Ruth Augusta Adam, née King (14 December 1907 – 3 February 1977), was an English journalist and writer of novels, comics and non-fiction

feminist literature Feminist literature is fiction, nonfiction, drama, or poetry, which supports the Feminism, feminist goals of defining, establishing, and defending equal Civil and political rights, civil, political, economic, and social rights for women. It often ...

Early life

She was born on 14 December 1907 in

Arnold, Nottinghamshire Arnold () is a market town in the Borough of Gedling in the Ceremonial counties of England, county of Nottinghamshire in the East Midlands of England. It is situated to the north-east of Nottingham's city boundary. Arnold has the largest town c ...

, daughter of Annie Margaret (née Wearing) and Rupert William King, a

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...

of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

. She attended St Elphin's girls' boarding school in

Darley Dale Darley Dale, formerly Darley, is a town and civil parish in the Derbyshire Dales district of Derbyshire, England, with a population of 5,413. It lies north of Matlock, Derbyshire, Matlock, on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent an ...

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

, from 1920 to 1925.

Career

In 1925, she became a teacher in elementary schools in impoverished mining areas of

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...

. Her first novel, ''War On Saturday Week'', dealt with political extremism in Britain during the years leading up to the Second World War. Her second novel, ''I'm Not Complaining'' (1938), depicted women's lives in

the Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

from the point of view of an unmarried female teacher. She worked for the Ministry of Information during the Second World War, and wrote radio scripts, including some for ''

Woman's Hour ''Woman's Hour'' is a radio magazine programme broadcast in the United Kingdom on the BBC Light Programme, BBC Radio 2, and later BBC Radio 4. It has been on the air since 1946. History The first BBC programme for women was the programme cal ...

'', which started on BBC radio in 1946. From 1944 to 1976 she wrote the

women's page The women's page (sometimes called home page or women's section) of a newspaper was a section devoted to covering news assumed to be of interest to women. Women's pages started out in the 19th century as Society reporting, society pages and event ...

for the ''

Church of England Newspaper The ''Church of England Newspaper'' is an independent Anglican fortnightly newspaper. Based in London, it is published on Fridays. The ''Church of England Newspaper'' is notable as the earliest church paper, and one of the oldest newspapers sti ...

'', which expressed her position as a Christian socialist feminist. One such article, "Comics and Shockers" in 1948, put her on the same page as

Marcus Morris Marcus Thomas Morris Sr. (born September 2, 1989) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Kansas Jayhawks befor ...

, whose religious ideals and concerns about the influence of American comics led him to launch ''

Eagle Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...

'' in 1950, and ''

Girl A girl is a young female human, usually a child or an adolescent. While the term ''girl'' has other meanings, including ''young woman'',Dictionary.com, "Girl"'' Retrieved January 2, 2008. '' daughter'' or '' girlfriend'' regardless of age ...

'' the following year. Adam wrote strips for ''Girl'', in which she attempted to counteract the passiveness of many girls' heroines by introducing young female characters who were resourceful, brave and clever. Her best-known strip was "Susan of St. Bride's" (1954–61), about a student nurse, who also featured in spin-off novels written by Adam. She also wrote "Lindy Love" (1954–55), about a girl just out of school who has to care for her family, drawn by

Peter Kay Peter John Kay (born 2 July 1973) is an English comedian, actor, writer, and director. Born and raised in Farnworth, Kay studied media performance at the University of Salford and later began working part-time as a stand-up comedian. In 199 ...

. In 1955 she and

Peggy Jay Margaret Christian Jay, Baroness Jay ( Garnett; 4 January 1913 – 21 January 2008) was an English Labour member of London County Council and the Greater London Council between 1934, when she was still in her twenties, and 1967. She then chaired ...

founded the Fisher Group, a think-tank advising governments on social policy. She wrote twelve novels, including two about girls in care, ''Fetch Her Away'' (1954) and ''Look Who's Talking'' (1960), and ''A House in the Country'' (1957), a comic novel based on her family's attempt to live in a commune, as well as biographies of

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 188 ...

and

Beatrice Webb Martha Beatrice Webb, Baroness Passfield, (née Potter; 22 January 1858 – 30 April 1943) was an English sociology, sociologist, economist, feminism, feminist and reformism (historical), social reformer. She was among the founders of the Lo ...

, the latter co-written with

Kitty Muggeridge Kathleen Rosalind Muggeridge (née Dobbs;Albin Kreb ''The New York Times'', 15 November 1990. ''The Independent'' obituary (below) of Kitty Muggeridge appears to be the main source to identify her first name as 'Kathleen'. 8 December 1903 – 1 ...

. The 1951 film '' The Quiet Woman'' was based on a story by Adam, and ''Look Who's Talking'' was adapted for television as part of the BBC's Studio 4 series in 1962. Her final book, ''A Woman's Place: 1910-1975'', a

social history Social history, often called history from below, is a field of history that looks at the lived experience of the past. Historians who write social history are called social historians. Social history came to prominence in the 1960s, spreading f ...

of women in the 20th century, was published in 1975. She died at the

Hospital of St John and St Elizabeth The Hospital of St John and St Elizabeth in St John's Wood, London, England, is a Catholic charitable general hospital in north London. History and operations The hospital was founded in 1856 with a Catholic Church, Roman Catholic affiliation ...

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also ) is an area in London, England, and is located in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. Oxford Street forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropo ...

, London, on 3 February 1977.

Personal life

In 1932 she married

Kenneth Adam Kenneth Adam (1 March 1908 – 18 October 1978) was an English journalist and broadcasting executive, who from 1957 until 1961 served as the Controller of the BBC Television Service. Early life and education He was born in Nottingham. After a ...

, a journalist on the ''

Manchester Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' and later director of

BBC television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1 January 1927. It p ...

. They had four children: three sons and one daughter, the journalist

Corinna Adam Corinna Jane Adam (31 January 1937 – 8 March 2012), also known by her married name Corinna Ascherson, was a British journalist, particularly for the ''New Statesman'', ''The Guardian'', and ''The Observer''. According to her obituary in ''The ...

, later Corinna Ascherson.

Selected works

*War On Saturday Week (1937) *''I'm Not Complaining'' (1938) (Reprinted by

Virago Press Virago is a British publisher of women's writing and books on feminist topics. Started and run by women in the 1970s and bolstered by the success of the Women's Liberation Movement (WLM), Virago has been credited as one of several British femin ...

in 1983) *''There Needs No Ghost'' (1939) *''Murder in the Home Guard'' (1942) An experiment with the murder novel formula, where Adam presents a murder as seen from a series of different viewpoints. *'' The Quiet Woman'' (1951 film) (co-written with ''

John Gilling John Gilling (29 May 1912 – 22 November 1984) was an English film director and screenwriter, born in London. He was known for his horror film, horror movies, especially those he made for Hammer Films, for whom he directed ''The Shadow of the ...

)'' *''Fetch Her Away'' (1954) A novel about the effect of family breakdown on a little girl and the intervention of the State in her life. Dedicated to Peggy Jay. *''House in the Country'' (1957) *''Look Who's Talking'' (1960) *''Beatrice Webb: A Life 1858-1943'' (with Kitty Muggeridge, 1967) *''A Woman's Place: 1910-1975'' (1975) (Reprinted 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 ...

in 2000)''A Woman's Place: 1910-1975'' at Persephone Books
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adam, Ruth 1907 births 1977 deaths English radio writers Women radio writers English women novelists 20th-century English biographers English feminist writers English comics writers British female comics writers People from Arnold, Nottinghamshire 20th-century English novelists 20th-century English women writers English women non-fiction writers British women biographers Women's page journalists British women journalists