Dorothy Hewlett

Dorothy Hewlett (Kilburn, London – 9 January 1979, Richmond, London) was an English scholar specialising in 19th century literature, a novelist and playwright. Known for her stewardship of the Keats-Shelley Memorial Bulletin, she was a winner of the Rose Mary Crawshay Prize (1938) and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

Not to be confused with Dorothy Hewett Australian feminist poet, novelist and playwright.

Life

Dorothy Hewlett was born in Kilburn, London.[1]

In 1923, Hewlett married Norman Kilgour,[2] who would later be a frequent contributor to the Keats-Shelley Memorial Bulletin, which she edited for 27 years.[3][4] She was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.[5]

In 1950, Hewlett was an advisor to the Hampstead Borough Council on the restoration of Keats House, which had been bought for the public in 1922, and had subsequently suffered damage from the Second World War and neglect.[6]

Hewlett died in Richmond in 1979.[3]

Selected works

Dorothy Hewlett's one act play The Box premiered at the International One-Act Play Theatre in 1935. A macabre story of an old man intending to poison his young wife, this play had negative reviews.[7] Her biographical play on John Keats, Bright Star, was presented by the Play Society in London in 1936, and was not well received. The Daily Telegraph's critic called it an anemic portrait of Keats, while a critic from The Times said it only hinted at the Fanny Brawne theme instead of exploring it.[8] She presented another biographical play, this time on Oliver Cromwell, The Great Man, in 1939, not to much better reviews: The Times' critic said it was insufficiently revelatory of Cromwell's character or his struggles with kingship.[9]

Hewlett's novels, however, were widely lauded. Victorian House (1939) was a family drama set in the period leading up to the Great Exhibition of 1851, and was praised by various critics: it would recall much pleasure to those who lived through the Victorian period, and its ambling descriptions of London were appreciated.[10] A Shocking Bad Hat published in 1941, was a piece of crime fiction and followed from where the previous novel ended. It was called a delightful caper with an intricate plot and a fine literary quality, with well rendered characters.[11]

Hewlett was also acclaimed for her biographies. Her 1937 work on John Keats Adonais won the Rose Mary Crawshay Prize of the British Academy (1938). It was called a sympathetic, well-balanced and beautifully-rounded work,[12] and an admirable piece of work throughout, carefully matured and pleasingly written.[13] She wrote what was considered the definitive biography of Elizabeth Barrett Browning, first published in the US in 1952, concentrating on Browning's great poetic abilities and showing her as a great poet in her own right.[1]

Biography
  • Adonais, A Life of John Keats. Bobbs-Merrill Company. 1937.
  • Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Knopf. 1952.

Novel
  • Victorian House. Hurst & Blackett. 1939.
  • A Shocking Bad Hat. Hurst & Blackett. 1941.
  • Flowing Tide. 1955.

References
  1. Thompson 1952.
  2. England & Wales Marriages 1923.
  3. The Times 1979, p. 14.
  4. Keats-Shelley 1979.
  5. NYT 1979.
  6. The Times 1950, p. 8.
  7. The Times 1935.
  8. NYT 1936.
  9. The Times 1939.
  10. Swinnerton 1939.
  11. Southron 1941, p. 30.
  12. W. 1938.
  13. Hutchison 1938.

Bibliography
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