Daisy Fisher, born Daisy Gertrude Fisher; (7 November 1887 – 2 April 1969) was an English novelist and playwright.''Telegraph'

''The Daily Telegraph'', 3 July 2014 She was the writer of several

romantic novel A romance or romantic novel is a genre fiction novel that primarily focuses on the relationship and romantic love between two people, typically with an emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending. Authors who have contributed to the developm ...

s, a lyricist, scriptwriter, actress and singer. In the 1920s she wrote the lyrics for some of

Eric Coates Eric Francis Harrison Coates (27 August 1886 – 21 December 1957) was an English composer of light music and, early in his career, a leading violist. Coates was born into a musical family, but, despite his wishes and obvious talent, his parents ...

' compositions. In 1926 she published her first book ''Lavender Ladies A Comedy in Three Acts'' followed by more in the 1930s. Fisher authored some plays with the song writer Harold Simpson,

Ronald Jeans Ronald Jeans (10 May 1887 – 16 May 1973) was a British playwright with a career spanning nearly 50 years. Early life Ronald Jeans was born in Oxton, Merseyside, the younger son of Sir Alexander Grigor Jeans (1849–1924), the founder and ma ...

and Clifford Seyler. She was the wife of

Herbert Mason Samuel George Herbert Mason (1891 – 20 May 1960) was a British film director, producer, stage actor, army officer, presenter of some revues, stage manager, theatre director, stage director, choreographer, Production manager (theatre), produ ...

the film director and producer who previously acted on stage (including several productions at the

Birmingham Repertory Theatre Birmingham Repertory Theatre, commonly called Birmingham Rep or just The Rep, is a producing theatre based on Centenary Square in Birmingham, England. Founded by Barry Jackson, it is the longest-established of Britain's building-based theatre ...

). After the

Second World War 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 ...

they worked together on some plays.

Early life

Daisy Gertrude Fisher was born on 7 November 1887 to William Edgar Fisher (an accountant) and Emma Louisa (née Beasley) daughter of Benjamin Beasley. After Brampton Park burned down in 1907 she turned to the theatre and joined as a

chorus girl A chorus line is a large group of dancers who together perform synchronized routines, usually in musical theatre. Sometimes, singing is also performed. While synchronized dancing indicative of a chorus line was vogue during the first half of th ...

Career

One of Fisher's earliest plays was ''

Cinderella "Cinderella", or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a Folklore, folk tale with thousands of variants that are told throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988. The protagonist is a you ...

'' performed at the

(26 December 1914– 29 January 1915). Fisher and the composer

starred in ''The Punch Bowl'', which

a stage actor stage managed and choreographed. Fisher's comedy play ''Lavender Ladies'' was performed at the Comedy Theatre from 29 July – 21 November 1925. The play starred

Herbert Marshall Herbert Brough Falcon Marshall (23 May 1890 – 22 January 1966) was an English stage, screen, and radio actor who starred in many popular and well-regarded Hollywood films in the 1930s and 1940s. After a successful theatrical career in the Un ...

and Louise Hampton. Additionally it was

Lydia Sherwood Lydia Sherwood (5 May 1906 – 20 April 1989) was a British film actress and stage actress. She made her debut on stage in Daisy Fisher's comedy play ''Lavender Ladies''.Wearing, 2014, p. 379 She was married to the poet Lazarus Aaronson fro ...

's debut on stage. Fisher and Harold Simpson were authors of ''The Cave Man'', which Mason also presented, produced and had a role in. Louise Hampton also had a part in the play. In 1933 ''The Hill Beyond'' was published. It acts as a sequel to ''The Gates Swings Open'' and is about a girl from between settling down in the countryside with her husband or an exciting life in the theatrical world in London. In 1935 Fisher wrote the story for '' Things Are Looking Up'' with

Albert de Courville Albert Pierre de Courville (26 March 1887 – 15 March 1960) (born in Croydon, England) was a writer and director of theatrical revues, many of which featured the actress and singer Shirley Kellogg, whom he married in June 1913. Career In abo ...

, Stafford Dickens and Con West. It was the film debut for

Vivien Leigh Vivien Leigh ( ; born Vivian Mary Hartley; 5 November 1913 – 8 July 1967), styled as Lady Olivier after 1947, was a British actress. After completing her drama school education, Leigh appeared in small roles in four films in 1935 and progress ...

who had an uncredited role as a school girl. In 1937 Fisher's ''A Ship Comes Home'' was performed at

St Martin's Theatre St Martin's Theatre is a West End theatre which has staged the production of '' The Mousetrap'' since March 1974, making it the longest continuous run of any show in the world. The theatre is located in West Street, near Shaftesbury Avenue, i ...

, London. The play starred

Michael Redgrave Sir Michael Scudamore Redgrave (20 March 1908 – 21 March 1985) was an English actor and filmmaker. Beginning his career in theatre, he first appeared in the West End in 1937. He made his film debut in Alfred Hitchcock's ''The Lady Vanishes'' ...

who later had a role in Mason's ''

A Window in London ''A Window in London'' is a 1940 British thriller film directed by Herbert Mason, written by Brigid Cooper and Ian Dalrymple for Greenspan & Seligman Enterprises Ltd and distributed by General Film Distributors. The cast includes Michael Redgrav ...

