Cecil Woodham-Smith
Encyclopedia
Cecil Blanche Woodham-Smith (née Fitzgerald) (29 April 1896 – 16 March 1977) was a British
historian
and biographer. She wrote four popular history books, each dealing with a different aspect of the Victorian era
.
, Wales
. Her family, the Fitzgeralds, were a well-known Irish
family, one of her ancestors being Lord Edward Fitzgerald
, hero of the Irish Rebellion of 1798
. Her father Colonel James FitzGerald had served in the Indian Army during the Sepoy Mutiny; her mother's family included General Sir Thomas Picton, a distinguished soldier who was killed at Waterloo
.
She attended the Royal School for Officers' Daughters in Bath, until her expulsion for taking unannounced leave for a trip to the National Gallery
. She finished her schooling at a French convent
and afterwards entered St Hilda's College, Oxford
. She graduated with a second-class degree in English in 1917.
In 1928 she married George Ivon Woodham-Smith, a distinguished London solicitor with whom she had an exceptionally close and deep relationship until his death in 1968. But although she possessed a knack for historical writing, she postponed her career (as was customary for women of her time) until her two children had gone off to boarding school
. In the meantime, she wrote pot-boilers under the pseudonym Janet Gordon; this training was to stand her in good stead as a historian, as she mastered the art of writing entertaining narrative.
published in 1950, took her straight to the top of her profession. Her meticulous research had taken nine long years, but the book succeeded in restoring the lustre to Nightingale's reputation, which had gone down a notch after Lytton Strachey
's sly debunking job in his notorious Eminent Victorians
. Acclaimed for its combination of scholarship and readability, Florence Nightingale won the James Tait Black Award
for biography.
Her next book was equally well received. The Reason Why (1953) was a study of the Charge of the Light Brigade
, a military disaster during the Crimean War
and one of the defining events of the Victorian age. It became her most popular book, and afterwards she explained to a television audience how she wrote the Charge itself: working at a gallop through thirty-six hours non-stop without food or other break until the last gun was fired, when she poured a stiff drink and slept for two days. Though the work was critically acclaimed, it came to the conclusion that the allies had lost the Crimean War, which most historians conclude is not true.
She produced two more notable works: The Great Hunger: Ireland: 1845-1849 (1962), a powerful account of the Great Irish Famine of the 1840s that was unsparing in its indictment of the British; and the first volume of Queen Victoria: Her Life and Times (1972). Unfortunately, she was unable to complete the next volume of the biography; she died in London in 1977 at the age of 80.
Cecil Woodham-Smith was appointed CBE
in 1960. She received honorary doctorates from the National University of Ireland
in 1964 and the University of St Andrews
in 1965. She also became an honorary fellow of St Hilda's College (her alma mater) in 1967.
Alan Bennett
wrote of her:
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
and biographer. She wrote four popular history books, each dealing with a different aspect of the Victorian era
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
.
Early life
Cecil Woodham-Smith was born in 1896 in TenbyTenby
Tenby is a walled seaside town in Pembrokeshire, South West Wales, lying on Carmarthen Bay.Notable features of Tenby include of sandy beaches; the 13th century medieval town walls, including the Five Arches barbican gatehouse ; 15th century St...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. Her family, the Fitzgeralds, were a well-known Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
family, one of her ancestors being Lord Edward Fitzgerald
Lord Edward FitzGerald
Lord Edward FitzGerald was an Irish aristocrat and revolutionary. He was the fifth son of the 1st Duke of Leinster and the Duchess of Leinster , he was born at Carton House, near Dublin, and died of wounds received in resisting arrest on charge of treason.-Early years:FitzGerald spent most of his...
, hero of the Irish Rebellion of 1798
Irish Rebellion of 1798
The Irish Rebellion of 1798 , also known as the United Irishmen Rebellion , was an uprising in 1798, lasting several months, against British rule in Ireland...
. Her father Colonel James FitzGerald had served in the Indian Army during the Sepoy Mutiny; her mother's family included General Sir Thomas Picton, a distinguished soldier who was killed at Waterloo
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...
.
She attended the Royal School for Officers' Daughters in Bath, until her expulsion for taking unannounced leave for a trip to the National Gallery
National Gallery, London
The National Gallery is an art museum on Trafalgar Square, London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The gallery is an exempt charity, and a non-departmental public body of the Department for Culture, Media...
. She finished her schooling at a French convent
Convent
A convent is either a community of priests, religious brothers, religious sisters, or nuns, or the building used by the community, particularly in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Anglican Communion...
and afterwards entered St Hilda's College, Oxford
St Hilda's College, Oxford
St Hilda's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England.The college was founded in 1893 as a hall for women, and remained an all-women's college until 2006....
. She graduated with a second-class degree in English in 1917.
