Godden, Rumer

in full Margaret Rumer Godden Haynes-Dixon

born Dec. 10, 1907, Eastbourne, Sussex, Eng.

died Nov. 8, 1998, Dumfries, Scot.

British writer.

She grew up in India, and after attending school in Britain she returned to spend many years there. Her novel Black Narcissus (1939; film, 1947) brought her popular success. The story of a group of English nuns in the Himalayas, it deals with her recurring themes of cultural conflicts and obsessive love. She often wrote about children, as in The River (1946; filmed by Jean Renoir in 1951) and The Greengage Summer (1958; film, 1961), and wrote almost two dozen books for children.

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▪ 1999

      British writer (b. Dec. 10, 1907, Eastbourne, Sussex, Eng.—d. Nov. 8, 1998, Dumfries, Scot.), published scores of works—novels, plays, poetry, children's books, memoirs, and anthologies among them—during her more than 60-year career. Her lyrical, evocative writing often reflected the influence of a childhood spent in India and the impression that the sights, sounds, and smells of that country made on her, and her psychological portraits revealed her observations of societal conflicts. Godden was less than a year old when her family moved to India, where her father worked for a shipping company. She and her sisters grew up in river towns and were for the most part educated at home. Godden showed an early interest in writing and even wrote a fictitious autobiography when she was a young child. In 1920 she was sent back to England—against her wishes—to finish her education; after trying a succession of schools, she ended up at Moira House in Eastbourne. There she was encouraged to continue writing, and she later took up the study of dance. From 1928 to 1934 she ran the Peggy Godden School of Dance in Calcutta, welcoming—despite the customs of the time—both Indian and English pupils. Godden's first novel, Chinese Puzzle, was published in 1935, but it was her third novel, Black Narcissus (1939), that gave her her first big success. It became a best-seller and, in 1947, was filmed. In 1945 Godden moved back to Great Britain permanently, and a year later The River, considered by some to be her best work, was published. It too was filmed (1951), as were a number of other of her books, including The Greengage Summer (1958; filmed as Loss of Innocence, 1961), The Battle of the Villa Fiorita (1963; film, 1965), and In This House of Brede (1969; filmed for television, 1975). In 1947 Godden wrote the first—and one of the best-known—of her nearly two dozen children's books, The Doll's House; another, The Diddakoi (1972), won a Whitbread Award. Godden collaborated with her sister Jon, also a successful writer, on a number of works, notably the memoir Two Under the Indian Sun (1966). Among Godden's later works were two volumes of autobiography, A Time to Dance, No Time to Weep (1988) and A House with Four Rooms (1989). Godden was named O.B.E. in 1993, and in 1994 she made a final trip to India to participate in a television documentary. Her last book, Cromartie v. the God Shiva: Acting Through the Government of India, was published in 1997.

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▪ British writer

in full  Margaret Rumer Godden Haynes-Dixon 

born Dec. 10, 1907, Eastbourne, Sussex, Eng.

died Nov. 8, 1998, Dumfries, Scot.

      British writer whose many novels, poems, and nonfictional works reflect her personal experiences in colonial India and in England.

      Godden was taken in infancy to India and lived there until adolescence, when she was sent to a boarding school in England. She eventually returned to India, founded a dancing school for children, and wrote several books, beginning with Chinese Puzzle (1936). In later life she moved to Scotland, where she continued to write.

      Godden's novels are witty and her technique polished. Black Narcissus (1939; filmed 1946), her first novel to achieve popular success, concerns a group of English nuns who surmount physical and emotional difficulties to establish a mission in the Himalayas. Underlying the plot are the issues of cultures in conflict and obsessive love, both recurring themes in Godden's fiction. She introduced the first of many child protagonists in Breakfast with the Nikolides (1942), followed by An Episode of Sparrows (1955; filmed as Innocent Sinners, 1958), The Greengage Summer (1958; filmed as Loss of Innocence, 1961), and China Court (1961). The River (1946; filmed 1951) depicts English children growing up in Bengal. In This House of Brede (1969; filmed for television in 1975) portrays contemporary life in an English Benedictine convent.

      Among Godden's numerous books for children are The Doll's House (1947), The Fairy Doll (1956), The Story of Holly and Ivy (1958), Miss Happiness and Miss Flower (1961), Candy Floss (1991), and Cockcrow to Starlight: A Day Full of Poetry (1996). With her sister, Jon Godden, she wrote the memoirs Two Under the Indian Sun (1966) and Shiva's Pigeons: An Experience of India (1972), as well as the story collection Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love (1989). She also published two volumes of autobiography, A Time to Dance, No Time to Weep (1987) and A House with Four Rooms (1989). Godden was named O.B.E. in 1993. Her last novel, Cromartie v. the God Shiva: Acting Through the Government of India (1997), was based on an actual event.

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