F. Tennyson Jesse
Fryniwyd Tennyson Jesse Harwood (born Wynifried (Winifred) Margaret Jesse; 1 March 1888 – 6 August 1958) [1] was an English criminologist, journalist and author (she also wrote as Wynifried Margaret Tennyson).
F. Tennyson Jesse | |
|---|---|
 Photograph c. 1922 | |
| Born | Winifred Margaret Jesse 1 March 1888 Chislehurst, Kent, United Kingdom |
| Died | 6 August 1958 (aged 70) London, United Kingdom |
| Occupation | novelist, playwright, criminologist, cartoonist |
| Language | English |
| Nationality | English |
| Alma mater | Newlyn School |
| Period | 1913–1957 |
| Genre | crime fiction, detective fiction, criminology |
| Notable works | A Pin to See the Peepshow, Murder & Its Motives, Notable British Trials |
| Spouse | H. M. Harwood (m. 1918–1958; her death) |
| Parents | Eustace Tennyson D'Eyncourt Jesse Edith James Jesse |
| Relatives | Emilia Tennyson (grandmother) Alfred, Lord Tennyson (granduncle) |
Early life and marriage
Fryniwyd was the second of three daughters of the Reverend Eustace Tennyson D'Eyncourt Jesse (1853-1928) and Edith Louisa James (1866-1941), and a great-niece of the poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson.[2] Her older sister, Stella Mary Jesse (1887-1942) was also an author, best remembered for her novel Eve in Egypt (1929).[3] Her younger sister, Edith Mary Ermyntrude was born in 1890, but died in infancy.[4] Fryniwyd married Harold Marsh Harwood (1874–1959), a businessman and theatre manager, in September 1918. "Fryn" is a self-made contraction of "Wynifried".[5]
Books
Her most notable books include A Pin to See the Peepshow (London, W. Heinemann Ltd, 1934; Virago Modern Classics; British Library Women Writers), a fictional treatment of the case of Edith Thompson and Frederick Bywaters, and Murder & Its Motives (Heinemann, 1924), which divided killers into six categories based on their motivations: those who murder for Gain, Revenge, Elimination, Jealousy, Conviction and Lust of killing. This classification of motive has remained influential.
She contributed many cases to the Notable British Trials series, such as the trial of serial killer John Christie and the controversy surrounding the hanging of his neighbour, Timothy Evans. Her summary of the two trials is extensive, and concludes that Christie was probably the murderer of both Beryl and Geraldine Evans, and that Timothy Evans was innocent of their deaths (Evans was hanged for the murder of his daughter Geraldine, and posthumously pardoned).
She also wrote the neglected classic, The Lacquer Lady (1929), which recounts the true story of how European maid of honour Fanny Moroni helped bring about the fall of the Burmese Royal Family at the end of the nineteenth century.
She reported on the German attacks on Belgium in the First World War for Collier's Weekly.[6]
Her story Treasure Trove tells of the rediscovery in modern times of the 30 pieces of silver paid to Judas to betray Jesus Christ and their subsequent malign influence.
The novel Tom Fool (Heinemann, 1926) deals with a young man's experiences on sailing ships, and describes shipboard life in some detail.
The novel Moonraker (Heinemann, 1927) appears to be a typical romantic adventure, but in his 1981 introduction Bob Leeson states that it contains both an embodiment of woman's rebellion and a cry for freedom for black people.
The short story The Mask is collected in Alfred Hitchcock Presents: A Baker's Dozen of Suspense Stories (Dell, 1963).
References
- The record of her birth in Bromley from April–June 1888 gives her name as "Winifred Margaret Jesse", the record of her death in Marylebone gives her name as "Fryniwyd Harwood", see .
- Eustace Tennyson D'Eyncourt Jesse, 32, married Edith Louisa James, 19, at St Saviour's, Croydon, on 1 February 1886 (marriage entry for St Saviour's, held at Surrey History Centre). Eustace's death date taken from the National Probate Calendar on Ancestry; Louisa's death taken from the General Register Office (Horsham district, vol 02B, ppage 684).
- Jesse, Stella (2018). Eve in Egypt (reprint ed.). Michael Walmer. ISBN 978-0648023364.
- Edith was born 26 July 1890 in Kirkley, Suffolk, and baptised there by her father on 24 August 1890. The 1891 census for Kellswater, Bedford Hill Road, Streatham, records eight-month-old Edith at the residence with a 15-year-old housemaid, while her mother Edith Louisa and sisters were visiting Edith's family in Chislehurst. The younger Edith is not on the 1901 census, and is listed as dead on the 1911 census, although no death registration can be found for her.
- Susannah Clapp (7 June 1984). "You are my heart's delight: Book review of A Portrait of Fryn: A Biography of F. Tennyson Jesse ". London Review of Books. 06 (10). Retrieved 28 July 2012.
- "Powell". Greatwardifferent.com. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
- "The Australian woman's mirror.Vol. 1 No. 22 (21 April 1925)". Trove. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
Bibliography
- Joanna Colenbrander, A portrait of Fryn: a biography of F. Tennyson Jesse, A. Deutsch, 1984, ISBN 0-233-97572-1.
External links
- Legends of True Crime Reporting: F. Tennyson Jesse
- Works by Fryniwyd Tennyson Jesse at Project Gutenberg
- Works by Fryniwyd Tennyson Jesse at Faded Page (Canada)
- Works by or about F. Tennyson Jesse at Internet Archive
- Works by F. Tennyson Jesse at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)
- "Jesse [married name Harwood], Wynifried Margaret [Fryniwyd] [pseud. F. Tennyson Jesse] (1888–1958), writer and criminologist". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2004. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/39087. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- F. Tennyson Jesse at IMDb