Women’s Writing in the British Isles from the Beginnings to the Present
Rose Macaulay
-
Standard Name: Macaulay, Rose
Birth Name: Emilie Rose Macaulay
RM
was highly prolific, publishing during the earlier half of the twentieth century twenty-three novels and two volumes of poetry, as well as three books of short stories, several historical and travel narratives, and works of literary criticism. Several volumes of her personal letters have been printed. She made many appearances on the BBC
and published scores of articles. Valued perhaps chiefly for its satire and wit, her writing shows impressive political complexity and understanding, and her skill at characterisation is noteworthy. In her early works one may feel that her satire is defensive: that she uses mockery to hold off painful involvement. Her treatment of religious issues and characters demonstrates her long struggle with and engagement in established religion. She continually pokes fun at people heavily invested in causes or movements; but the choice of a cause is one of her favourite topics, sometimes handled with poignancy rather than burlesque.
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NS
shared her Elizabeth Street flat with another close friend, Margot Grey
, whom she met in 1948 and with whom she shared a dog (as she had previously during her adult life shared a...
Friends, Associates
Rumer Godden
In London she was entertained by Una Pope Hennessy
, and introduced to Rose Macaulay
, though this friendship did not develop.
Godden, Rumer. A House with Four Rooms. Macmillan, 1989.
Grant, Joy. Stella Benson: A Biography. Macmillan, 1987.
239
Friends, Associates
Katharine Tynan
At Clarebeg they began holding a literary salon for Irish writers and intellectuals. Their guests included Irish writer Padraic Colum
, his wife Mary Gunning Maguire
(later an eminent literary critic), poet and novelist James Stephens
Friends, Associates
Olivia Manning
OM
's friends included a number of fellow-writers: William Gerhardi
, Ivy Compton-Burnett
(whom she had first met before the war, at a party given by Rose Macaulay
, and whose work she deeply admired),...
Friends, Associates
Theodora Benson
TB
enjoyed a wide circle of friends both literary and non-literary. The former included Rose Macaulay
and Howard Spring
. She met her future collaborator Betty Askwith
(daughter of an old friend of her mother's)...
Friends, Associates
Helen Waddell
Friends from HW
's time at Somerville
included Maude Clarke
, whom she had known as a child and whose Oxford position had been one of the incentives to go there, and archaelogist Helen Lorimer
Through her old headmistress, EB
met Rose Macaulay
, who introduced her to Naomi Royde-Smith
. Royde-Smith helped her to get the first of her writing into print.
Hoogland, Renée C. Elizabeth Bowen: A Reputation in Writing. New York University Press, 1994.
8-9
Intertextuality and Influence
Susan Tweedsmuir
She introduces these essays with a reminder from Rose Macaulay
that the Edwardians were a mixed lot . . . . merely a set of individuals, not to be lumped together under generalising adjectives.
Tweedsmuir, Susan. The Edwardian Lady. G. Duckworth, 1966.
The novel was criticised by some for its exclusively upper-middle-class reach—a view which was energetically countered by Rose Macaulay
on a radio programme.
Jenkins, Elizabeth. The View from Downshire Hill. Michael Johnson, 2004.
107
The Times Literary Supplement welcomed with joy a novel where the...
Literary responses
Ethel Sidgwick
ES
's interest in the interaction of different national cultures, and in the issue of what it means to be English, caused some commentators to liken her to Henry James
. R. Brimley Johnson
in...
Literary responses
Ivy Compton-Burnett
Of this novel ICB
wrote, I have never had such superficial reviews.
Spurling, Hilary. Secrets of a Woman’s Heart. Hodder and Stoughton, 1984.
Meanwhile the Times Literary Supplement saw the novel as well-written—evidently the work of a woman. The reviewer judged that as a frank and sympathetic study of certain types of mind and character, it is of...