Frances Partridge Explained

Frances Catherine Partridge CBE (née Marshall; 15 March 1900 – 5 February 2004) was an English writer. Closely connected to the Bloomsbury Group,[1] she is probably best known for the publication of her diaries. She married Ralph Partridge (1894 – 30 November 1960) in 1933. The couple had one son, (Lytton) Burgo Partridge (1935–1963).

Origins and education

Born in Bedford Square in London, she was the youngest of six children of William Marshall, an English architect and losing finalist at the first of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in 1877, and Margaret Anna Lloyd, a suffragist who took the 6-year-old Frances to a protest.[2] She lived in the square until she was eight when her father retired and they moved to the countryside.[3] She was educated at Bedales School and Newnham College, Cambridge.[4]

Bloomsbury

While working at a London bookshop owned by David Garnett (whose first wife was Frances's sister Rachel Marshall, known as Ray) and Francis Birrell, Frances Partridge got to know Lytton Strachey, Dora Carrington, and Ralph Partridge. In 1921, Ralph Partridge had married Dora Carrington, who was in love with Lytton Strachey, a homosexual who was himself more interested in Partridge. An added complication was Dora Carrington's intermittent affair with one of Partridge's best friends, Gerald Brenan. Carrington, Partridge, and Strachey shared a Wiltshire farm-house, Ham Spray, in a complex triangular relationship (later recorded in the 1995 film Carrington, with Alex Kingston playing Frances).

Ralph Partridge now fell in love with Frances. They lived in London during the week and repaired to Ham Spray at weekends. After Dora Carrington committed suicide out of grief in 1932, shortly after Lytton Strachey's death, Ralph and Frances married on 2 March 1933. They lived at Ham Spray until Ralph's death in 1960.

They had one son, (Lytton) Burgo Partridge, who was born in 1935 and named after Strachey. In 1962, Burgo married Henrietta Garnett, daughter of Angelica Garnett and David Garnett,[5] with Henrietta already pregnant with their daughter. He died suddenly of heart failure on 7 September 1963, only three weeks after the birth of their baby, Sophie Vanessa. He had already been noticed for his writing ability, and had published one well-received book, A History of Orgies (1958).[6]

Frances sold Ham Spray and moved to London. Her writings, her membership of the Bloomsbury circle, her great personal charm and the energy that she retained into extreme old age together ensured for her a degree of celebrity towards the end of her life.[7]

She was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the Millennium New Year Honours.[8]

Works

In popular culture

Further reading

Sources

Notes and References

  1. Review: A Bloomsbury Canvas: Reflections on the Bloomsbury Group by Tony Bradshaw. McGuire, Julie. NWSA Journal. 15. 3. Autumn 2003. 223–225. 4317027. Frances Partridge, Quentin Bell and Angelica Garnett were among the last survivors of those closely connected to the Bloomsbury Group.
  2. News: Frances Partridge, Diarist and Last Survivor of Bloomsbury Group, Dies at 103. Martin. Douglas. 2004-02-15. The New York Times. 2018-01-15. en-US. 0362-4331.
  3. http://www.rte.ie/radio1/dialogue/1018462.html Interview with Andy O'Mahony
  4. Book: Birch, Dinah. The Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2009-09-24. OUP Oxford. 9780191030840. en.
  5. Adam Kuper, "Incest & influence: the private life of bourgeois England", Harvard University Press, 2009,, p.242
  6. Mary Ann Caws, Sarah Bird Wright, "Bloomsbury and France: art and friends", Oxford University Press, 2000,, p.386
  7. Durrant, Sabine (11 January 1999). "Frances Partridge, Bloomsbury groupie". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 January 2008.
  8. Web site: Frances Partridge : The Biography by Chisholm, Anne: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London 9780297646730 Hardback, First Edition. - Amazing Book Company. www.abebooks.com. en. 2018-01-15.
  9. News: Levy, Paul. Paul Levy (journalist). Review; Frances Partridge by Anne Chisholm. The Guardian. 4 April 2009.
  10. News: Taylor, D. J.. D. J. Taylor (writer). Review: Frances Partridge by Anne Chisholm. The Independent. 24 April 2009.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Frances Partridge".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.