Dorothy Edwards (1) (1902–1934)
Author of Winter Sonata
For other authors named Dorothy Edwards, see the disambiguation page.
Works by Dorothy Edwards
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1902-08-18
- Date of death
- 1934-01-05
- Gender
- female
- Education
- Cardiff University
Howell's School for Girls, Llandaff, Wales, UK - Occupations
- novelist
poet
Welsh nationalist
short story writer - Short biography
- Dorothy Edwards was born in a small mining valley near Cardiff, the daughter of a teacher and a headmaster. She was educated at her father’s boy’s school, at Howell's School for Girls in Llandaff, and at the University of Cardiff. She became a talented linguist, and went abroad to study languages in Vienna and in Florence, Italy, before returning to live with her widowed mother in Cardiff, determined to make a living as a writer. She became politically active, working for socialist and Welsh nationalist causes, but writing in English. She also was a talented amateur singer. She published two books in her lifetime: a collection of short stories called Rhapsody (1927, which was extremely well-received by the critics both in the UK and the USA; and the novel Winter Sonata (1928).
She went to live in London, where she met David Garnett, who introduced her to the other members of the Bloomsbury Group. To this day, Dorothy Edwards remains a somewhat enigmatic figure. She returned to her home at Pen-y-Dre, Rhiwbina, in Cardiff, and burned her papers and letters before committing suicide by throwing herself under a train near Caerphilly. - Nationality
- Wales
UK - Birthplace
- Ogmore Vale, Wales, UK
- Places of residence
- Ogmore Vale, Wales, UK
Cardiff, Wales, UK
Vienna, Austria
Florence, Italy
London, England, UK - Place of death
- Caerphilly, Wales, UK
- Burial location
- Glyn Taff, Pontypridd, Wales, UK
- Associated Place (for map)
- Wales, UK
Members
Reviews
Dorothy Edwards was a welsh writer – associated with some of the Bloomsbury group – who I suspect is little read now. Her writing is carefully restrained. In Rhapsody we have ten beautiful tales of loneliness and desire, stories with little plot – but so much pared back emotion. Aside from this collection of stories – she published only one novel Winter Sonata a year later (which I may have read many moons ago, but no longer own, sadly). Her life appears to have been quite unhappy, show more and in 1934 at the age of thirty-one, she threw herself under a train. The note she left behind read:
“I am killing myself because I have never sincerely loved any human being all my life. I have accepted kindness and friendship, and even love, without gratitude and given nothing in return.”
How truly sad. This sadness certainly seeps into her writing, in a number of ways, particularly in the relationships which so often never find fulfilment.
It is perhaps odd that these stories don’t reflect the world that Dorothy Edwards herself lived in. Here we have the polite, ordered world of the English country house – worlds that are often disrupted by an outsider, a visitor usually. These are characters who unlike Edwards’ family, had no money worries, their money was unearned, and they live deep in the English countryside of Dorothy Edwards imagination. Her narrators are male, which I admit threw me in the first story Rhapsody. I’m so used to women writers of about this period writing from a female perspective that I simply assumed the first-person narrator of the title story was woman, a couple of pages in I became a tad confused and had to do a rapid reassessment.
Music was important to Edwards and in this collection, music, either the playing of it or the appreciation of it is, a recurring theme. In the title story, a young man (as I finally realised) named Elliott, recently returned from abroad, meets a Mr Everett, a music enthusiast who lives in the country outside of London with his invalid wife. Everett invites his new friend to spend part of his holiday with him and his wife. Elliott is a fellow musical enthusiast and occasional singer, as Everett learns soon after meeting him. Everett’s love of music, verges on the obsessional and he engages a governess for his young son whose accomplishments are more musical than academic – Everett is enchanted by her voice. The days become devoted more and more to music, and Everett watches in some discomfort as the two grow closer – while poor Mrs Everett fades daily.
There are great similarities between the story of Rhapsody and many of the other stories, where an outsider, either disrupts or bears witness to the disruption of a marriage. In A Country House, an electrician employed to bring electric light to a large house, is the outsider who disrupts. In A Garland of Earth an old man remembers the son of one of his school friends, who in turn introduces him to his daughter Rahel – a scientist who her father believes will be as great as Curie. Though the point of view of these stories is largely male – the power is held lightly by the women.
In The Conquered another young man; Frederick, goes to stay with an aunt on the Welsh Borders. Here he is thrown into company with his cousins Jessica and Ruth, and through them meets Gwyneth who has been teaching Ruth how to sing. Frederick is enthralled by Gwyneth, though in time he starts to see her differently.
