and she was known for encouraging up-and-coming writers. At the same time, it is said that she belonged to an informal group that has been called, quasi-jokingly, "The Lady Novelists' Anti-Elizabeth League," whose members were apparently united in their dislike of the work of novelist

Elizabeth Taylor Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was an English and American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 19 ...

. Other members of the league are said to have included Johnson, Manning, Kate O'Brien, and

Kay Dick Kathleen Elsie "Kay" Dick (29 July 1915 – 19 October 2001) was an English journalist, writer, novelist and autobiographer, who sometimes wrote under the name Edward Lane De-la-Noy, Michael (24 October 2001)"Kay Dick"(obituary), ''The Guardian'' ...

, who was Farrell's life partner for some twenty years.

Death and legacy

Farrell's novels, though critically well received, did not sell particularly well. She died in

Hove Hove ( ) is a seaside resort in East Sussex, England. Alongside Brighton, it is one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove. Originally a fishing village surrounded by open farmland, it grew rapidly in the 19th century in respon ...

East Sussex East Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Kent to the north-east, West Sussex to the west, Surrey to the north-west, and the English Channel to the south. The largest settlement ...

, on 25 November 1999. Farrell's papers are held by the

University of Texas, Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 20 ...

, and include drafts and notes for several unpublished novels and stories.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Farrell, Kathleen 1912 births 1999 deaths 20th-century British novelists English women novelists Writers from London 20th-century English women writers