Henry Handel Richardson
Encyclopedia
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
used by Ethel Florence Lindesay Richardson, (3 January 187020 March 1946) was an Australian author. She took the name "Henry Handel" because at that time, many people did not take women's writing seriously, so she used a male name.
Life
Born in East MelbourneEast Melbourne, Victoria
East Melbourne is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, adjacent to Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Melbourne. At the 2006 Census, East Melbourne had a population of 4,330....
into a prosperous family that later fell on hard times, Ethel Florence (who preferred to answer to Et, Ettie or Etta) was the elder daughter of Walter Lindesay Richardson MD (c. 1826–79) and his wife Mary (née Bailey).
The family lived in various towns across Victoria during Richardson's childhood and youth. These included Chiltern
Chiltern, Victoria
Chiltern is a town in Victoria, Australia, located in the north east of the state between Wangaratta and Wodonga, in the Shire of Indigo. At the 2006 census, Chiltern had a population of 1063. The town is close to the Chiltern-Mount Pilot National Park...
, Queenscliff
Queenscliff, Victoria
Queenscliff is a small town on the Bellarine Peninsula in southern Victoria, Australia, south of Swan Bay at the entrance to Port Phillip. It is the administrative centre for the Borough of Queenscliffe...
, Koroit
Koroit, Victoria
Koroit is a small rural town in western Victoria, Australia a few kilometres north of the Princes Highway, north-west of Warrnambool and west of Melbourne. It is in the Shire of Moyne local government area located amidst rolling green pastures on the North rim of Tower Hill. At the 2006 census,...
and, most happily, Maldon
Maldon, Victoria
Maldon is a town in Victoria, Australia, in the Shire of Mount Alexander local government area. It has been designated "Australia's first notable town" and is celebrated for its 19th-century appearance, maintained since gold-rush days...
, where Richardson's mother was postmistress (her father having died when she was 9, of syphilis
Syphilis
Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the spirochete bacterium Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum. The primary route of transmission is through sexual contact; however, it may also be transmitted from mother to fetus during pregnancy or at birth, resulting in congenital syphilis...
) Richardson left Maldon to become a boarder at Presbyterian Ladies' College (PLC)
Presbyterian Ladies' College, Melbourne
Presbyterian Ladies' College, Melbourne , is an independent,private, Presbyterian, day and boarding school predominantly for girls, located in Burwood, an eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
in Melbourne in 1883 and attended from the ages of 13 to 17. This experience was the basis for The Getting of Wisdom
The Getting of Wisdom
The Getting of Wisdom is a novel by Australian novelist Henry Handel Richardson. It was first published in 1910, and has almost always been in print ever since.-Plot introduction:...
, a coming-of-age novel admired by H. G. Wells
H. G. Wells
Herbert George Wells was an English author, now best known for his work in the science fiction genre. He was also a prolific writer in many other genres, including contemporary novels, history, politics and social commentary, even writing text books and rules for war games...
. At PLC she started to develop her ability to credibly mix fact with fiction, a skill she used to advantage in her novels.
Richardson excelled in the arts and music during her time at PLC, and her mother took the family to Europe in 1888, to enable Richardson to continue her musical studies at the Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
Conservatorium. Richardson set her first novel, Maurice Guest, in Leipzig.
In 1894 in Munich Richardson married the Scot John George Robertson, whom she had met in Leipzig where he was studying German literature
German literature
German literature comprises those literary texts written in the German language. This includes literature written in Germany, Austria, the German part of Switzerland, and to a lesser extent works of the German diaspora. German literature of the modern period is mostly in Standard German, but there...
and who later briefly taught at the University of Strasburg, where his wife became ladies' tennis champion. In 1903, the couple moved to London, where Robertson had been appointed to the first chair of German at University College, London. Richardson returned to Australia in 1912, in order to research family history for The Fortunes of Richard Mahony
The Fortunes of Richard Mahony
The Fortunes of Richard Mahony is a three-part novel by Australian writer Henry Handel Richardson. It consists of Australia Felix , The Way Home , and Ultima Thule . It was collected in 1930 under the title by which it is now best known...
