Una Mary Ellis-Fermor (20 December 1894 – 24 March 1958), who also used the pseudonym Christopher Turnley, was an English literary critic, author and Hildred Carlile Professor of English at

Bedford College, London Bedford College was founded in London in 1849 as the first higher education college for women in the United Kingdom. In 1900, it became a constituent of the University of London. Having played a leading role in the advancement of women in highe ...

(1947–1958). In recognition of her services to London University, there is now an award in her name to provide assistance for research students in the publication of scholarly work, in the fields of English, Irish or Scandinavian drama to which Fermor-Ellis herself had been a notable contributor. She has been described as "A major contributor to the study of the English Renaissance".

Biography

Educated at

South Hampstead High School South Hampstead High School is a private day school in Hampstead, north-west London, England, which was founded by the Girls' Day School Trust (GDST). It is for girls aged 4–18 with selective entry at ages 4+, 7+, 11+ and 16+ (Sixth Form). ...

, Ellis-Fermor gained an exhibition award to read English at

Somerville College Somerville College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It was founded in 1879 as Somerville Hall, one of its first two women's colleges. It began admitting men in 1994. The college's liberal tone derives from its f ...

, Oxford. Here she met and developed a friendly scholarly rivalry with fellow exhibitioner

Vera Brittain Vera Mary Brittain (29 December 1893 – 29 March 1970) was an English Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) nurse, writer, feminist, socialist and pacifist. Her best-selling 1933 memoir '' Testament of Youth'' recounted her experiences during the Fir ...

. In 1918 Ellis-Fermor became a lecturer in English Literature at Bedford College, and in 1930 was awarded the

Rose Mary Crawshay Rose Mary Crawshay (1828–1907) was a British philanthropist. She commissioned free libraries and a non-fiction prize for women. Life Crawshay was born Rose Mary Yeates in Caversham Grove in Oxfordshire to Wilson Yeates and his first wife. She ...

prize for English Literature by the British Academy for her work on

Christopher Marlowe Christopher Marlowe ( ; Baptism, baptised 26 February 156430 May 1593), also known as Kit Marlowe, was an English playwright, poet, and translator of the Elizabethan era. Marlowe is among the most famous of the English Renaissance theatre, Eli ...

and her edition of ''

Tamburlaine ''Tamburlaine the Great'' is a play in two parts by Christopher Marlowe. It is loosely based on the life of the Central Asian emperor Timur (Tamerlane/Timur the Lame, d. 1405). Written in 1587 or 1588, the play is a milestone in English liter ...

''. In 1938 Ellis-Fermor published ''Twenty Two Poems'' under the pseudonym Christopher Turnley, derived from Marlowe's first name and the middle name of her father, Joseph Turnley Ellis-Fermor. Appointed the first General Editor of the 2nd series of the ''

Arden Shakespeare The Arden Shakespeare is a long-running series of scholarly editions of the works of William Shakespeare. It presents fully edited modern-spelling editions of the plays and poems, with lengthy introductions and full commentaries. There have been t ...

'' in 1946 and Hildred Carlile Professor of English Language and Literature at Bedford College in 1947, Ellis-Fermor continued to contribute to the fields of English, Irish and Scandinavian drama (she translated

Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright, poet and actor. Ibsen is considered the world's pre-eminent dramatist of the 19th century and is often referred to as "the father of modern drama." He pioneered ...

for Penguin Books) until her death in 1958.

Major publications

*''Christopher Marlowe'' (1927) *''The Jacobean Drama: An Interpretation'' (1936) *''The Irish Dramatic Movement'' (1939) *''Masters of Reality'' (1942) *''The Frontiers of Drama'' (1945) *''Shakespeare the Dramatist and Other Papers'' (1961), edited by Kenneth Muir

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellis Fermor, Una 1894 births 1958 deaths Alumni of Somerville College, Oxford Academics of Bedford College, London English literary critics British women literary critics English poets British women academics