Florence James
Encyclopedia
Florence Gertrude James (2 September 1902 - 25 August 1993) was an Australian author and literary agent.
, she moved with her family to Sydney in 1920. Her father was a refrigeration engineer with a successful consulting practice.
She studied at Sydney University from 1923-26 and it was there her friendship with Dymphna Cusack
began, later to become a notable collaboration. They were both involved in debating and theatre; they shared a feminist, unionist and pacifist outlook. Both were much later to become opponents of nuclear weapons.
She married lawyer William J 'Pym' Heyting in London in 1932 and had two daughters, Julie and Frances, by him. He joined the RAAF as an Intelligence officer in 1938, and was soon promoted to Squadron Leader then Wing Commander. She had returned to Sydney in 1938 and he was in London, apparently happy to support her from a distance. They divorced in 1948.
She worked as Public Appeals Officer for The Royal Prince Alfred Hospital from 1940 to the end of 1944, when she resigned. From 1945 to 1947 she, her daughters, Dymphna Cusack and her daughter shared a rented cottage 'Pinegrove' at Hazelbrook
in the Blue Mountains
. It was there that they collaborated on a children's book Four Winds and a Family and Come In Spinner
, which was to become the most successful book about life in wartime Sydney
.
She returned with her daughters to London late in 1947 and remained there until 1963, working as a literary agent, initially for Constable and Company
, where authors she signed included Mary Durack
, Sylvia Townsend Warner
and Colin Johnson (aka Mudrooroo Narogin)
. She became active in the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
, participating in the Aldermaston March and activities of Bertrand Russell
's Committee of One Hundred.
She joined the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)
in 1968. In 1984 she edited the unexpurgated version of Come In Spinner for Richard Walsh of Angus and Robertson. She died in the Wesley Heights retirement village at Manly
, where her friend and collaborator Dymphna died twelve years before.
Life
Born in Gisborne, New ZealandGisborne, New Zealand
-Economy:The harbour was host to many ships in the past and had developed as a river port to provide a more secure location for shipping compared with the open roadstead of Poverty Bay which can be exposed to southerly swells. A meat works was sited beside the harbour and meat and wool was shipped...
, she moved with her family to Sydney in 1920. Her father was a refrigeration engineer with a successful consulting practice.
She studied at Sydney University from 1923-26 and it was there her friendship with Dymphna Cusack
Dymphna Cusack
Dymphna Cusack AM was an Australian author.Born in West Wyalong, New South Wales, Dymphna Cusack was educated at St Ursula's College, and graduated from Sydney University with an honours degree in Arts and a diploma in Education...
began, later to become a notable collaboration. They were both involved in debating and theatre; they shared a feminist, unionist and pacifist outlook. Both were much later to become opponents of nuclear weapons.
She married lawyer William J 'Pym' Heyting in London in 1932 and had two daughters, Julie and Frances, by him. He joined the RAAF as an Intelligence officer in 1938, and was soon promoted to Squadron Leader then Wing Commander. She had returned to Sydney in 1938 and he was in London, apparently happy to support her from a distance. They divorced in 1948.
She worked as Public Appeals Officer for The Royal Prince Alfred Hospital from 1940 to the end of 1944, when she resigned. From 1945 to 1947 she, her daughters, Dymphna Cusack and her daughter shared a rented cottage 'Pinegrove' at Hazelbrook
Hazelbrook, New South Wales
Hazelbrook is a village in New South Wales, Australia It is located 93 kilometres west of Sydney and approximately 17 kilometres east of Katoomba in the Blue Mountains on the Great Western Highway...
in the Blue Mountains
City of Blue Mountains
The City of Blue Mountains is a local government area of New South Wales, Australia, governed by the Blue Mountains City Council. The city is located in the Blue Mountains range west of Sydney.-Demographics:...
. It was there that they collaborated on a children's book Four Winds and a Family and Come In Spinner
Come In Spinner
Come In Spinner is an Australian novel by Dymphna Cusack and Florence James, originally published in 1951, and set in Sydney, Australia at the end of the second World War.The title refers to a phrase used in the Australian gambling game of two-up....
, which was to become the most successful book about life in wartime Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
.
She returned with her daughters to London late in 1947 and remained there until 1963, working as a literary agent, initially for Constable and Company
Constable & Robinson
Constable & Robinson Ltd. is an independent British book publisher of fiction and non-fiction works. Founded in Edinburgh in 1795 by Archibald Constable as Constable & Co. it is probably the oldest independent publisher in the English-speaking world still operating under the name of its...
, where authors she signed included Mary Durack
Mary Durack
Dame Mary Durack AC DBE was an Australian author and historian. She wrote Kings in Grass Castles and Keep Him My Country.-Childhood:...
, Sylvia Townsend Warner
Sylvia Townsend Warner
Sylvia Nora Townsend Warner was an English novelist and poet.-Life:Sylvia Townsend Warner was born at Harrow on the Hill, the only child of George Townsend Warner and his wife Eleanora Hudleston...
and Colin Johnson (aka Mudrooroo Narogin)
Mudrooroo
Colin Thomas Johnson, better known by his nom de plume, Mudrooroo is a novelist, poet, essayist and playwright. He has been described as one of the most enigmatic literary figures of Australia and since 2001 he has been living in Kapan, Nepal...
. She became active in the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament is an anti-nuclear organisation that advocates unilateral nuclear disarmament by the United Kingdom, international nuclear disarmament and tighter international arms regulation through agreements such as the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty...
, participating in the Aldermaston March and activities of Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRS was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, and social critic. At various points in his life he considered himself a liberal, a socialist, and a pacifist, but he also admitted that he had never been any of these things...
's Committee of One Hundred.
She joined the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)
Religious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
in 1968. In 1984 she edited the unexpurgated version of Come In Spinner for Richard Walsh of Angus and Robertson. She died in the Wesley Heights retirement village at Manly
Manly, New South Wales
Manly is a suburb of northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Manly is located 17 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre of the local government area of Manly Council, in the Northern Beaches region.-History:Manly was named...
, where her friend and collaborator Dymphna died twelve years before.
Works
- Four Winds and a Family by Dymphna Cusack and Florence James (1946) pub. Shakespeare Head Press
- Come In Spinner by Dymphna Cusack and Florence James (1951) pub. Heinemann
External links
- The Australian Women's Register
- AustLit: The Australian Literary Resource (Full biography only available to subscribers, which includes many or most libraries and educational institutions).