Virginia Margaret Graham (1 November 1910 – 17 February 1993) was a London-born English writer, critic and poet, whose humorous verses on

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 ...

subjects were republished in London 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 as ''Consider the Years 1938–1946''. The first edition was published in 1946 by Jonathan Cape. She had a long correspondence with

Joyce Grenfell Joyce Irene Grenfell (''née'' Phipps; 10 February 1910 – 30 November 1979) was an English diseuse, singer, actress and writer. She was known for the songs and monologues she wrote and performed, at first in revues and later in her solo show ...

, which was later published.

Early life

Virginia Graham was the only child of the humorist and poet, Harry Graham (''Ruthless Rhymes for Heartless People''), and Dorothy Villiers, who married in 1910. She was a

Christian Scientist Activists, politicians, and military figures Activists *Tsianina Redfeather Blackstone (1882-1985) – Native American singer and activist * Bonnie Carroll – President and founder of the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) *Henry ...

. Brought up near

Hyde Park, London Hyde Park is a , historic Listed building#Heritage protection, Grade I-listed urban park in Westminster, Greater London. A Royal Parks of London, Royal Park, it is the largest of the parks and green spaces that form a chain from Kensington P ...

, she attended

Notting Hill High School Notting Hill and Ealing High School is a private day school for girls aged 4–18 in Ealing, London. Founded in 1873, it is one of the 26 schools that make up the Girls' Day School Trust. It has a junior department of 310 girls (ages 4–11) and ...

. She married Antony Frederic Lewis Thesiger, son of Hon. Percy Thesiger, in 1939, but had no children.

Published works

Graham's published books include ''Say Please'' (1949), a sardonic etiquette guide illustrated by

Osbert Lancaster Sir Osbert Lancaster (4 August 1908 – 27 July 1986) was an English cartoonist, architectural historian, stage designer and author. He was known for his cartoons in the British press, and for his lifelong work to inform the general publi ...

, ''Here's How'' (1951), ''A Cockney in the Country'' (1958), and ''The Story of WVS'' ( Women's Voluntary Services, 1959), for which she worked during the war, and ''Nikki'' (1956, illustrated by Gillian Bunbury). Graham's long correspondence with Joyce Grenfell appeared in 1997. She had met

when they were children, and they enjoyed a lifelong friendship, which included collaboration on some of Grenfell's songs. On Grenfell's first stage appearance, Virginia Graham had this to say: "She had no image to preserve, no axe to grind, no future management to impress. This total lack of '

angst Angst is a feeling of anxiety, apprehension, or insecurity. ''Anguish'' is its Romance languages, Latinate cognate, equivalent, and the words ''anxious'' and ''anxiety'' are of similar origin. Etymology The word ''angst'' was introduced in ...

' came across the footlights and engendered an atmosphere of extraordinary trust and love, so that audiences under her spell felt safe and cozy and somehow cherished." Among the works Virginia Graham translated are ''I Said to my Wife'' by the French journalist and writer Jean Duché (1953, illustrated by

Nicolas Bentley Nicolas Clerihew Bentley (14 June 1907 – 14 August 1978) was a British writer and illustrator, best known for his humorous cartoon drawings in books and magazines in the 1930s and 1940s. The son of Edmund Clerihew Bentley (inventor of the cl ...

) and ''The Sky and the Stars'' by

Albert Préjean Albert Préjean (; 27 October 1894 – 1 November 1979) was a French actor, primarily in film. He served in World War I, and was decorated with the Croix de Guerre and the Legion of Honour. With Lysiane Rey, he was the father of Patr ...

(1956). She was instrumental in having her father's ''Ruthless Rhymes'' republished in 1986. She also helped to compile a selection of her father's poetry published in the same year: ''When Grandmama Fell off the Boat''. Virginia Graham wrote regular film reviews for

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British political and cultural news magazine. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving magazine in the world. ''The Spectator'' is politically conservative, and its principal subject a ...

in the late 1940s and early 1950s.Appreciative reader, 15 June 1950, p. 1
Retrieved 17 March 2017.
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Graham, Virginia 1910 births 1993 deaths 20th-century English women writers Writers from London Etiquette writers French–English translators People educated at Notting Hill & Ealing High School English Christian Scientists 20th-century English translators