The Ackland and Edwards Blog
But would I were the sea…
In the previous blogpost I mentioned that Mary Stella Edwards carried a copy of Edward Carpenter’s book Towards Democracy in her pocket for most of 1920. This is also the year that she wrote more published poems than in any other year of her life. “What a...
Reading, freedom and democracy
Every year, Mary Stella Edwards listed all the books she had read in the last 12 months in her journal. For example, in 1918 alone Mary Stella Edwards read at least 84 books. I write ‘at least’ because Edwards only included the books that she read from...
The Dancing Star
Mary Stella Edwards’ poetry changed in the mid to late 1920s – just at the time her first book of poetry was published by The Hogarth Press. The other-worldly connection to the natural world remained (see previous blogpost) but her focus was different. On the face of...
Mary Stella Edwards and “The Immortal Hour”
To me, Mary Stella Edwards’ first book of poetry is haunted by fairies and nature spirits. They aren’t obvious – so perhaps other readers might disagree. She never actually uses the word “fairy” – but they are implied in a kind of world-building that feels closely...
Getting to know Judith Ackland – Part 2
In the previous blogpost – I described Judith's sudden departure from Bideford to the Pyrenees. She travelled alone (and abroad for the first time) to attend to Mildred, a childhood friend believed to be on the verge of death. Here we learn how Judith's correspondence...
Getting to know Judith Ackland – Part 1
Up till now Judith Ackland has been a rather shadowy figure in my research. I had only read her thoughts in her own words in a letter to Rupert Graves (see Finding Judith). Although heartfelt, that was a very formal letter. Otherwise, all the information has come from...
Mary Stella Edwards and Judith Ackland: a love story
Early in my PhD research I wondered who might play Mary Stella Edwards and Judith Ackland in a film about their lives. After much thought and debate with the archive volunteers, we came up with Haydn Gwynne to play Judith and Helen McCrory to play Mary Stella. The...
Mary Stella Edwards’ School Days: tedium before fun
What can Mary Stella Edwards' early childhood and school days tell us about her hyphenated career as poet, artist, and commercial artist? Mary Stella on holiday in Swanage, 1904: “Here a man gave me a sunshade, and I was photographed on the terrace carrying it.”...
Finding Judith Ackland in the archive
Judith Ackland remains a rather shadowy figure in the archive. She wrote just one journal (to Mary Stella’s 20+) and she seems to have left much of the business correspondence of their professional lives to Edwards. However, the relationship between Judith and Mary...
Writing poetry in the “true” way
The photo above of Mary Stella Edwards is my favourite one of her in the archive. It’s a miss-shot really. Perhaps there was a light leak in the camera. But it shows – perhaps better than words can describe – how Mary Stella Edwards wrote poetry. Queen of enjambment...