Netta Syrett Explained

Netta Syrett
Birth Name:Janet Syrett
Birth Date:1865 3, df=yes
Birth Place:Ramsgate, Kent
Death Place:London
Nationality:English
Period:1890–1940
Movement:Realism
New Woman
Notableworks:The Victorians (1915)
Relatives:Grant Allen (uncle)
Alma Mater:Hughes Hall, Cambridge

Netta Syrett (17 March 1865 – 15 December 1943) was an English writer of the late Victorian period whose novels featured New Woman protagonists. Her novel Portrait of a Rebel was adapted into the 1936 film A Woman Rebels.

Biography

Early life and education

Netta Syrett was born Janet Syrett on 17 March 1865 in Ramsgate, Kent. She was one of five daughters (of thirteen children) born to silk merchant Ernest Syrett (d.1906) and Mary Ann, née Stembridge (d.1923) and the niece of writer Grant Allen.[1] Three of her sisters, Nellie Syrett (b. 1882)[2] Kate Syrett and Mabel Syrett (1871 – 1961), were artists, designers and illustrators.[3] First educated at home by their mother and a German governess, Syrett left home at age 11 to attend North London Collegiate School. She continued her education at Hughes Hall, Cambridge where she completed the three years' coursework necessary for a full teaching certificate in one year.[4]

Career

Syrett taught for two years at a school in Swansea before accepting a post at the London Polytechnic School for Girls. Through her friend and coworker Mabel Beardsley, Netta met Aubrey Beardsley, Mabel's brother, and through him she was introduced to Henry Harland and included in his circle of friends. Harland published three of her short stories in the Yellow Book. her sisters Nellie Syrett and Mabel Syrett also contributed to The Yellow Book.[5]

Syrett's first novel, Nobody's Fault (1896), was published by The Bodley Head in their Keynote series. Her writing and teaching careers coincided until 1902, when her play The Finding of Nancy received negative attention after Clement Scott, writing for Daily Telegraph (9 May 1902), insinuated that the play was thinly disguised autobiography. Syrett was asked to resign her teaching position after a student's mother read Scott's review. By that time, novel writing had become for her "a sure thing" and Syrett continued to turn out a novel per year until retiring in 1939.[4]

Death and afterward

Syrett died in London on 15 December 1943 following a long illness.[6]

Published works

Novels

Plays

Short stories

Children's books

Other works

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: A New Woman Reader: Fiction, Articles, and Drama of the 1890s. 1 June 2000. Broadview Press. 1-55111-295-7. Carolyn Christensen Nelson. Peterborough, Ontario. 356. Netta Syrett. 5 May 2008. https://books.google.com/books?id=flLS5Lg9M_AC&pg=PA52.
  2. Web site: Syrett Nellie b. 1882 Artist Biographies. www.artbiogs.co.uk. 2020-05-16.
  3. Web site: "Mabel Syrett (1871-1961), Yellow Nineties 2.0.. Rose. Lucy Ella. 2020. Ryerson University Centre for Digital Humanities.
  4. (2006) "Netta Syrett" in Jill Tedford Jones: Dictionary of Literary Biography. Gale Thomson.
  5. Web site: Netta Syrett (1865-1943) - Y90s Biographies. Stetz. Margaret D. 2019. Yellow Nineties 2.0. Ryerson University Centre for Digital Humanities.
  6. News: Netta Syrett; British Author Wrote 30 Novels; Many Children's Stories . . 19 December 1939 . 48 . subscription.
  7. News: A Castle of Dreams . . 2 October 1909 . BR585 . 2023-12-14 . Newspapers.com.
  8. Review of Drender's Daughter by Netta Syrett. The Athenæum. 20 May 1911. 4360. 564.
  9. News: A Prize Play in London; 'The Finding of Nancy,' Crowned by the Playgoers' Club, Performed at the St. James's Theatre . . London . 9 May 1902 . 8 . 2023-12-14 . Newspapers.com.
  10. Web site: Syrett, Netta (Harper's Magazine) .
  11. serialised in Our Jabberwock 1907

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