, but after her return to England, she remained there for the rest of her life. She and her sister Lillian were ardent supporters of the suffragette movement, Lillian even being imprisoned for destroying public property. She was involved in psychic research, and after her husband's death, she claimed she maintained daily contact with him via seances.
Richardson's life was tinged with lesbianism. At Presbyterian Ladies' College, she fell in love with an older schoolgirl; the feelings of adolescent females awakening to their sexuality were reflected in her second novel, The Getting of Wisdom. After her mother's death, she fell passionately in love with the Italian actress Eleonora Duse
Eleonora Duse
-Life and career:Duse was born in Vigevano, Lombardy, and began acting as a child. Both her father and her grandfather were actors, and she joined the troupe at age four. Due to poverty, she initially worked continually, traveling from city to city with whichever troupe her family was currently...
, but had to be content to love her from a distance. Her friend Olga Roncoroni, who had lived in the Robertson household for many years, filled the gap left by the death of her husband. After her own death, many of her private papers were destroyed, in accordance with her instructions.
The Fortunes of Richard Mahony is Richardson's famous trilogy about the slow decline, owing to character flaws and an unnamed brain disease, of a successful Australian physician and businessman and the emotional/financial effect on his family. It was highly praised by Sinclair Lewis
Sinclair Lewis
Harry Sinclair Lewis was an American novelist, short-story writer, and playwright. In 1930, he became the first writer from the United States to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, "for his vigorous and graphic art of description and his ability to create, with wit and humor, new types of...
, among others, and was inspired by Richardson's own family experiences. The central characters weres based loosely on her own parents.
Richardson also produced a single volume of short stories
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
and an autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
that greatly illuminates the settings of her novels, although her Australian Dictionary of Biography
Australian Dictionary of Biography
The Australian Dictionary of Biography is a national, co-operative enterprise, founded and maintained by the Australian National University to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's history....
entry asserts that it is somewhat unreliable.
Richardson died of cancer on 20 March 1946 in Hastings
Hastings
Hastings is a town and borough in the county of East Sussex on the south coast of England. The town is located east of the county town of Lewes and south east of London, and has an estimated population of 86,900....
, East Sussex
East Sussex
East Sussex is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent, Surrey and West Sussex, and to the south by the English Channel.-History:...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Her cremated remains were scattered by her wish with her husband's at sea.
Family
Lillian Richardson, Ethel's younger sister, married A. S. NeillA. S. Neill
Alexander Sutherland Neill was a Scottish progressive educator, author and founder of Summerhill school, which remains open and continues to follow his educational philosophy to this day...
after divorcing her first husband, and helped found and run Summerhill School
Summerhill School
Summerhill School is an independent British boarding school that was founded in 1921 by Alexander Sutherland Neill with the belief that the school should be made to fit the child, rather than the other way around...
.
Honours
The CanberraCanberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
suburb of Richardson
Richardson, Australian Capital Territory
Richardson is a suburb in the Canberra, Australia, district of Tuggeranong. The postcode is 2905. The suburb is named after the author Henry Handel Richardson, nom de plume of Ethel Florence Lindesay Richardson . It was gazetted on 5 May 1975. Streets are named after writers, especially female...
was gazetted in 1975 and is named after Henry Handel Richardson. In the same year, she was honoured on a postage stamp bearing her portrait issued by Australia Post
Australia Post
Australia Post is the trading name of the Australian Government-owned Australian Postal Corporation .-History:...
.
One of the houses at Abbotsleigh School for Girls
Abbotsleigh
Abbotsleigh School for Girls is an independent, Anglican, day and boarding school for girls, located in Wahroonga, on the Upper North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia....
in Wahroonga, Sydney is named after Richardson.
