Maria Elvins Clarke née Pountney (1869 – 20 June 1958) was a British journalist based in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

from the early 1900s until 1937 who wrote under the name Moma Clarke. She was the Paris fashion correspondent for the British newspaper ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' from the early 1910s until 1937,The Times Archive also writing articles about topics including the theatre, the arts, and Parisian life. She was born Maria Elvins Pountney in

Great Barr Great Barr is a large and loosely defined area to the north-west of Birmingham, in the county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The area was historically in Staffordshire, and the parts now in Birmingham were once known as ...

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

, England, 1869. Her parents were Benjamin Pountney and Ellen (born Spencer). She had an older brother, Frederick Spencer Pountney, who was also a journalist. After the death of their parents, the siblings travelled in Europe and visited Paris. On 19 August 1903, Maria married Herbert Edward Clarke, an English publisher living and working in Paris, owner of the Imprimerie Vendôme at 338 Rue St-Honoré. Herbert died in 1931, and Moma Clarke lived in Paris until 1937, when she returned to Britain. After

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 ...

, Clarke resided at Turleigh Cottage, in the village of

Turleigh Turleigh is a hamlet in west Wiltshire, England. It lies immediately south of the village of Winsley, overlooking the Avon valley, about west of Bradford on Avon. The Kennet and Avon Canal and Avoncliff railway station are below the hamlet in ...

near

Bradford on Avon Bradford-on-Avon (sometimes Bradford on Avon) is a town and civil parish in west Wiltshire, England, near the border with Somerset. The town's canal, historic buildings, shops, pubs and restaurants make it popular with tourists. The parish had ...

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 ...

, moving to Rivers St in

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

in 1952. She died in

Worthing Worthing ( ) is a seaside town and borough in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 113,094 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Br ...

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

on 20 June 1958. She published several books, including ''Paris Waits, 1914'' (1915); ''Cameos of French Life'' (1925); ''Paris'' (1929); ''Versailles'' (1930); ''Light and Shade in France'' (1939); and ''A Stranger Within the Gates'' (1942).

References

1869 births 1958 deaths British columnists British women columnists 20th-century British women writers 20th-century British non-fiction writers English fashion journalists People from Great Barr British expatriates in France The Times journalists {{UK-journalist-stub