''. Mason and Fisher financed and were authors of ''Lend Me Robin'' (1948), which was shown at Embassy Theatre a few years before it was sold to the

Central School of Speech and Drama The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, commonly shortened to Central, is a drama school founded by Elsie Fogerty in 1906, as the Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art, to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for ...

. It was a comedy about a wife who tries to win back her philandering husband (portrayed by

Charles Goldner Charles Goldner (7 December 1900 - 15 April 1955) was an Austrian-born actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditio ...

) by taking a lover. The play also starred

William Mervyn William Mervyn Pickwoad (3 January 1912 – 6 August 1976) was an English actor best known for his portrayal of the bishop in the clerical comedy ''All Gas and Gaiters'', the old gentleman in ''The Railway Children'' and Inspector Charles Rose i ...

who later had a part in ''

Conflict of Wings ''Conflict of Wings'' (also known as ''Norfolk Story''; U.S. title: ''Fuss Over Feathers'' ) is a 1954 British comedy film, comedy drama film directed by John Eldridge (director), John Eldridge and starring John Gregson, Muriel Pavlow and Kieron ...

'' produced by Mason. Three years later they worked on an eternal triangle

thriller Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...

''Dangerous Woman''.

Personal life and family

Fisher first met her future husband when they were in a play about

David Garrick David Garrick (19 February 1716 – 20 January 1779) was an English actor, playwright, Actor-manager, theatre manager and producer who influenced nearly all aspects of European theatrical practice throughout the 18th century, and was a pupil a ...

with Mason taking the lead. In 1914 they married before Mason and her brother fought in the

First World War 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 ...

. Her brother Leslie Fisher was killed in action at the age of 30 on 14 August 1915. Massue, Melville Henry. (1916). ''The Roll of Honour: A Biographical Record of all members of His Majesty's Naval and Military Forces who have fallen in the War, Volume 1.'' The Standard Art Book Company Limited She survived Mason with their daughter and son. Their son Michael (b. December 1924) became a radio producer at the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

and wrote several books. Daisy Fisher died on 2 April 1969 in London.

Publications

Lyricist

Filmography

Film

Theatre

References

Bibliography

Secondary sources

* Gale, Maggie. (1996). ''West End Women and the London Stage 1918–1962''.

Routledge Routledge ( ) is a British multinational corporation, multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, academic journals, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanit ...

* Reid, John Howard. (2005). ''Hollywood's Miracles of Entertainment''.

Lulu.com Lulu Press, Inc., doing business under trade name Lulu, is an online print-on-demand, self-publishing, and distribution platform. By 2014, it had issued approximately two million titles. The company's founder is Red Hat co-founder Bob Young; ...

* Wearing, J.P. (1982). ''The London Stage 1910–1919: A Calendar of Productions, Performers and Personnel.''

Rowman & Littlefield Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group is an American independent academic publishing company founded in 1949. Under several imprints, the company offers scholarly books for the academic market, as well as trade books. The company also owns ...

Education * Wearing, J.P. (2014). ''The London Stage 1920–1929: A Calendar of Productions, Performers and Personnel''. Rowman & Littlefield Education (2nd edition) * Wearing, J.P. (2014). ''The London Stage 1930-1939: A Calendar of Productions, Performers and Personnel.'' Rowman & Littlefield * Wearing, J.P. (2014). ''The London Stage 1940–1949: A Calendar of Productions, Performers and Personnel''. Rowman & Littlefield Education (2nd edition) * Payne, Michael. (2013). ''The Life and Music of Eric Coates''.

Ashgate Publishing Ashgate Publishing was an academic book and journal publisher based in Farnham (Surrey, United Kingdom). It was established in 1967 and specialised in the social sciences, arts, humanities and professional practice. It had an American office in ...

Ltd * D'Arcy Mackay, Constance. (1927). ''Children's Theatres and Plays''. D. Appleton & Company * Barranger, Milly S. (2004). ''Margaret Webster: A Life in the Theater.''

University of Michigan Press The University of Michigan Press is a university press that is a part of Michigan Publishing at the University of Michigan Library. It publishes 170 new titles each year in the humanities and social sciences. Titles from the press have earn ...

* Hobson, Harold. (1950). Theatre – Volume 2.

Longman Longman, also known as Pearson Longman, is a publisher, publishing company founded in 1724 in London, England, which is owned by Pearson PLC. Since 1968, Longman has been used primarily as an imprint by Pearson's Schools business. The Longman ...

s, Green and Co * Kemp, Thomas C. (1943). ''Birmingham Repertory Theatre: The Playhouse and the Man.'' Cornish Brothers Limited * Major and Mrs Holt. (1990). ''The Biography of Captain Bruce Bairnsfather: In Search of the Better Ole.'' Pen and Sword

External links

*
''A Ship Comes Home'' by Daisy Fisher
at

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British political and cultural news magazine. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving magazine in the world. ''The Spectator'' is politically conservative, and its principal subject a ...

Archive
Daisy Fisher
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Daisy Fisher
at Theatricalia {{DEFAULTSORT:Fisher, Daisy 1888 births 1967 deaths 20th-century English dramatists and playwrights English women dramatists and playwrights English lyricists English women novelists 20th-century English novelists British women screenwriters English stage actresses English romantic fiction writers 20th-century English women writers British women romantic fiction writers 20th-century English screenwriters People from Hampstead Writers from the London Borough of Camden