Novels
- Maurice Guest (1908)
- The Getting of WisdomThe Getting of WisdomThe Getting of Wisdom is a novel by Australian novelist Henry Handel Richardson. It was first published in 1910, and has almost always been in print ever since.-Plot introduction:...
(1910) - Australia Felix (1917)
- The Way Home (1925)
- Ultima Thule (1929)
- The Fortunes of Richard MahonyThe Fortunes of Richard MahonyThe Fortunes of Richard Mahony is a three-part novel by Australian writer Henry Handel Richardson. It consists of Australia Felix , The Way Home , and Ultima Thule . It was collected in 1930 under the title by which it is now best known...
(1930)- Comprising the novels: Australia Felix, The Way Home and Ultima Thule
- The Young Cosima (1939)
Short story collections
- Two Studies (1931)
- The End of a Childhood (1934)
- The Adventures of Cuffy Mahony (1979)
- The End of Childhood: The Complete Stories of Henry Handel Richardson (1992), edited by Carol Franklin
Biography
- Henry Handel Richardson and some of Her Sources 1954 by Leonie Kramer
- Henry Handel Richardson 1961 by Vincent Buckley
- Myself When Laura 1966 by Leonie Kramer
- Ulysses Bound 1973 (revised 1986) by Dorothy Green (Auchterlonie)Dorothy AuchterlonieDorothy Auchterlonie AO was an English-born Australian academic, literary critic and poet.-Life:Auchterlonie was born in Sunderland, County Durham in England...
- Henry Handel Richardson 1985 by Karen McLeod
- Henry Handel Richardson: Fiction in the Making 1990 by Axel Clark
- Henry Handel Richardson: A Life 2005 by Michael Ackland
Film
The Getting of WisdomThe Getting of Wisdom
The Getting of Wisdom is a novel by Australian novelist Henry Handel Richardson. It was first published in 1910, and has almost always been in print ever since.-Plot introduction:...
was filmed in 1977, directed by Bruce Beresford
Bruce Beresford
Bruce Beresford is an Australian film director who has made more than 30 feature films over a 40-year career.-Early life:...
, from a screenplay by Eleanor Witcombe, starring Susannah Fowle
Susannah Fowle
-Film:She is best known for her role as Laura Tweedle Rambotham in the film The Getting of Wisdom , about which the 2006 documentary Telling Schoolgirl Tales: The Making of 'The Getting of Wisdom was created, and her role in the television series Prisoner as Lori Young.-Theatre:She performed on...
as "Laura Rambotham" with supporting roles by Julia Blake
Julia Blake
Julia Blake is a British-born actress based in Australia.Blake was born in London, England. She is married to Terry Norris. She is the mother of actresses Sarah and Jane Norris....
, Terence Donovan
Terence Donovan
Terence Donovan may refer to:*Terence Donovan, Baron Donovan , British Labour Party Member of Parliament 1945–1950, Law Lord 1964–1971*Terence Donovan , Australian actor, and father of Jason Donovan...
and Kerry Armstrong
Kerry Armstrong
Kerry Michelle Armstrong is an Australian actress on film, television, and stage. She is one of only two actresses to win two Australian Film Institute Awards in the same year...
. The screenplay adheres closely to the novel.
Maurice Guest was adapted, very loosely, for the screen in Rhapsody (1954) starring Elizabeth Taylor
Elizabeth Taylor
Dame Elizabeth Rosemond "Liz" Taylor, DBE was a British-American actress. From her early years as a child star with MGM, she became one of the great screen actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age...
, with the setting in Switzerland rather than Germany. It ended with "James Guest" happily married, rather than committing suicide.
External links
- Online editions of works at The University of Adelaide Library.
- Works by Henry Handel Richardson at Project Gutenberg Australia
- Henry Handel Richardson Society
- The Yellow Scarf catalogue information on a portrait of the author by Rupert BunnyRupert BunnyRupert Charles Wulsten Bunny was an Australian painter, born in St Kilda, Victoria. He achieved success and critical acclaim as an expatriate in fin-de-siècle Paris....