- E. H. Young
Emily Hilda Young (March 21, 1880 - August 8, 1949) was an English
novelist .Life
Although almost completely forgotten by recent generations, E. H. Young was a best-selling novelist of her time. She was born in Whitley (now known as
Whitley Bay ),Northumberland , the daughter of a shipbroker. She attended Gateshead Secondary School (a higher grade school later renamedGateshead Grammar School ) andPenrhos College ,Colwyn Bay ,Wales . In 1902, at the age of 22, she married Arthur Daniell, a solicitor fromBristol , and moved with him to the upscale neighbourhood of Clifton.Here, Young developed an interest in classical and modern
philosophy . She became a supporter of the suffragette movement, and started publishing novels. She also began a lifelong affair with Ralph Henderson, a schoolteacher and a friend of her husband.When the
First World War broke out in 1914, Young went to work, first as a stables groom and then in a munitions factory. Her husband was killed at theBattle of Ypres in 1917. The following year she moved toSydenham Hill , London to join her lover, now the headmaster of thepublic school Alleyn's , and his wife in aménage à trois . Young occupied a separate flat in their house and was addressed as 'Mrs Daniell'; this concealed the unconventional arrangement.This change seems to have been the catalyst that she needed. Seven major novels followed, all based on Clifton, thinly disguised as '
Upper Radstowe '. The first of these was "The Misses Mallett", published originally under the title "The Bridge Dividing" in 1922. Her 1930 novel "Miss Mole" won the James Tait Black Award for fiction.After Henderson's retirement and the death of his wife, Young moved with him to
Bradford on Avon inWiltshire . They never married. During theSecond World War , she worked actively in air raid precautions. She lived in Wiltshire with Henderson until her death fromlung cancer in 1949.Afterlife
Although popular in her time, Young's work has nearly vanished today. In 1980, a four-part series based on her novels – mainly "Miss Mole" – was shown on
BBC television as "Hannah" ( [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0278200/combined] ). Thefeminist publishing house Virago reprinted several of her books in the 1980s, and the Clifton and Hotwells Improvement Society has marked her Clifton home with a plaque.The 'E H Young Prize for Greek Thought' was an annual essay prize awarded in her memory at
Bristol Grammar School .Bibliography
* 'A Corn of Wheat' 'Yonder' 'Moor Fires' 'River Holiday"'Caravan Island"
* "Celia"
* "Chatterton Square"
* "The Curate's Wife"
* "Jenny Wren"
* "Miss Mole"
* "The Misses Mallett"
* "The Vicar's Daughter"
* "William"External links
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