Trekkie Parsons
Encyclopedia
Trekkie Parsons (1902 – July 24, 1995) was an English
artist
and lithographer, perhaps best known as the lover of Leonard Woolf
after his wife Virginia
's death.
, South Africa, and studied at the Slade School of Fine Art
in London. In 1934 she married Ian Parsons, an editor at Chatto & Windus.
She was the author and illustrator of Bells across the Sand - A Book of Rhymes with Pictures published by her husband's firm in 1944(?) lithographed throughout, printed by Chiswick Press in the same style and size as Puffin Picture Books
. She also illustrated, and designed the cover for, The Three Rings by Barbara Baker (Hogarth Press, 1944), and designed the cover for the British edition of Newbery Medal
winner Johnny Tremain
(Chatto & Windus, 1944). Her lithographic technique is in the style of Barnett Freedman
.
Trekkie had an unusual relationship with Leonard Woolf from 1941 until his death in 1969. She often spent the week with Leonard and the weekend with her husband. She had holidays and acted as hostess for them both separately. She wrote many letters to Leonard when they were apart, published in 1974 as Love Letters: Leonard Woolf and Trekkie Ritchie Parsons.
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...
artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
and lithographer, perhaps best known as the lover of Leonard Woolf
Leonard Woolf
Leonard Sidney Woolf was an English political theorist, author, publisher and civil servant, and husband of author Virginia Woolf.-Early life:...
after his wife Virginia
Virginia Woolf
Adeline Virginia Woolf was an English author, essayist, publisher, and writer of short stories, regarded as one of the foremost modernist literary figures of the twentieth century....
's death.
Background
She was born Marjorie Tulip Ritchie, in 1902 in NatalColony of Natal
The Colony of Natal was a British colony in south-eastern Africa. It was proclaimed a British colony on May 4, 1843 after the British government had annexed the Boer Republic of Natalia, and on 31 May 1910 combined with three other colonies to form the Union of South Africa, as one of its...
, South Africa, and studied at the Slade School of Fine Art
Slade School of Fine Art
The Slade School of Fine Art is a world-renownedart school in London, United Kingdom, and a department of University College London...
in London. In 1934 she married Ian Parsons, an editor at Chatto & Windus.
She was the author and illustrator of Bells across the Sand - A Book of Rhymes with Pictures published by her husband's firm in 1944(?) lithographed throughout, printed by Chiswick Press in the same style and size as Puffin Picture Books
Puffin Books
Puffin Books is the children's imprint of British publishers Penguin Books. Since the 1960s it has been the largest publisher of children's books in the UK and much of the English-speaking world.-Early history:...
. She also illustrated, and designed the cover for, The Three Rings by Barbara Baker (Hogarth Press, 1944), and designed the cover for the British edition of Newbery Medal
Newbery Medal
The John Newbery Medal is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association . The award is given to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. The award has been given since 1922. ...
winner Johnny Tremain
Johnny Tremain
Johnny Tremain is a 1944 children's novel by Esther Forbes set in Boston prior to and during the outbreak of the American Revolution. The novel's themes include apprenticeship, courtship, sacrifice, human rights, and the growing tension between Whigs and Tories as conflict nears...
(Chatto & Windus, 1944). Her lithographic technique is in the style of Barnett Freedman
Barnett Freedman
Barnett Freedman CBE was a British artist, commercial designer, book illustrator, typographer, and lithographer.Freedman, the son of East-End Russian-Jewish immigrants, was self-educated during four years in hospitals, between the ages of nine and thirteen, because of asthma that was to trouble...
.
Trekkie had an unusual relationship with Leonard Woolf from 1941 until his death in 1969. She often spent the week with Leonard and the weekend with her husband. She had holidays and acted as hostess for them both separately. She wrote many letters to Leonard when they were apart, published in 1974 as Love Letters: Leonard Woolf and Trekkie Ritchie Parsons.