Compton-Burnett, Dame Ivy

Compton-Burnett, Dame Ivy
born June 5, 1884, Pinner, Middlesex, Eng.
died Aug. 27, 1969, London

British novelist.

She graduated from the University of London and published her first novel, Dolores, in 1911. Her second, Pastors and Masters (1925), introduced the style
employing clipped, precise dialogue to reveal her characters and advance the plot
that made her name. Her novels often dealt with struggles for power: Men and Wives (1931) featured a tyrannical mother, A House and Its Head (1935) a tyrannical father. She was created Dame of the British Empire in 1967.

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▪ British writer
born , June 5, 1884, Pinner, Middlesex, Eng.
died Aug. 27, 1969, London

      English writer who developed a distinct form of novel set almost entirely in dialogue to dissect personal relationships in the middle-class Edwardian household.

      Compton-Burnett was born into the type of large family she wrote about. She grew up in Richmond, Surrey, and in Hove, Sussex, studying at home until she went to Royal Holloway College of the University of London, where she graduated in 1906. At age 35 she met Margaret Jourdain, her lifelong companion.

      Pastors and Masters (1925), Compton-Burnett's second novel, was published 14 years after her first, and it introduced the style that was to make her name. In this book the struggle for power, which occupies so many of her characters, is brought to light through clipped, precise dialogue. She achieved her full stature with Brothers and Sisters (1929), which is about a willful woman who inadvertently marries her half brother. Men and Wives (1931) has at its centre another determined woman, one whose tyranny drives her son to murder her. Murder again appears in More Women Than Men (1933), this time by a woman bent on keeping her nephew under her domination. The tyrant is a father in A House and Its Head (1935). The range of her characterization is considerable. It is the butler Bullivant who is the most memorable of the cast of Manservant and Maidservant (1947; also published as Bullivant and the Lambs), while the children in Two Worlds and Their Ways (1949) are the most tellingly drawn. She was created Dame of the British Empire in 1967.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Compton-Burnett, Dame Ivy — (5 jun. 1884, Pinner, Middlesex, Inglaterra–27 ago. 1969, Londres). Novelista británica. Se graduó en la Universidad de Londres, y publicó en 1911 su primera novela, Dolores. En la segunda, Pastors and Masters [Pastores y amos] (1925), introduce… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Ivy compton-burnett — Dame Ivy Compton Burnett est une romancière britannique née le 5 juin 1884 et morte le 27 août 1969 à Londres. Sommaire 1 Biographie 2 Son œuvre 3 Bibliographie sélective 4 Lien …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Ivy Compton-Burnett — Born June 5, 1884(1884 06 05) Died August 27, 1969(1969 08 27) (aged 85) Dame Ivy Compton Bur …   Wikipedia

  • Ivy Compton-Burnett — Dame Ivy Compton Burnett est une romancière britannique née le 5 juin 1884 et morte le 27 août 1969 à Londres. Sommaire 1 Biographie 2 Son œuvre 3 Bibliographie sélective 4 Lien externe …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Compton-Burnett —   [ kɔmptən bəːnɪt], Dame (seit 1967) Ivy, englische Schriftstellerin, * London 5. 6. 1884, ✝ ebenda 27. 8. 1969; stellt in ihren Romanen im Rahmen von Familienkonflikten die Gesellschaft am Ausgang des 19. Jahrhunderts dar. Hinter der Fassade… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Compton — Compton, Arthur Holly Compton, efecto * * * (as used in expressions) Compton, Arthur (Holly) Compton, efecto Compton Burnett, Dame Ivy Crick, Francis (Harry Compton) Mackenzie, Sir (Edward Montague) Compton …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • ivy — ivylike, adj. /uy vee/, n., pl. ivies, adj. n. 1. Also called English ivy. a climbing vine, Hedera helix, having smooth, shiny, evergreen leaves, small, yellowish flowers, and black berries, grown as an ornamental. 2. any of various other… …   Universalium

  • Ivy — /uy vee/, n. a female given name. * * * I Any of about five species of evergreen woody vines (rarely shrubs) that make up the genus Hedera in the ginseng family, commonly grown as ground covers and on stone walls, especially English ivy (H.… …   Universalium

  • Compton — /komp teuhn/, n. 1. Arthur Holly /hol ee/, 1892 1962, U.S. physicist: Nobel prize 1927. 2. his brother, Karl Taylor /kahrl/, 1887 1954, U.S. physicist. 3. Spencer, Earl of Wilmington, 1673? 1743, British statesman: prime minister 1742 43. 4. a… …   Universalium

  • Burnett — /beuhr net /, n. Frances Hodgson /hoj seuhn/, 1849 1924, U.S. novelist, born in England. * * * (as used in expressions) Benton William Burnett Burnett Carol Burnett Frances Eliza Hodgson Compton Burnett Dame Ivy Tylor Sir Edward Burnett * * * …   Universalium

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