Madeleine Mathilde Henrey (1906–2004, née Gal, pseud. Mrs Robert Henrey) was a French-born writer. She wrote over 30 books, mainly of an autobiographical nature, that enjoyed considerable fame in post-war Britain.

Life

Madeleine Mathilde Gal, the daughter of a miner and seamstress, moved as a child to

Soho SoHo, short for "South of Houston Street, Houston Street", is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, art installations such as The Wall ...

, London, following her father's death. She met her future husband, Robert Selby Henrey, at the

Savoy Hotel The Savoy Hotel is a luxury hotel located in the Strand in the City of Westminster in central London, England. Built by the impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte with profits from his Gilbert and Sullivan opera productions, it opened on 6 August 1 ...

; they were married in 1928 and their romance would prove to be a lifelong attachment lasting until his death in 1982. Her son,

Bobby Henrey Robert "Bobby" Henrey (born 26 June 1939) is an Anglo- French former child actor best known for his role as the son of the French ambassador to London in the classic 1948 English film '' The Fallen Idol'', directed by Carol Reed. Personal Hen ...

, was a child actor, notably in the film '' The Fallen Idol'', the making of which was described in her book ''A film star in Belgrave Square''. Her writing career stretched from 1941 to 1979 and during this time she brought many of the events of her childhood and career to public attention. She enjoyed a long relationship with publishers, J. M. Dent & Sons, and most of her works, particularly her early ones, were a commercial success.

Works

''Publisher is ''London: J. M. Dent & Sons'', unless stated.

Fiction

*''Delphine'' (1947), writing as Robert Henrey, London: Peter Davies ::''A series of stories'' *''An Attic in Jermyn Street'' (1948), writing as Robert Henrey ::''The story of a girl reporter'' *''Philippa'' (1949), writing as Mrs Robert Henrey

Non-fiction

*''A Farm in Normandy'' (1941), writing as Robert Henrey ::''The birth of her child'' *''A Village in Picadilly'' (1942), writing as Robert Henrey ::''The author's experiences during the air raids on London'' *''Letters from Paris, 1870-1875'' (

942 Year 942 (Roman numerals, CMXLII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – The Hungarian raid in Spain (942), Hungarians invade Al-Andalus (modern Spain) and besiege the f ...

by C. de B., trans. and ed. by M.H. writing as Robert Henrey ::''C. de B. was a political informant to the head of the London house of

Rothschild Rothschild () is a name derived from the German ''zum rothen Schild'' (with the old spelling "th"), meaning "to the red shield", in reference to the houses where these family members lived or had lived. At the time, houses were designated by signs ...

'' *''A Journey to Gibraltar'' (1943), writing as Robert Henrey ::''The author's experiences during the

London Blitz London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Tha ...

'' *''The Incredible City'' (1944), writing as Robert Henrey ::''Part of her London trilogy'' *''Bloomsbury Fair'' (1944), writing as Robert Henrey ::''Three London families'' *''The Foolish Decade'' (1945), writing as Robert Henrey ::''London social life and customs'' *''The Siege of London'' (1946), writing as Robert Henrey ::''Part of her London trilogy, an account of life in London from February 1944 to May 1945'' *''The King of Brentford'' (1946), writing as Robert Henrey, London : Peter Davies ::''On the life of Thomas Selby Henrey'' *''The Return to the Farm'' (1947), writing as Robert Henrey, London: Peter Davies ::''Life on their Normandy farm during the Second World War'' *''A Film Star in Belgrave Square'' (1948), writing as Robert Henrey, London: Peter Davies ::''The making of the film'' The Fallen Idol, starring her son, Bobby. *''London'' (1948), writing as Mrs Robert Henrey ::''with watercolours by

Phyllis Ginger Phyllis Ethel Ginger (19 October 1907 – 3 May 2005) was a British artist and illustrator who, although she had a long career in several different media, is now best known for the topographical watercolours she produced during the Second Worl ...

'' *''A Journey to Vienna'' (1950), writing as Mrs Robert Henrey ::''Her small son becomes briefly a film star'' *''Mathilda and the Chickens'' (1950), writing as Mrs Robert Henrey ::''The farm in Normandy just after the war'' *''Paloma'' (1951), writing as Mrs Robert Henrey ::''The story of a friend, a story of friendship'' *''The Little Madeleine'' (1951), writing as Mrs Robert Henrey ::''Her girlhood'' *''An Exile in Soho'' (1952), writing as Mrs Robert Henrey ::''Her adolescence'' *''Madeleine Grown Up'', writing as Mrs Robert Henrey ::''Her love story and marriage'' *''Madeleine Young Wife'', writing as Mrs Robert Henrey ::''War and peace on her farm in Normandy'' *''A Month in Paris'' (1954), writing as Mrs Robert Henrey ::''She revisits the city of her birth'' *''Milou's Daughter'' (1955), writing as Mrs Robert Henrey ::''She goes in search of her father's

Midi Musical Instrument Digital Interface (; MIDI) is an American-Japanese technical standard that describes a communication protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, ...

'' *''Madeleine's Journal'', writing as Mrs Robert Henrey ::''London during coronation year, her contemporary journal'' *''This Feminine World'' (1956), writing as Mrs Robert Henrey ::''Paris dressmakers'' *''A Daughter for a Fortnight'' (1957), writing as Mrs Robert Henrey *''The Virgin of Aldermanbury'' (1958), writing as Mrs Robert Henrey ::''Rebuilding of the

City A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

'' *''Mistress of Myself'' (1959), writing as Mrs Robert Henrey ::''A golden summer by the sea, a summer on her farm'' *''The Dream Makers'' (1961), writing as Mrs Robert Henrey ::''The world of women's magazines'' *''Spring in a Soho Street'' (1962), writing as Mrs Robert Henrey *''Her April Days'' (1963), writing as Mrs Robert Henrey ::''The death of her mother'' *''Wednesday at Four'' (1964), writing as Mrs Robert Henrey ::''An afternoon in London and a journey to Moscow, one year in her life'' *''Winter Wild'' (1966), writing as Mrs Robert Henrey ::''Clouds on the horizon'' *''She Who Pays'' (1969), writing as Mrs Robert Henrey ::''Background to a near 'revolution

Life

Works

Fiction

Non-fiction

References

See also

Bibliography

External links