Monica Mary Christensen (née Redlich; 3 July 1909 – 28 June 1965) was an English writer of novels, non-fiction, and children's literature.

Biography

Redlich was born in

Boston, Lincolnshire Boston is a market town and inland port in the borough of the same name in the county of Lincolnshire, England. It lies to the south-east of Lincoln, east of Nottingham and north-east of Peterborough. The town had a population of 45,339 at ...

, to father Edwin Basil Redlich, a Church of England priest, and mother Maud Le Bas Le Maistre, of

Jersey Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...

origin. She spent her early childhood in

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 ...

, London and then

Teigh Teigh is a village and civil parish in the county of Rutland in the East Midlands of England. The population of the village was 48 in the 2001 census. At the 2011 census the population remained less than 100 and was included with the civil parish o ...

, Rutland. When she was 15, the family moved to her father's new post at

Little Bowden Little Bowden is an area on the edge of Market Harborough and former civil parish in the Harborough district, in the county of Leicestershire, England. As a village it was formerly part of Northamptonshire. The River Jordan runs through part ...

on the edge of

Market Harborough Market Harborough is a market town in the Harborough District, Harborough district of Leicestershire, England, close to the border with Northamptonshire. The population was 24,779 at the United Kingdom census, 2021, 2021 census. It is the ad ...

, Leicestershire. Redlich studied English literature at

Westfield College Westfield College was a small college situated in Hampstead, London, from 1882 to 1989. It was the first college to aim to educate women for University of London degrees from its opening. The college originally admitted only women as students and ...

in London, graduating in 1931. After finishing her studies, Redlich worked as a secretary for

L. A. G. Strong Leonard Alfred George Strong (8 March 1896 – 17 August 1958) was a popular English novelist, critic, historian, and poet, and published under the name L. A. G. Strong. He served as a director of the publishers Methuen Ltd. from 1938 to 1958. ...

, with whom she co-edited her first book ''Life in English literature, an Introduction for Beginners''. Strong dedicated his 1935 novel ''The Seven Arms'' to Redlich. Via

Hamish Hamilton Hamish Hamilton Limited is a publishing imprint and originally a British publishing house, founded in 1931 eponymously by the half- Scot half- American Jamie Hamilton (''Hamish'' is the vocative form of the Gaelic Seumas eaning James ''Jame ...

, Redlich published the novels ''Consenting Party'' and ''Cheap Return'', as well as the satirical handbook ''The Young Girl's Guide to Good Behaviour'', illustrated by

Anna Zinkeisen Anna Katrina Zinkeisen (29 August 1901 – 23 September 1976) was a Scottish painter and artist. Biography Zinkeisen was born in Kilcreggan, Scotland, the daughter of Clare Bolton-Charles and Victor Zinkeisen, a shipper, manufacturer and yar ...

, instructing the reader to do the opposite of the title. In 1937, Redlich married Sigurd Christensen, a Danish diplomat who was Vice-Consul in London at the time. Redlich published the novel ''No Love Lost'' via Hamish Hamilton and her first children's book ''Jam Tomorrow'', "warmly recommended for girls of 10–14". This was followed by her second children's book ''Five Farthings'' via J. M. Dent in 1939. Reviewer

Marcus Crouch Marcus Crouch (12 February 1913 – 24 April 1996) was an English librarian, and an influential commentator on and reviewer of children's books.Sheila Ray. "Obituary: Marcus Crouch", ''Children's Literature Abstracts'', Issues 92-95, Internationa ...

called ''Five Farthings'' "a story of an exceptionally nice family". In 1939, Redlich and Christensen moved to

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

, where they lived in the

Christianshavn Christianshavn () is a neighbourhood in Copenhagen, Denmark. Part of the Indre By District, it is located on several artificial islands between the islands of Zealand and Amager and separated from the rest of the city centre by the Inner Harbour, ...

area. Redlich published the non-fiction book ''Danish Delight'' in 1939, musing on her time living there so far. The couple remained in Denmark throughout 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 ...

. During her time living in Denmark, Redlich gave English lessons to the future queen

Margrethe II Margrethe II (; Margrethe Alexandrine Þórhildur Ingrid, born 16 April 1940) is a member of the Danish royal family who reigned as Queen of Denmark from 14 January 1972 until her abdication on 14 January 2024. Having reigned for exactly ...

. Redlich returned to writing after the war with ''The Pattern of England: Some Informal and Everyday Aspects'' and then her fourth and final novel ''The Various Light''. She also provided the forward and text for the photography book ''Denmark Places and People''. From 1947 to 1954, her husband was stationed as Danish Consul in New York before returning to Europe. She published the non-fiction books ''Summer Landscape: Denmark, England, U.S.A.'' and ''Everyday England'', both via

Gerald Duckworth Gerald de l'Etang Duckworth (29 October 1870 – 28 September 1937) was an English publisher, who founded the London company that bears his name. Henry James and John Galsworthy were among the firm's early authors. Background and early life ...

in 1952 and 1957 respectively. The couple relocated again in 1961 to

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

. Redlich passed away on 28 June 1965 in Madrid at the age of 55. Two stained glass windows in the north porch at St Nicholas' Church,

, were dedicated to Redlich in 1969. Redlich's husband edited and published her unfinished autobiography ''The Unfolding Years'' in 1970. A brother Vivian Redlich was an Anglican missionary in Papua New Guinea, killed in 1942 during the Japanese occupation; he is counted among the Martyrs of New Guinea.

Bibliography

Novels

* ''Consenting Party'' (1934) * ''Cheap Return'' (1934) * ''No Love Lost'' (1937) * ''The Various Light'' (1948)

Non-fiction and satire

* ''The Young Girl's Guide to Good Behaviour'' (1935) * ''Danish Delight'' (1939) * ''The Pattern of England: Some Informal and Everyday Aspects'' (1945) * ''Denmark Places and People'' (1948) * ''Summer Landscape: Denmark, England, U.S.A.'' (1952) * ''Everyday England'' (1957) * ''The Unfolding Years'' (1970)

Children's and YA books

* ''Jam Tomorrow'' (1937) * ''Five Farthings: A London Story'' (1939)

Edited volumes

* ''Life in English Literature, an Introduction for Beginners'' (1932), co-edited with L.A.G. Strong

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:redlich, monica 1909 births 1965 deaths Alumni of Westfield College British people of Jersey descent British women writers of young adult literature English satirists English women children's writers English women novelists English women travel writers People from Boston, Lincolnshire People from Hampstead People from Market Harborough People from Rutland Writers from Leicestershire Writers from Lincolnshire