JEAN
RHYS
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NAME
Jean Rhys
Also known as Gwen Williams, Vivien, Emma and Ella Gray, Ella Lenglet, Ella Hamer
BORN:
Ella Gwendolen Rees Williams
24th August, 1890
Cork Street, Roseau, Dominica
PROFESSION
Novelist, short story writer, essayist
FAMILY
PARENTS:
Dr. William Potts Rees Williams and Minna Williams née Lockhart
SIBLINGS:
Minna, Owen, and two others
SPOUSES:
Willem Johan Marie Lenglet (1889–1961), 1919–32 divorced
Leslie Tilden Smith (?–1945), 1934–45 died
George Victor Max Hamer (?–1966), 1947–66 died
CHILDREN:
William Owen (Lenglet) (1919, died at 3 weeks) and Maryvonne (Moerman-Lenglet née Lenglet) (1922–2000)
EDUCATION
| Convent of the Faithful Virgin, Roseau, Dominica | |
| 1907–08 | Perse School, Cambridge, England |
| 1909 | Tree's School (now the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts), London, England |
CAREER
| 1909 | Chorus girl in the show Our Miss Gibbs, under the name Ella Gray (1909–10) |
| 1910 | Artist model |
| 19? | Volunteer worker in WWI soldiers' canteen |
| 1918 | Worked in a pension office |
WORKS
| BOOKS | |
| 1927 | The Left Bank and Other Stories, Jonathan Cape publishers |
| 1928 | Postures (Quartet: A Novel, USA 1929, Simon & Schuster), |
| 1931 | After Leaving Mr Mackenzie, Jonathan Cape publishers |
| 1932 | Barred by Edward De Nève, Desmond Harmsworth publishers; translated and edited by Rhys |
| 1934 | Voyage in the Dark, Constable |
| 1939 | Good Morning, Midnight, Constable |
| 1966 | Wide Sargasso Sea, André Deutsch publishers |
| 1968 | Tigers Are Better-Looking, André Deutsch publishers |
| 1969 | Short story published in Penguin Modern Stories 1, Penguin Books |
| 1975 | My Day: Three Pieces, F. Hallman |
| 1976 | Sleep It Off, Lady, André Deutsch publishers |
| 1979 | Smile Please: An Unfinished Autobiography, André Deutsch publishers |
| 1984 | Jean Rhys Letters 1931–1966, Penguin Books Australia Ltd, published posthumously |
| Jean Rhys: Early Novels, Deutsch publishers | |
| 1985 | Jean Rhys: The Complete Novels, Norton |
| Tales of the Wide Caribbean, Heinemann, published posthumously | |
| 1987 | Jean Rhys: The Collected Short Stories, Norton, published posthumously |
| STORIES | |
| 1924 | Viennepublished in the transatlantic review |
| Goodbye Marcus, Goodbye Rose | |
| The Day They Burned the Books | |
| 1962 | Let Them Call it Jazz |
| 1971 | The Saddest Story |
| 1962 | Let Them Call it Jazz |
AWARDS
| 1966 | W.H Smith Award for Writers, Wide Sargasso Sea |
| Heinemann Award of the Royal Society of Literature, Wide Sargasso Sea | |
| Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature | |
| 1978 | Made Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) |
NOTABLE
| Good Morning, Midnight was adapted for a theatrical production in 1949 by Selma Vaz Dias; the adaptation was broadcasted as a radio play for BBC radio in 1957. |
| Wide Sargasso Sea was named by Time Magazine as one of the 100 best English-language novels since 1923 |
| There have been three adaptations of Wide Sargasso Sea: 1993 film adaptation produced by New Line Cinema; 1997 contemporary opera adaptation produced by Chamber Made; 2006 television adaptation produced by Kudos Film & Television for BBC Four. |
DIED
14th May, 1979
Exeter, England