Women’s Writing in the British Isles from the Beginnings to the Present
Vera Brittain
-
Standard Name: Brittain, Vera
Birth Name: Vera Mary Brittain
From her university days before the First World War, VB
was determined to be a writer. Her career as a novelist never fulfilled her own expectations; it was not until the publication of Testament of Youth, the first of her volumes combining autobiography with social and cultural history, that she achieved significant success. She also wrote both poetry and pamphlets. Much of her oeuvre is politically engaged, from her feminist journalism and social criticism of the 1920s to her pacifist writings of World War II.
During her first year back at Oxford, WH
met Vera Brittain
, who was also returning to complete her degree.
Berry, Paul, and Mark Bostridge. Vera Brittain: A Life. Chatto and Windus.
140
After a difficult beginning (they disliked each other at first sight), they became lifelong...
politics
Winifred Holtby
She and Vera Brittain
regularly attended the League of Nations Assembly
in Geneva. In 1924 they went on a lecture tour of Central Europe for the Union.
Shaw, Marion. The Clear Stream: A Life of Winifred Holtby. Virago.
112-13
Berry, Paul, and Mark Bostridge. Vera Brittain: A Life. Chatto and Windus.
WH
credited Vera Brittain
with making her a feminist during their years at Oxford. Before then, Winifred claimed that her mother's strong presence within her family had left her unaware that women suffered social and...
Friends, Associates
Winifred Holtby
Through her work with the Six Point Group
and Time and Tide, WH
met the founder of both, Margaret Haig, Lady Rhondda
. Their professional relationship grew into a friendship, and WH
dedicated her...
Family and Intimate relationships
Winifred Holtby
Vera Brittain
, who had believed and encouraged others to believe that WH
was in love with Harry Pearson
, got another male friend to propose to Holtby on her deathbed, so that she might...
Other Life Event
Winifred Holtby
In January 1940 Vera Brittain
published Testament of Friendship: The Story of Winifred Holtby, an account of their friendship which continued unbroken and unspoilt for sixteen incomparable years.
Brittain, Vera, and Rosalind Delmar. Testament of Friendship. Virago.
2
Berry, Paul, and Mark Bostridge. Vera Brittain: A Life. Chatto and Windus.
337
Material Conditions of Writing
Winifred Holtby
WH
began writing this novel, which was originally titled Anlaby Wold, in 1920 while she and Vera Brittain
were still students at Oxford
.
Gorham, Deborah. Vera Brittain: A Feminist Life. Blackwell.
155
Textual Production
Winifred Holtby
WH
dedicated the novel to her friend Jean Finlay McWilliam
and took its title from a poem by Vera Brittain
.
Holtby, Winifred. The Crowded Street. Virago.
prelims
The novel, completed in August 1923, did not wholly satisfy its author.
Hardisty, Claire, and Winifred Holtby. “Introduction”. The Crowded Street, Virago, p. ix - xiii.
ix
Textual Features
Winifred Holtby
Although not explicitly autobiographical, The Crowded Street owes much to WH
's relationship with Vera Brittain
: Brittain recognized herself in Delia, and Holtby remarked that Muriel was part of me only—the stupid frightened part...
Textual Production
Winifred Holtby
The novel is defined by its subtitle as a Comedy of Irrelevance, and is dedicated to Vera Brittain
, V.S.V.D.L. Irrelevantly.
Holtby, Winifred. Mandoa! Mandoa!: A Comedy of Irrelevance. Virago Press.
prelims
WH
signed her letters to Brittain v.s.v.d.l.—very small, very dear love.
Shaw, Marion. The Clear Stream: A Life of Winifred Holtby. Virago.
115
Textual Production
Winifred Holtby
She had struggled to finish this novel in the final months of her illness.
Berry, Paul, and Mark Bostridge. Vera Brittain: A Life. Chatto and Windus.
316
Appointed her literary executor, Vera Brittain
saw it through to publication after WH
's death, correcting the typescript and delivering...
Residence
Winifred Holtby
Now or soon afterwards WH
and Vera Brittain
began sharing their first London flat at 52 Doughty Street, Bloomsbury.
Biographers of Brittain date this event as happening in January 1922.
Berry, Paul, and Mark Bostridge. Vera Brittain: A Life. Chatto and Windus.
166-7
Gorham, Deborah. Vera Brittain: A Feminist Life. Blackwell.
159, 161
Shaw, Marion. The Clear Stream: A Life of Winifred Holtby. Virago.
106
Textual Production
Winifred Holtby
After WH
completed The Crowded Street, she began work on a historical romance based on the life of John Wycliffe
and titled The Runners.
Shaw, Marion. The Clear Stream: A Life of Winifred Holtby. Virago.
114
By February 1927, nine publishers had rejected this...
Textual Production
Winifred Holtby
Vera Brittain
compiled a posthumous collection of WH
's poetry, published as The Frozen Earth, and Other Poems.
Dowson, Jane, editor. Women’s Poetry of the 1930s: A Critical Anthology. Routledge.
62-3
Textual Production
Winifred Holtby
This political drama, originally titled Hope of Thousands, was completed just months before Holtby's death in 1935, and by 1939 had not reached production. Vera Brittain
arranged to have it published with minor revisions...
Timeline
No timeline events available.
Texts
Brittain, Vera, and Shirley Williams. Testament of Youth. Virago, 1978.
Brittain, Vera. The Dark Tide. Grant Richards, 1923.
Brittain, Vera. The Women at Oxford. George G. Harrap, 1960.
Brittain, Vera, editor. Vera Brittain’s Personal Letter to Peace-Lovers. V. Brittain.
Brittain, Vera. Verses of a VAD. Erskine MacDonald, 1918.
Brittain, Vera. Women’s Work in Modern England. Noel Douglas, 1928.
