| Elizabeth Bowen |
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Information AboutElizabeth Bowen |
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She was educated at Downe House. After some time at art school in Londo n she decided that her talent lay in writing. She mixed with the Bloomsbury Group , becoming good friends with Rose Macaulay , who helped her find a publisher for her first book, Encounters (1923). In 1923 she married Alan Cameron, an educational administrator who subsequently worked for the BBC . Bowen inherited Bowen's Court in 1930, but remained based in England, making frequent visits to Ireland . During World War II she worked for the British Ministry of Information, reporting on Irish opinion, particularly on the issue of Irish neutrality. Her husband retired in 1952 and they settled in Bowen’s Court, where Alan Cameron died a few months later. For years Bowen struggled to keep the house going, lecturing in the United States to earn money. In 1959 the house was sold and demolished. Bowen received recognition for her work, being awarded Doctorates in Literature by Trinity College, Dublin (1949) and the University Of Oxford (1952). She was also awarded the CBE. After spending some years without a permanent home, Bowen settled in Hythe and died of Cancer in 1973, aged 73. She is buried with her husband in Farahy church yard, close to the gates of Bowen’s Court. A commemoration of her life is held annually in Farahy church. ASSESSMENT Elizabeth Bowen was greatly interested in ‘life with the lid on’ and what happened when lid came off. Her work deals with innocence and betrayal and theirs that lie beneath the veneer of respectability. Her style is highly wrought and owes much to Henry James . She was also influenced by Marcel Proust and by the techniques of Film . Place has a central role in her work. Few have evoked London in wartime as well as she did. SELECTED WORKS Novels
Short stories
Non-fiction
Biography
Critical Studies
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