“I remember how one night I went out by myself down in the direction of her house, where my steps always seemed to take me. When I reached the traveller’s-nightshade it was growing dark. For a moment I looked towards her house and a flood of joy came into my soul, and I began to think how strange it was that, although I have met so many interesting people, I should come there simply by chance and meet her. I walked towards the entrance of a little wood, and, full of a profound joy and happiness, I walked in between the trees. I stayed there for a long time imagining her coming gaily into the wood where the moonlight shone through the branches.”
(The Conquered)
Treachery in the Forest was one of my favourite stories. Mr Wendover spends his holidays in a cottage in a forest. Here he meets Mr and Mrs Harding, a couple who spend their time painting. The Hardings invite Mr Wendover to their house to play Bach for them, and so he is drawn into their lives, enjoying their company, looking forward to when he will see them again, delighting in the gift of hens’ eggs for them.
“Very carefully, two in one hand and one in the other. People who passed him, especially people in charabancs, laughed at him, though there was really nothing to laugh about.”
(Treachery in the Forest)
Another very memorable story is Summertime, in which Joseph Laurel goes to stay at a country house. Here he becomes smitten by a red-haired school girl, more than twenty years his junior. Joseph’s old friend Beatrice is of the party too, and Joseph can’t understand her sly little smiles, the amusement which, he suspects must be directed his way. Only when forced to recognise the girl’s youth, as he watches her walk away with a boy her own age, does he come to suspect the reason for Beatrice’s amused contempt.
These stories are quiet, beautifully controlled pieces. They will perhaps not suit everyone – especially those who like an obvious plot – but they are beautiful little masterpieces well worth seeking out. show less
“I am killing myself because I have never sincerely loved any human being all my life. I have accepted kindness and friendship, and even love, without gratitude and given nothing in return.”
How truly sad. This sadness certainly seeps into her writing, in a number of ways, particularly in the relationships which so often never find fulfilment.
It is perhaps odd that these stories don’t reflect the world that Dorothy Edwards herself lived in. Here we have the polite, ordered world of the English country house – worlds that are often disrupted by an outsider, a visitor usually. These are characters who unlike Edwards’ family, had no money worries, their money was unearned, and they live deep in the English countryside of Dorothy Edwards imagination. Her narrators are male, which I admit threw me in the first story Rhapsody. I’m so used to women writers of about this period writing from a female perspective that I simply assumed the first-person narrator of the title story was woman, a couple of pages in I became a tad confused and had to do a rapid reassessment.
Music was important to Edwards and in this collection, music, either the playing of it or the appreciation of it is, a recurring theme. In the title story, a young man (as I finally realised) named Elliott, recently returned from abroad, meets a Mr Everett, a music enthusiast who lives in the country outside of London with his invalid wife. Everett invites his new friend to spend part of his holiday with him and his wife. Elliott is a fellow musical enthusiast and occasional singer, as Everett learns soon after meeting him. Everett’s love of music, verges on the obsessional and he engages a governess for his young son whose accomplishments are more musical than academic – Everett is enchanted by her voice. The days become devoted more and more to music, and Everett watches in some discomfort as the two grow closer – while poor Mrs Everett fades daily.
There are great similarities between the story of Rhapsody and many of the other stories, where an outsider, either disrupts or bears witness to the disruption of a marriage. In A Country House, an electrician employed to bring electric light to a large house, is the outsider who disrupts. In A Garland of Earth an old man remembers the son of one of his school friends, who in turn introduces him to his daughter Rahel – a scientist who her father believes will be as great as Curie. Though the point of view of these stories is largely male – the power is held lightly by the women.
In The Conquered another young man; Frederick, goes to stay with an aunt on the Welsh Borders. Here he is thrown into company with his cousins Jessica and Ruth, and through them meets Gwyneth who has been teaching Ruth how to sing. Frederick is enthralled by Gwyneth, though in time he starts to see her differently.
“I remember how one night I went out by myself down in the direction of her house, where my steps always seemed to take me. When I reached the traveller’s-nightshade it was growing dark. For a moment I looked towards her house and a flood of joy came into my soul, and I began to think how strange it was that, although I have met so many interesting people, I should come there simply by chance and meet her. I walked towards the entrance of a little wood, and, full of a profound joy and happiness, I walked in between the trees. I stayed there for a long time imagining her coming gaily into the wood where the moonlight shone through the branches.”
