Bowen, Marjorie, 1888-1952

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The British author Marjorie Bowen was born Gabrielle Margaret Vere Campbell on Hayling Island, Hampshire, on November 1, 1885, the daughter of Josephine Elisabeth Ellis and Vere Douglas Campbell. An introspective and unhappy child, Bowen was raised by her unstable mother in a chaotic and peripatetic Bohemian household in and around London. She studied with John Crompton at the Heatherley School of Art, attended the Slade School of Fine Art (1901-1904), and studied art in Paris, but was largely and intensely self-taught in history, languages, and literature. In 1912 she married a Sicilian man, Zeffrino Emilio Costanzo (died 1916), then a resident of London, with whom she lived in England and Italy and had two children: Paolo Maura (1914-1915) and Michael (born 1916). Her second marriage, to Arthur L. Long produced two sons, Hilary Blaise and Athelstane. Bowen was a remarkably prolific author of more than one hundred works of fiction, historical fiction, and history, issued in "astonishing profusion" (Times, December 27, 1952) as novels, biographies, plays, and short stories, which enabled her to support her family, including her mother, sister, and husbands. In addition, she wrote scores of book reviews, essays, and opinion pieces, particularly on issues related to women, including education, character, independence, marriage, and child-rearing; extremely successful and with a reputation as an "outspoken woman," Bowen was often solicited for her opinion on current events and contemporary lifestyles. She also had a special interest in romance, fantasy, occult, and supernatural themes and topics, and published under several pseudonyms including Robert Paye, George R. Preedy, Joseph Shearing, and John Winch. Her autobiography, The Debate Continues, was published in 1939 under the name Margaret Campbell. Bowen died in a London hospital, following a fall at her home, on December 23, 1952.

The British author Mrs. Vere Campbell was born Josephine Elisabeth Ellis on July 20, 1860, in Carmarthanshire, Wales, the daughter of Charles Bowen Ellis (1821-1887), a Moravian clergyman, and Priscilla Harson Bayley (1829-1879). Educated at Moravian schools in England and Germany, she married Vere Douglas Campbell (circa 1854-1905), the alcoholic son and grandson of respected London physicians Hugh Campbell and David Campbell. The marriage produced three children including the author Marjorie Bowen; the couple separated soon after the birth of their third child, Phyllis (born 1891). Mrs. Campbell published fewer than ten novels and had a few of her plays produced during her lifetime; she died in December 1921.

From the description of Marjorie Bowen papers, 1810-1998 (bulk 1900-1951). (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 702202560

The British author Marjorie Bowen was born Gabrielle Margaret Vere Campbell on Hayling Island, Hampshire, on November 1, 1885, the daughter of Josephine Elisabeth Ellis and Vere Douglas Campbell. An introspective and unhappy child, Bowen was raised by her unstable mother in a series of chaotic and peripatetic Bohemian households in and around London. She studied with John Crompton at the Heatherley School of Art, attended the Slade School of Fine Art (1901-1904), and studied art in Paris, but was largely and intensely self-taught in history, languages, and literature. In 1912 she married a Sicilian man, Zeffrino Emilio Costanzo (died 1916), then a resident of London, with whom she lived in England and Italy and had two children: Paolo Maura (1914-1915) and Michael (born 1916). Her second marriage, to Arthur L. Long, produced two sons, Hilary Blaise and Athelstane. Bowen's autobiography, The Debate Continues, was published in 1939 under the name Margaret Campbell. She died in a London hospital, following a fall at her home, on December 23, 1952.

The British author Mrs. Vere Campbell was born Josephine Elisabeth Ellis on July 20, 1860, in Carmarthanshire, Wales, the daughter of Charles Bowen Ellis (1821-1887), a Moravian clergyman, and Priscilla Harson Bayley (1829-1879). Educated at Moravian schools in England and Germany, she married Vere Douglas Campbell (ca. 1854-1905), the alcoholic son and grandson of respected London physicians Hugh Campbell and David Campbell; the couple separated soon after the birth of their third child, Phyllis (born 1891). Mrs. Campbell published less than ten novels and had a few of her plays produced during her lifetime; she died in December 1921.

From the guide to the Marjorie Bowen papers, 1810-1998, 1900-1951, (Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library)

Relation Name
associatedWith Bell, Susan G. person
associatedWith Bell, Susan Groag person
associatedWith Bowen family. family
associatedWith Bowen family. family
associatedWith Campbell family. family
associatedWith Campbell family. family
associatedWith Campbell, Vere, Mrs., 1860-1921. person
associatedWith Clemens, Samuel Langhorne, 1835-1910. person
associatedWith Clouston, J. Storer (Joseph Storer), 1870-1944. person
associatedWith Doyle, Arthur Conan, Sir, 1859-1930. person
associatedWith Ellis, Charles Bowen, 1821-1887. person
associatedWith Ellis, Elizabeth Bowen, 1792-1842. person
associatedWith Ellis family. family
associatedWith Ellis family. family
associatedWith Ellis, John, 1785-1855. person
associatedWith Houghton Mifflin Company. corporateBody
associatedWith J.M. Dent & Sons. corporateBody
associatedWith Katin, Louis, person
correspondedWith Katin, Louis, recipient. person
associatedWith LeBlond, Aubrey, Mrs, person
associatedWith Long, Hilary Blaise. person
associatedWith Long, Hilary Blaise. person
associatedWith McBean, Angus, 1904-1990. person
associatedWith Methuen, Algernon, 1856-1924. person
associatedWith Moravian Church corporateBody
associatedWith O'Connor, T. P. (Thomas Power), 1848-1929. person
associatedWith Preedy, George, 1888-1952. person
associatedWith Ray, Gordon Norton, 1915- person
associatedWith Roughead, William, 1870-1952. person
associatedWith Shearing, Joseph, 1870-1952 person
associatedWith Shearing, Joseph, 1888-1952. person
associatedWith T.P.'s Weekly. corporateBody
associatedWith Wagenknecht, Edward, 1900-2004. person
associatedWith West, Rebecca, 1892-1983. person
associatedWith Winch, John, 1888-1952. person
associatedWith Winch, John, 1892-1983 person
Place Name Admin Code Country
Subject
Authors, British
British literature
Women authors, English
Occupation
Authors
Activity

Person

Birth 1888-11-01

Death 1952-12-23

English

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SNAC ID: 31177904