Margerie Bonner
Encyclopedia
Margerie Bonner was an actress, scriptwriter and novelist who is best known as the wife of Malcolm Lowry
and for her support of the author while he wrote his best known novel, Under the Volcano
, considered one of the finest novels of the 20th century.
The younger sister of silent screen star Priscilla Bonner
, she also appeared in several films (spelling her first name Marjorie), among them Cecil B. De Mille's The King of Kings (1927), The Sign of the Cross
(1932), and the talkie Cleopatra
(1934). By the late 1930s her movie career was over and she was working as a personal assistant to the actress Penny Singleton
.
On June 7, 1939, she met the British author Malcolm Lowry
on the corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Western Avenue at the time he had had begun the second draft of Under the Volcano. They married in 1940 and settled in a beach shack in Dollarton
, a small town near Vancouver, British Columbia. Bonner wrote scripts for CBC radio and published two mystery novels, The Shapes That Creep (1944) and The Last Twist of the Knife (1946).
She is chiefly remembered for her unsung role in the creation of Lowry's masterpiece, Under the Volcano (1947). Not only did she provide the supportive environment her husband needed in order to write, she meticulously edited the novel's manuscript while various passages were rewritten at her suggestion. She is widely “considered to be the model for its central female character, the consul's wife, Yvonne."
After Lowry's death in 1957, Margerie Bonner returned to Los Angeles and co-edited with Douglas Day
the unfinished novel Dark as the Grave Wherein My Friend Is Laid in 1968, and edited his Psalms and Songs in 1975.
about Malcolm Lowry's life.
In 1955 Lowry was persuaded by her to return to Ripe, a small village in Sussex
, England, where he died two years later "after a fatal mixture of gin and sodium amytol: the coroner's verdict was 'Death by misadventure'".
A 2007 collection of texts by Lowry suggests "he either committed suicide or was in fact murdered by his wife".
Malcolm Lowry
Clarence Malcolm Lowry was an English poet and novelist who was best known for his novel Under the Volcano, which was voted No. 11 in the Modern Library 100 Best Novels list.-Biography:...
and for her support of the author while he wrote his best known novel, Under the Volcano
Under the Volcano
Under the Volcano is a 1947 semi-autobiographical novel by English writer Malcolm Lowry . The novel tells the story of Geoffrey Firmin, an alcoholic British consul in the small Mexican town of Quauhnahuac , on the Day of the Dead.Surrounded by the helpless presences of his ex-wife, his...
, considered one of the finest novels of the 20th century.
The younger sister of silent screen star Priscilla Bonner
Priscilla Bonner
Priscilla Bonner was an American silent film actress.-Career:Born in Washington, D.C., Bonner made her film debut opposite Charles Ray in the 1920 film Homer Comes Home, after being signed to MGM that same year. She went on to co-star with Jack Pickford in The Man Who Had Everything , Lon Chaney, Sr...
, she also appeared in several films (spelling her first name Marjorie), among them Cecil B. De Mille's The King of Kings (1927), The Sign of the Cross
The Sign of the Cross (film)
The Sign of the Cross is a pre-Code epic film released by Paramount Pictures, produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille from a screenplay by Waldemar Young and Sidney Buchman, and based on the original 1895 play by Wilson Barrett....
(1932), and the talkie Cleopatra
Cleopatra (1934 film)
Cleopatra is a 1934 epic film directed by Cecil B. DeMille and distributed by Paramount Pictures, which retells the story of Cleopatra VII of Egypt....
(1934). By the late 1930s her movie career was over and she was working as a personal assistant to the actress Penny Singleton
Penny Singleton
Penny Singleton was an American film actress. Born Marianna Dorothy Agnes Letitia McNulty in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania she was the daughter of an Irish-American newspaperman Benny McNulty — from whom she received the nickname "Penny" because she was "as bright as a penny".During her sixty...
.
On June 7, 1939, she met the British author Malcolm Lowry
Malcolm Lowry
Clarence Malcolm Lowry was an English poet and novelist who was best known for his novel Under the Volcano, which was voted No. 11 in the Modern Library 100 Best Novels list.-Biography:...
on the corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Western Avenue at the time he had had begun the second draft of Under the Volcano. They married in 1940 and settled in a beach shack in Dollarton
Dollarton
The Dollarton area is a beach, slope and suburb in the District of North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is one and one-half kilometres south of Deep Cove....
, a small town near Vancouver, British Columbia. Bonner wrote scripts for CBC radio and published two mystery novels, The Shapes That Creep (1944) and The Last Twist of the Knife (1946).
She is chiefly remembered for her unsung role in the creation of Lowry's masterpiece, Under the Volcano (1947). Not only did she provide the supportive environment her husband needed in order to write, she meticulously edited the novel's manuscript while various passages were rewritten at her suggestion. She is widely “considered to be the model for its central female character, the consul's wife, Yvonne."
After Lowry's death in 1957, Margerie Bonner returned to Los Angeles and co-edited with Douglas Day
Douglas Day
Douglas Day was a novelist, biographer, and critic.Day won a National Book Award for his life of English novelist Malcolm Lowry...
the unfinished novel Dark as the Grave Wherein My Friend Is Laid in 1968, and edited his Psalms and Songs in 1975.
Lowry's death
Margerie Bonner was interviewed for a 1976 documentary produced by the National Film Board of CanadaNational Film Board of Canada
The National Film Board of Canada is Canada's twelve-time Academy Award-winning public film producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary, animation, alternative drama and digital media productions...
about Malcolm Lowry's life.
In 1955 Lowry was persuaded by her to return to Ripe, a small village in Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
, England, where he died two years later "after a fatal mixture of gin and sodium amytol: the coroner's verdict was 'Death by misadventure'".
A 2007 collection of texts by Lowry suggests "he either committed suicide or was in fact murdered by his wife".