Hilda Mary Hooke

Hilda Mary Hooke (after marriage, Smith; 3 October 1898 – 1978) was an English-born Canadian writer of dramas, poetry, and prose. Her 1938 play, Here Will I Nest was adapted into Canada's first colour feature-length motion picture, Talbot of Canada,[1] for which she wrote the screenplay.[2] Hooke died in 1978.

Hilda Hooke Smith
BornHilda Mary Hooke
3 October 1898
Odcombe, Somerset, England
Died1978
Comox, British Columbia, Canada
Occupationwriter
LanguageEnglish
NationalityAmerican
Genre
  • dramas
  • poetry
Spouse
Richard Tapscott Smith
​
​
(m. 1925)​
Signature

Biography

Hilda Mary Hooke was born at Odcombe, Somerset, England, 3 October 1898. Her parents were Oswald Edgar Smith and Louisa Elizth (Tapscott) Smith.[3] She came to Canada in 1902.[4]

For some years after her arrival, she was engaged in musical and dramatic work.[4] Hooke was affiliated with the Little Theatre in London, Ontario, since the 1920s as producer, director, and playwright. Here Will I Nest, first performed in 1938, became the first Canadian play to be adapted into a motion picture.[5] She wrote three plays around the central figure of Lord Talbot and another three centered on Dr. John Troyer.[6]

Later in her writing career, she became a poet.[4] She also wrote a book about folklore (Thunder in the Mountains: Legends of Canada).[7]

While serving as secretary to the Chief Inspector of Public Schools, London, Ontario, she published less.[4] In 1946, she also served as secretary to Canon Quintin Warner.[8]

On 26 September 1925, she married Richard Tapscott Smith.[3] She died in Comox, British Columbia, 1978.[9]

Selected works

Plays
  • Here Will I Nest, 1938[9]
  • A Time of Grace: A Play in Three Acts, 1941[9]
  • One-Act Plays from Canadian History, 1942[9][6]
  • The Streamlined Madonna, 1946[9]
  • Legend, 1949[10]

Screenplays
  • Here Will I Nest (alt. Talbot of Canada), 1942[2]

Prose
  • Thunder in the Mountains: Legends of Canada, 1947[9]

Song lyrics
  • "The challenger. A part song for mixed voices.", 1919 (music by Peter C. Lutkin)

References
  1. Loiselle, André (16 October 2003). Stage-Bound: Feature Film Adaptations of Canadian and Québécois Drama. McGill-Queen's Press – MQUP. ISBN 978-0-7735-7146-4. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  2. Canadian Film Project (1996). Canada and Canadians in Feature Films: A Filmography, 1928–1990. Canadian Film Project, University of Guelph. p. 27. ISBN 978-0-88955-415-3. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  3. "Canada, Ontario Marriages, 1869-1927," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKMR-SW7W : 8 March 2021), Richard Tapscott Smith and Hilda Mary Hooke, 26 Sep 1925; citing registration , London, Middlesex, Ontario, Canada, Archives of Ontario, Toronto; FHL microfilm 2,413,315.
  4. Caswell, Edward Samuel (1925). Canadian Singers and Their Songs: A Collection of Portraits, Autograph Poems and Brief Biographies. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart. p. 238. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  5. "Here Will I Nest – Canada's first feature colour movie". dotydocs.theatreinlondon.ca. Archived from the original on 2010-08-27. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  6. "HISTORICAL PLAYS". The Gazette. Montreal. 24 July 1942. p. 6. Retrieved 14 February 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "ONTARIO WOMAN RELATED CANADIAN LEGENDS". The Windsor Star. Windsor. 29 November 1947. p. 32. Retrieved 14 February 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. "FOLKLORE TONIC FOR A JADED GENERATION". The Vancouver Sun. Vancouver. 31 January 1948. p. 50. Retrieved 14 February 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. "Hilda Mary Hooke". dhil.lib.sfu.ca. Database of Canadian Early Women Writers. Archived from the original on 2022-03-14. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  10. "MRT STUDIO PRESENTS". The Gazette. Montreal. 18 April 1949. p. 10. Retrieved 14 February 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
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