(The Conquered)
Treachery in the Forest was one of my favourite stories. Mr Wendover spends his holidays in a cottage in a forest. Here he meets Mr and Mrs Harding, a couple who spend their time painting. The Hardings invite Mr Wendover to their house to play Bach for them, and so he is drawn into their lives, enjoying their company, looking forward to when he will see them again, delighting in the gift of hens’ eggs for them.
“Very carefully, two in one hand and one in the other. People who passed him, especially people in charabancs, laughed at him, though there was really nothing to laugh about.”
(Treachery in the Forest)
Another very memorable story is Summertime, in which Joseph Laurel goes to stay at a country house. Here he becomes smitten by a red-haired school girl, more than twenty years his junior. Joseph’s old friend Beatrice is of the party too, and Joseph can’t understand her sly little smiles, the amusement which, he suspects must be directed his way. Only when forced to recognise the girl’s youth, as he watches her walk away with a boy her own age, does he come to suspect the reason for Beatrice’s amused contempt.
These stories are quiet, beautifully controlled pieces. They will perhaps not suit everyone – especially those who like an obvious plot – but they are beautiful little masterpieces well worth seeking out. show less
The only novel by a writer who died tragically young by her own hand. Described by a contemporary as "a precise and perfect work of art", but I don't find myself wholly in agreement with that assessment.
It's a bleak work in many ways, concentrating on "the loneliness of the human condition" - words from the blurb on Virago's edition which sum the novel up well. I can't empathise with any of the characters even though their isolation is painted so vividly and the consequences all too show more apparent. The weather, and the appearance of the isolated English village in which the novel is set, are a continuing negative theme in the novel's telling. Many of the characters appear badly affected by the onset of autumn and winter and the colours of the sky, the trees and the light are described again and again in ways which are rarely uplifting. Even when it appears that the scenery is beautiful, it is clear that few of the characters are in a position to appreciate it.
The writing is precise and there's no question that this is well-crafted. But I can't help but feel that the isolation of the characters bears some strong relation to the author's own unhappy experience of the world.
Not a book to read if you're feeling down, but worth discovering when you can cope with its bleakness. show less
It's a bleak work in many ways, concentrating on "the loneliness of the human condition" - words from the blurb on Virago's edition which sum the novel up well. I can't empathise with any of the characters even though their isolation is painted so vividly and the consequences all too show more apparent. The weather, and the appearance of the isolated English village in which the novel is set, are a continuing negative theme in the novel's telling. Many of the characters appear badly affected by the onset of autumn and winter and the colours of the sky, the trees and the light are described again and again in ways which are rarely uplifting. Even when it appears that the scenery is beautiful, it is clear that few of the characters are in a position to appreciate it.
The writing is precise and there's no question that this is well-crafted. But I can't help but feel that the isolation of the characters bears some strong relation to the author's own unhappy experience of the world.
Not a book to read if you're feeling down, but worth discovering when you can cope with its bleakness. show less
“He had arrived only the night before. It had been cold, rainy and depressing, but now on the first day here it was beautiful, as if to welcome him. Everywhere the trees were nearly bare, but a few golden leaves still clung to the black branches. The black curving lines and the gold leaves looked as if they were painted on the cold, grey sky. The sun shone quite warmly through thin clouds, but the earth had already hardened itself for winter, and did not respond.”
Winter Sonata, Dorothy show more Edwards’ only novel is simple, quiet and utterly beautiful.
The story opens as Arnold Nettle, who is in poor health, escaping winter in the city and arriving in a quiet village to take up a new job, as a telegraph clerk.
On his very first day he sees Olivia Neran through the window, and he finds himself quite besotted.
Olivia and her sister Eleanor are orphans and the live with their aunt, Mrs Curle – a woman at the very centre of village life – and their younger cousin, George.
Mr Nettle lodges with a Mrs Clark, who has a flighty teenage daughter, Pauline and a young son, Alexander.
Mrs Curle discovers that Mr Nettle plays the cello and invites him to her home. His love for her niece grows, but he is too frail, to shy for Olivia to think of him as anything more than a visiting neighbour.
Mr Nettle fades into the background as Pauline’s singing talent is discovered and another newcomer makes a much stronger impression on the village.
Life goes on.
Winter Sonata is a simple story, not too much happens, but it is a lovely book to spend time with.
It speaks clearly of how lonely the human condition can be, of how important family, friends and communities are.
