Monica Enid Dickens, MBE (10 May 1915 – 25 December 1992) was an English writer, the great-granddaughter of

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

Biography

Known as "Monty" to her family and friends, she was born into an upper-middle-class London family to Henry Charles Dickens (1878–1966), a barrister, and Fanny Dickens (née Runge). She was the granddaughter of Sir

Henry Fielding Dickens Sir Henry Fielding Dickens, KC (16 January 1849 – 21 December 1933), was the eighth of ten children born to English author Charles Dickens and his wife Catherine. The most successful of all of Dickens's children, he was a barrister, a KC an ...

KC. Disillusioned with the world she was brought up in – she was expelled from

St Paul's Girls' School St Paul's Girls' School is an independent day school for girls, aged 11 to 18, located in Brook Green, Hammersmith, in West London, England. History St Paul's Girls' School was founded by the Worshipful Company of Mercers in 1904, using part ...

in London for throwing her school uniform into the Thames before she was presented at

court A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to Adjudication, adjudicate legal disputes between Party (law), parties and carry out the administration of justice in Civil law (common law), civil, C ...

as a

debutante A debutante, also spelled débutante, ( ; from french: débutante , "female beginner") or deb is a young woman of aristocratic or upper-class family background who has reached maturity and, as a new adult, is presented to society at a formal ...

– she decided to go into

domestic service A domestic worker or domestic servant is a person who works within the scope of a residence. The term "domestic service" applies to the equivalent occupational category. In traditional English contexts, such a person was said to be "in service ...

despite coming from the privileged class; her experiences as a cook and general servant would form the nucleus of her first book, ''One Pair of Hands'' in 1939. ''One Pair of Feet'' (1942) recounted her work as a nurse, and subsequently she worked in an aircraft factory and on the ''Hertfordshire Express'' – a local newspaper in

Hitchin Hitchin () is a market town and unparished area in the North Hertfordshire district in Hertfordshire, England, with an estimated population of 35,842. History Hitchin is first noted as the central place of the Hicce people, a tribe holding 300 ...

; her experiences in the latter field of work inspired her 1951 book ''

My Turn to Make the Tea ''My Turn to Make the Tea'' is the third semi-autobiographical book by the British author Monica Dickens. First published in 1951 by Michael Joseph (publisher), Michael Joseph, the book relates Dickens' time working as a junior reporter on the '' ...

''.Charles Pick
"Obituary: Monica Dickens"
''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publishe ...

'', 31 December 1992. Soon after this, she moved from her home in

Hinxworth Hinxworth is a village and civil parish in North Hertfordshire, England. It sits just off the Great North Road between Baldock and Biggleswade. It has a village hall, a park, a pub, a small church, a bus stop and a post box. The population at t ...

in Hertfordshire to the United States after marrying a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

officer, Roy O. Stratton, who died in 1985. They adopted two daughters, Pamela and Prudence. The family lived in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

and

Falmouth, Massachusetts Falmouth ( ) is a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 32,517 at the 2020 census, making Falmouth the second-largest municipality on Cape Cod after Barnstable. The terminal for the Steamship Authority ferri ...

, on Cape Cod, producing the 1972 book of the same name. She continued to write, most of her books being set in Britain. She was also a regular columnist for the British women's magazine ''

Woman's Own ''Woman's Own'' is a British lifestyle magazine aimed at women. Publication ''Woman's Own'' was first published in 1932 by Newnes. In its early years it placed women's rights and social problems firmly in the foreground. Its first "agony aunt" was ...

'' for twenty years (without admitting to being an expatriate). Dickens had strong humanitarian interests which were manifested in her work with the

National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) is a British child protection charity. History Victorian era On a trip to New York in 1881, Liverpudlian businessman Thomas Agnew was inspired by a visit to the New Y ...

(reflected in her 1953 book ''No More Meadows'' and her 1964 work ''Kate and Emma''), the

Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) is a charity operating in England and Wales that promotes animal welfare. The RSPCA is funded primarily by voluntary donations. Founded in 1824, it is the oldest and largest a ...

(coming to the fore in her 1963 book ''Cobbler's Dream''), and the

Samaritans Samaritans (; ; he, שומרונים, translit=Šōmrōnīm, lit=; ar, السامريون, translit=as-Sāmiriyyūn) are an ethnoreligious group who originate from the ancient Israelites. They are native to the Levant and adhere to Samarit ...

, the subject of her 1970 novel ''The Listeners'' – she helped to found the first American branch of the Samaritans in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

in 1974. From 1970 onwards she wrote a number of children's books; the Follyfoot series of books followed on from her earlier adult novel ''Cobbler's Dream'', and were the basis of a children's TV series, also called ''

Follyfoot ''Follyfoot'' is a children's television series co-produced by the majority-partner British television company Yorkshire Television (for transmission on ITV) and the independent West German company ''TV München'' (for transmission on the ZDF ...

'', produced by

Yorkshire Television ITV Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire Television and commonly referred to as just YTV, is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV network. Until 1974, this was prima ...

for the UK's ITV network between 1971 and 1973 (and popular around the world for many years thereafter). In 1978, Monica Dickens published her

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English p ...

, ''An Open Book''. In 1985 she returned to the UK after the death of her husband, and continued to write until her death on Christmas Day 1992, aged 77, her final book being published

posthumously Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award - an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication – material published after the author's death * ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1987 * ''Posthumous'' (E ...

. She was also an occasional broadcaster for most of her writing career.

Adult books

* ''One Pair of Hands'' (Michael Joseph, 1939; re-published by Penguin Books Ltd, Harmondsworth, and Penguin Books Pty Ltd, Mitcham, 1961, book number 1535) * ''

Mariana Mariana may refer to: Literature * ''Mariana'' (Dickens novel), a 1940 novel by Monica Dickens * ''Mariana'' (poem), a poem by Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson * ''Mariana'' (Vaz novel), a 1997 novel by Katherine Vaz Music *"Mariana", a so ...

