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I want to tell you about Gertrude Trevelyan, one of the most groundbreaking English writers of the 1930s, who is now, sadly, almost completely forgotten.
A thread ensues...
A thread ensues...
Gertrude Eileen Trevelyan is a ghost of literature now, yet in pre-war Britain she was an enigmatic success. Born in Bath in 1903, she was descended from Sir Charles Trevelyan, founder of the modern Civil Service, and the historian George Macaulay Trevelyan.
Her father, Edward, had a comfortable private income, and his only daughter (her brother had died as an infant) was educated at Princess Helena College, Ealing, where she won the school essay prize two years in a row, and moved on to study at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, in 1923.
She later wrote of her time at Oxford that she: “Did not: play hockey, act, row, take part in debates, political or literary, contribute to the Isis or attend cocoa parties, herein failing to conform to the social standards commonly required of women students.”
In 1927 she became the first woman to win the Newdigate Prize, Oxford University's poetry award. Previous winners include Oscar Wilde, John Ruskin and John Buchan. Subsequent winners include John Bayley, Alan Hollinghurst, Andrew Motion and Fiona Sampson.
She won with 250 lines of blank verse, entitled 'Julia, Daughter of Claudius', and the news made headlines around the world. The poem was published by Blackwell's and read on BBC Radio 2LO. Trevelyan told the press that she wrote it as a joke.
Using a £500-a-year income from her father, Gertrude took a flat in Notting Hill and spent her time writing – very much the life envisioned by Virginia Woolf in 'A Room of One's Own'. As G.E. Trevelyan, she wrote eight strikingly original novels in nine years.
She did not review other books, teach, edit or travel abroad. She just wrote novels. The first of which, 'Appius and Virginia', tells the story of a woman who decides to raise an orangutan as a human child. It is a stark and chilling exploration of nature versus nurture.
Her subsequent books tackled different subjects, with varying degrees of experimentation. One, 'As it Was in the Beginning', is a breathtaking stream of consciousness novel narrated by a woman dying from a stroke. They are all works of note.
On 8 October 1940, Gertrude Trevelyan's flat was hit by a German bomb during the Blitz. She was moved back to the family home in Bath but died from her injuries in February of the following year. She was just 37 years of age. Her extraordinary books have been largely forgotten.
But not entirely. Despite the fact that none of G.E. Trevelyan's books have been reprinted, they have had some champions. I saw a review of 'Appius and Virginia' at the Neglected Books Page a few years ago and was determined to track down a copy. https://neglectedbooks.com/?p=5804
Brad Bigelow, who runs the page, is a passionate supporter of lost and forgotten authors, and G.E. Trevelyan is one of many he has shouted about.
And I am delighted to say that the @AbandonedBook imprint that @katobell and I founded, has teamed up with @EyeAndLightning to publish 'Appius and Virginia' in November. It will be back in print for the first time in 88 years. And Brad has kindly donated an introduction.
I cannot tell you how excited I am to be publishing this book. I hope it can find a new audience and readers can find out for themselves what a remarkable writer she was.
I am not pretending she is the greatest novelist of all time, and certainly some of her work will be an acquired taste, but she is a fascinating and important writer who has been unjustly forgotten by history. It is time that her novels were back on bookshelves.
If this thread has intrigued you and you want to read 'Appius and Virginia', or support our reissue of it, then there are things you can do to help.
Just RTing this thread would be a great start.
Just RTing this thread would be a great start.
Our preferred option is for you to buy it from your local bookshop. But this is a busy time of year, and shops are full of Christmas titles, so they might need prompting. Contact them to tell them you want a copy, and why, and they'll order some in for November.
Or, if you want to buy it direct from the publisher, you can pre-order it now. In fact, if you use the code APPIUS at checkout, we'll give you 30% off and free UK shipping. This applies to pre-orders only. http://eye-books.com/books/appius-and-virginia
Maybe you like to read ebooks. In which case, the digital version is also available to pre-order. https://amzn.to/360EYe9
Anyway, thanks for listening and helping me spread the word about this remarkable forgotten writer.
If you are a blogger and want to review 'Appius and Virginia' then @EyeAndLightning will be doing a mail out tomorrow with details of how to get copies. Give them a nudge and they'll add you to the list.