And it works so well because the small cast is beautifully drawn, and the portrayal of their quiet lives is pitch perfect.
Yes, it is sad, but it is also beautiful and emotionally true.
And it is wrapped up in quite wonderful pictures of the village and the surrounding countryside, with winter overtaking autumn and then, in time, the winter fading as spring begins to emerge.
Yes, Winter Sonata is simple, quiet and utterly beautiful. show less
Winter Sonata, Dorothy show more Edwards’ only novel is simple, quiet and utterly beautiful.
The story opens as Arnold Nettle, who is in poor health, escaping winter in the city and arriving in a quiet village to take up a new job, as a telegraph clerk.
On his very first day he sees Olivia Neran through the window, and he finds himself quite besotted.
Olivia and her sister Eleanor are orphans and the live with their aunt, Mrs Curle – a woman at the very centre of village life – and their younger cousin, George.
Mr Nettle lodges with a Mrs Clark, who has a flighty teenage daughter, Pauline and a young son, Alexander.
Mrs Curle discovers that Mr Nettle plays the cello and invites him to her home. His love for her niece grows, but he is too frail, to shy for Olivia to think of him as anything more than a visiting neighbour.
Mr Nettle fades into the background as Pauline’s singing talent is discovered and another newcomer makes a much stronger impression on the village.
Life goes on.
Winter Sonata is a simple story, not too much happens, but it is a lovely book to spend time with.
It speaks clearly of how lonely the human condition can be, of how important family, friends and communities are.
And it works so well because the small cast is beautifully drawn, and the portrayal of their quiet lives is pitch perfect.
Yes, it is sad, but it is also beautiful and emotionally true.
And it is wrapped up in quite wonderful pictures of the village and the surrounding countryside, with winter overtaking autumn and then, in time, the winter fading as spring begins to emerge.
Yes, Winter Sonata is simple, quiet and utterly beautiful. show less
Winter Sonata revolves around the lives of several people in a small English village. Arnold Nettle is a shy telegraph operator, disinclined towards conversation, which nonetheless is invited to his neighbors, where he plays the cello for them in the evenings. He falls in love with Olivia, the eldest daughter, a smart, introspective young woman with good judgment about other people. Other characters in the drama include Olivia’s teenage sister Eleanor, their cousin George, his best friend show more Mr. Premiss, and Mr. Nettle’s landlady’s teenage daughter, Pauline.
Although the book claims to be a love story, it is mostly about the interactions between the main characters. Although part of the group, Mr. Nettle is completely detached from them, and it’s interesting to watch the difference between Olivia, who’s in her twenties and has a head on her shoulders, and the two teenage girls, who are both completely infatuated by Mr. Premiss—a roué who thrives on the admiration of women if ever there was one. Olivia can see what a pompous ass he is, and part of the fun of the book is watching her play around with him. Dorothy Edwards depicts the differences between these girls and women very well. There is also a subtle commentary on the stratification of social class, seen in the difference between Mrs. Clark and Pauline, and the Nerans and Curles.
Like the eponymous season, this book is somewhat bleak in its aspects; there are endless, repetitive references to the weather. In a sense, though, the weather and the characters’ moods are very similar; there’s a sense of gloominess in the tone of the book and the prose Edwards uses to describe her characters’ mental and emotional states. It’s maybe reflective of the author’s own state of mind. show less
Although the book claims to be a love story, it is mostly about the interactions between the main characters. Although part of the group, Mr. Nettle is completely detached from them, and it’s interesting to watch the difference between Olivia, who’s in her twenties and has a head on her shoulders, and the two teenage girls, who are both completely infatuated by Mr. Premiss—a roué who thrives on the admiration of women if ever there was one. Olivia can see what a pompous ass he is, and part of the fun of the book is watching her play around with him. Dorothy Edwards depicts the differences between these girls and women very well. There is also a subtle commentary on the stratification of social class, seen in the difference between Mrs. Clark and Pauline, and the Nerans and Curles.
Like the eponymous season, this book is somewhat bleak in its aspects; there are endless, repetitive references to the weather. In a sense, though, the weather and the characters’ moods are very similar; there’s a sense of gloominess in the tone of the book and the prose Edwards uses to describe her characters’ mental and emotional states. It’s maybe reflective of the author’s own state of mind. show less
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Statistics
- Works
- 3
- Members
- 271
- Popularity
- #85,375
- Rating
- 3.3
- Reviews
- 8
- ISBNs
- 188
- Languages
- 5
- Favorited
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