In 1928 she married George Ivon Woodham-Smith, a distinguished London solicitor with whom she had an exceptionally close and deep relationship until his death in 1968. But although she possessed a knack for historical writing, she postponed her career (as was customary for women of her time) until her two children had gone off to boarding school
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
. In the meantime, she wrote pot-boilers under the pseudonym Janet Gordon; this training was to stand her in good stead as a historian, as she mastered the art of writing entertaining narrative.
Career
Her first book as a historian, a biography of Florence NightingaleFlorence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale OM, RRC was a celebrated English nurse, writer and statistician. She came to prominence for her pioneering work in nursing during the Crimean War, where she tended to wounded soldiers. She was dubbed "The Lady with the Lamp" after her habit of making rounds at night...
published in 1950, took her straight to the top of her profession. Her meticulous research had taken nine long years, but the book succeeded in restoring the lustre to Nightingale's reputation, which had gone down a notch after Lytton Strachey
Lytton Strachey
Giles Lytton Strachey was a British writer and critic. He is best known for establishing a new form of biography in which psychological insight and sympathy are combined with irreverence and wit...
's sly debunking job in his notorious Eminent Victorians
Eminent Victorians
Eminent Victorians is a book by Lytton Strachey , first published in 1918 and consisting of biographies of four leading figures from the Victorian era. Its fame rests on the irreverence and wit Strachey brought to bear on three men and a woman who had till then been regarded as heroes and heroine...
. Acclaimed for its combination of scholarship and readability, Florence Nightingale won the James Tait Black Award
James Tait Black Memorial Prize
Founded in 1919, the James Tait Black Memorial Prizes are among the oldest and most prestigious book prizes awarded for literature written in the English language and are Britain's oldest literary awards...
for biography.
Her next book was equally well received. The Reason Why (1953) was a study of the Charge of the Light Brigade
Charge of the Light Brigade
The Charge of the Light Brigade was a charge of British cavalry led by Lord Cardigan against Russian forces during the Battle of Balaclava on 25 October 1854 in the Crimean War. The charge was the result of a miscommunication in such a way that the brigade attempted a much more difficult objective...
, a military disaster during the Crimean War
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
and one of the defining events of the Victorian age. It became her most popular book, and afterwards she explained to a television audience how she wrote the Charge itself: working at a gallop through thirty-six hours non-stop without food or other break until the last gun was fired, when she poured a stiff drink and slept for two days. Though the work was critically acclaimed, it came to the conclusion that the allies had lost the Crimean War, which most historians conclude is not true.
She produced two more notable works: The Great Hunger: Ireland: 1845-1849 (1962), a powerful account of the Great Irish Famine of the 1840s that was unsparing in its indictment of the British; and the first volume of Queen Victoria: Her Life and Times (1972). Unfortunately, she was unable to complete the next volume of the biography; she died in London in 1977 at the age of 80.
Cecil Woodham-Smith was appointed CBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
in 1960. She received honorary doctorates from the National University of Ireland
National University of Ireland
The National University of Ireland , , is a federal university system of constituent universities, previously called constituent colleges, and recognised colleges set up under the Irish Universities Act, 1908, and significantly amended by the Universities Act, 1997.The constituent universities are...
in 1964 and the University of St Andrews
University of St Andrews
The University of St Andrews, informally referred to as "St Andrews", is the oldest university in Scotland and the third oldest in the English-speaking world after Oxford and Cambridge. The university is situated in the town of St Andrews, Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. It was founded between...
in 1965. She also became an honorary fellow of St Hilda's College (her alma mater) in 1967.
Alan Bennett
Alan Bennett
Alan Bennett is a British playwright, screenwriter, actor and author. Born in Leeds, he attended Oxford University where he studied history and performed with The Oxford Revue. He stayed to teach and research mediaeval history at the university for several years...
wrote of her:
Cecil was a frail woman with a tiny bird-like skull, looking more like Elizabeth I (in later life) than Edith Sitwell ever did (and minus her sheet metal earrings). Irish, she had a Firbankian wit and a lovely turn of phrase. ‘Do you know the Atlantic at all?’ she once asked me and I put the line into Habeas Corpus and got a big laugh on it. From a grand Irish family she was quite snobbish; talking of someone she said: ‘Then he married a Mitford … but that’s a stage everybody goes through.’ Even the most ordinary remark would be given her own particular twist and she could be quite camp. Conversation had once turned, as conversations will, to fork-lift trucks. Feeling that industrial machinery might be remote from Cecil’s sphere of interest I said: ‘Do you know what a fork-lift truck is?’ She looked at me in her best Annie Walker manner. ‘I do. To my cost.’
External links
- LibraryThing author profile
- The Great Hunger, Reference http://www.users.drew.edu/wrogers/famine.html/Reference