Ivy Compton-Burnett was born in Pinner in Middlesex in 1884, the daughter of a doctor. Young Ivy had twelve brothers and sisters, and in 1891, their father decided to move his large family to Hove, because he'd been told that the Brighton air was good for the children. Their first address was 30 First Avenue, a road that runs from the main Western Road down to the seafront, but in 1897, there was another move to the slightly more prestigious address of 20, The Drive.
Horrid, Horrid Hove!
The early life of the young Ivy Compton-Burnett was traumatic; first of all, her brother became ill and died, and then another brother met his death in the First World War. Two tragic younger sisters committed suicide together. The death of four loved siblings naturally had an appalling effect on Compton-Burnett.
Perhaps the tragedy in her life prejudiced Compton-Burnett against Hove. She was unimpressed by neighbouring Brighton too. In the biography she wrote about the writer, Hilary Spurling says: "Ivy detested Hove to the end of her life and steadfastly refused to visit friends who lived in Brighton." Compton-Burnett always insisted, "It's a horrid, horrid place!"
Ivy Meets her Soulmate
In 1914, Ivy Compton-Burnett moved to London and five years later, the now middle-aged writer met another writer, Margaret Jourdain. Hilary Spurling describes Margaret as belonging to: "the genre of New Woman... a small but growing band of unattached, self-assured, purposeful spinsters accustomed to make their own way in the world." Margaret Jourdain wrote what Ivy liked to describe as "serious books." Spurling's biography gives an account offered by a new acquaintance, James Lee-Milne in 1942. "Margaret Jourdain is patently jealous of Ivy Compton-Burnett," he said, "whom she keeps unapproachable, except through herself, and even when approached, guards with anxious care."
The two women remained together until Margaret's death in 1951.
Novels with a Homosexual Theme
The accusations of amorality were due to the twenty novels written by Compton-Burnett, some of which contained an underlying homosexual theme. It's claimed in Spurling's Appendix Two, that the author drew heavily on characters from real life. She didn't bother to disguise them, but simply transferred them from fact to fiction.
In 1955, Compton-Burnett received the James Tait black Memorial Prize for her novel, Mother and Son, awarded annually by the University of Edinburgh, and she became a Companion of the Royal Society of Literature and was awarded the DBE in 1967.
Other notable novels written by Compton-Burnett were Pastors and Masters, 1925, and Manservant and Maidservant, 1947.
Sources:
- Ivy, The Life of I. Compton-Burnett , Hilary Spurling, Richard Cohen Books, 1995.
- Local Knowledge.
- Adapted from LGBT Brighton and Hove, Janet Cameron, Amberley Publishing, 2010.
Janet Cameron - MA. Cert.Ed. is a retired university lecturer and author of twelve books, women's short fiction and a magazine column.
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