Constance Beresford-Howe (1922–2016)
Author of The Book of Eve
About the Author
Works by Constance Beresford-Howe
Of this Day's Journey 1 copy
Of this day's journey 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Beresford-Howe, Constance
- Birthdate
- 1922-11-10
- Date of death
- 2016-01-20
- Gender
- female
- Education
- McGill University (BA, 1945, MA, 1946)
Brown University (PhD, 1965) - Occupations
- novelist
university lecturer - Organizations
- McGill University
Ryerson Polytechnical Institute - Short biography
- Constance Beresford-Howe, novelist (b at Montréal 10 Nov 1922). The author of 10 novels and various magazine pieces, Beresford-Howe was educated at McGill (BA, 1945, MA, 1946) and at Brown University (PhD, 1965). While a member of the McGill department of English (1949-71), she wrote 4 novels exploring the emotional lives of young women: The Unreasoning Heart (1946); Of This Day's Journey (1947); The Invisible Gate (1949); and My Lady Greensleeves (1955).
In 1971, Beresford-Howe moved to Toronto, where she taught English at Ryerson Polytechnical Institute (now Ryerson Polytechnic University) until 1987. Since 1971 she has published 6 more novels: The Book of Eve (1973), A Population of One (1977), The Marriage Bed (1981),Night Studies (1985), Prospero's Daughter (1989) and A Serious Widow (1991). These novels concern the daily lives of contemporary women. Eve, a stage adaptation by Larry Fineberg of The Book of Eve, premiered at the STRATFORD FESTIVAL 14 July 1976.
Author JEAN WILSON - Nationality
- Canada
- Birthplace
- Montréal, Québec, Canada
- Places of residence
- Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Montréal, Québec, Canada - Place of death
- Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, England, UK
- Associated Place (for map)
- Canada
Members
Reviews
I think Constance Beresford-Howe deserves to be much better known as a Canadian writer. She is an astute observer of people and understands that everyone, from the cleaner to the school director, has their own thoughts and desires and foibles.
This book is set in a college in Toronto called Simcoe. Beresford-Howe taught at McGill and Ryerson for many years and although she says in her dedication to her Ryerson colleagues that none of them are depicted on these pages, surely some of their show more attitudes and idiosyncracies made it through to her writing.
The college is a circular twenty story high rise and features a quote from Dante's Inferno at the entrance. Imogen Hughes, English teacher, thinks the geography of the school is like Dante's Hell only upside-down. On the ground floor is Incontinence (six washrooms), Lust and Gluttony (the cafeteria) but the really big vices are on the top floors: Thievery, Flattery and Hypocrisy with traitors at the very top.
On a fall night, as a thunderstorm cuts the electricity to the school (and the rest of the downtown), the various characters face their personal difficulties and, if not precisely triumph over them, at least rise up a few notches on the ladder out of perdition. Very satisfying. show less
This book is set in a college in Toronto called Simcoe. Beresford-Howe taught at McGill and Ryerson for many years and although she says in her dedication to her Ryerson colleagues that none of them are depicted on these pages, surely some of their show more attitudes and idiosyncracies made it through to her writing.
The college is a circular twenty story high rise and features a quote from Dante's Inferno at the entrance. Imogen Hughes, English teacher, thinks the geography of the school is like Dante's Hell only upside-down. On the ground floor is Incontinence (six washrooms), Lust and Gluttony (the cafeteria) but the really big vices are on the top floors: Thievery, Flattery and Hypocrisy with traitors at the very top.
On a fall night, as a thunderstorm cuts the electricity to the school (and the rest of the downtown), the various characters face their personal difficulties and, if not precisely triumph over them, at least rise up a few notches on the ladder out of perdition. Very satisfying. show less
This was the first book by this Canadian author that I ever read. I was hooked. It is the story of Anne Graham who has 2 young children and is pregnant. Her husband has just announced he is leaving her for his secretary. Sounds trite now but when it was published (1981) the women's rights movement was in its infancy. In its way it was just as inspiring as Marilyn French's The Women's Room.
If you know the story of Shakespeare's Tempest then you know the barebones of this story. Canadian born, but now living in England, Montague Weston is a famous writer who has recently won the Booker. Married 3 times but now a widower he is living in a mansion near Canterbury with his oldest daughter Nan and his secretary Hamish. The story is narrated by another daughter, Polly, who is recovering from a car accident that broke her leg and killed her lover. When Polly and Monty meet in front show more of Harrod's after a 4 year estrangement, Monty invites Polly to recuperate at his home. It turns out that Monty wants to see Nan settled in a marriage and he wants Polly's help in this task. Several eligible men are considered and eventually a marriage is in the offing. Polly is uneasy about this but her father is a forceful man and gets his way. The ending is worthy of a Shakespearean drama.
I enjoyed the story although I thought it seemed a little outdated for the time it was set (1988). As always, Beresford-Howe masterfully creates characters that you can almost see. show less
I enjoyed the story although I thought it seemed a little outdated for the time it was set (1988). As always, Beresford-Howe masterfully creates characters that you can almost see. show less
My first Beresford-Howe, recommended by a friend.
This book fascinated me. As a child of the 80's, I often wonder what it would have been like to live through the 60's and 70's - and reading this book felt like I was reading Willy's diary. It was intimate, funny, and painful - and ultimately, unrealistic in terms of character development. I cannot see Willy as a real person after her reaction to the events at the end of the book (which shocked me). However, very much worth reading.
This book fascinated me. As a child of the 80's, I often wonder what it would have been like to live through the 60's and 70's - and reading this book felt like I was reading Willy's diary. It was intimate, funny, and painful - and ultimately, unrealistic in terms of character development. I cannot see Willy as a real person after her reaction to the events at the end of the book (which shocked me). However, very much worth reading.
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- Works
- 13
- Members
- 309
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- Rating
- 3.8
- Reviews
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- ISBNs
- 47
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