'' (1940; re-published in 1999 by

Persephone Books ''Persephone Books'' is an independent publisher based in Bath, England. Founded in 1999 by Nicola Beauman, Persephone Books reprints works largely by women writers of the late 19th and 20th century, though a few books by men are included. Th ...

) * ''One Pair of Feet'' (1942) (adapted for film as ''

The Lamp Still Burns ''The Lamp Still Burns'' is a 1943 British drama film directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Rosamund John, Stewart Granger Stewart Granger (born James Lablache Stewart; 6 May 1913 – 16 August 1993) was a British film actor, mainly asso ...

'') * ''Edward's Fancy'' (1943) * ''Thursday Afternoons'' (1945) * ''The Happy Prisoner'' (1946) (adapted as a

BBC TV BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 19 ...

play in 1965) * ''Yours Sincerely'' (1947), in collaboration with Beverley Nichol * ''Joy and Josephine'' (1948) * ''Flowers on the Grass'' (1949) * ''

'' (1951) * ''No More Meadows'' (1953) * '' The Winds of Heaven'' (1955; re-published in 2010 by Persephone Books) * ''The Angel in the Corner'' (1956) * ''

Man Overboard "Man overboard!" is an exclamation given aboard a vessel to indicate that a member of the crew or a passenger has fallen off of the ship into the water and is in need of immediate rescue. Whoever sees the person's fall is to shout, "Man overboa ...

'' (1958) * ''

The Heart of London ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

'' (1961) * ''Cobbler's Dream'' (1963; re-published in 1995 as ''New Arrival at Follyfoot'') * ''The Room Upstairs'' (1964) * ''Kate and Emma'' (1965) * ''The Landlord's Daughter'' (1968) * '' The Listeners'' (1970) * ''Cape Cod'' (1972) - Viking Press – non-fiction with William Berchen * ''Talking of Horses'' (1973) – non-fiction * ''Last Year When I Was Young'' (1974) * ''An Open Book'' (William Heinemann Ltd, 1978; re-published by Penguin Books, 1980, ) – autobiography * ''A Celebration'' (1984) * ''A View From The Seesaw'' (1986, published by Dodd, Mead, * ''Dear Doctor Lily'' (1988) * ''Enchantment'' (1989) * ''Closed at Dusk'' (1990) * ''Scarred'' (1991) * ''

One of the Family ''One of the Family'' (1993) was the last novel written by Monica Dickens, the great granddaughter of Charles Dickens. It is set in Edwardian London where the world, like main character Leonard Morley's life, is changing. Plot The story sta ...

'' (1993)

Children's books

The World's End series: * ''The House at World's End'' (1970) * ''Summer at World's End'' (1971) * ''World's End in Winter'' (1972) * ''Spring Comes to World's End'' (1973) The Follyfoot series: * ''Follyfoot'' (1971) * ''Dora at Follyfoot'' (1972) * ''The Horses of Follyfoot'' (1975) * ''Stranger at Follyfoot'' (1976) The book ''Cobbler's Dream'' also contains the same characters as in the Follyfoot series. The Messenger series: * ''The Messenger'' (1985) * ''Ballad of Favour'' (1985) * ''Cry of a Seagull'' (1986) * ''The Haunting of Bellamy 4'' (1986) Non-series: * ''The Great Escape'' (1975)

Films

*''

'' (1943) (adapted from her 1942 novel ''One Pair of Feet'') *''

Love in Waiting ''Love in Waiting'' is a 1948 British comedy film directed by Douglas Peirce, and starring David Tomlinson. It was made at Highbury Studios as a second feature for release by the Rank Organisation. Plot In a busy restaurant during the food rati ...

'' (1948) (adapted from her original idea) *''

Life in Her Hands ''Life in Her Hands'' is a 1951 drama film sponsored by the British Ministry of Labour with the aim of recruiting women to the nursing profession. It was produced in response to addressing the short supply of qualified nurses in Britain after the ...

'' (1951) (original screenplay with

Anthony Steven Anthony Steven (3 August 1916 – 26 May 1990) was a British television scriptwriter whose career spanned over three decades. Notable works include '' All Creatures Great and Small'', '' The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie'' and ''The Forsyte Saga ...

)

Strine

In late 1964 Dickens was visiting Australia to promote her works. It was reported in the '' Sydney Morning Herald'' on 30 November 1964 that during a book signing session in Sydney she had been approached by a woman who handed her a copy of her book and enquired, presumably in a broad Australian accent, "How much is it?" Dickens reportedly misheard this as an instruction as to the name which she should include in the inscription ("Emma Chisit") and thus was born the phenomenon of "

Strine Strine, also spelled Stryne , describes a broad accent of Australian English. The term is a syncope, derived from a shortened phonetic rendition of the pronunciation of the word "Australian" in an exaggerated Broad Australian accent, drawing upon ...

" which filled the newspaper's letter columns and subsequently was the subject of a separate weekly article and, later, a series of humorous books. Lauder, Afferbeck (A. A. Morrison) ''Let Stalk Strine,'' Sydney, 1965, p. 9.

References

External links

*
Biographical information and information on the author's children's works

Profile at Persephone Books website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dickens, Monica 1915 births 1992 deaths Charles Dickens British children's writers British debutantes British women non-fiction writers British people of Czech-Jewish descent British expatriates in the United States Members of the Order of the British Empire Writers from London 20th-century British novelists National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children people 20th-century British non-fiction writers 20th-century British women writers British women novelists British women children's writers