Charlotte Mansfield

Charlotte Mansfield (1881–1936) was an English novelist, poet, and traveler, known for her planned 1909 "Cape to Cairo"[1] journey.[2]

Charlotte Mansfield

Career

Mansfield's novels include Torn Lace (1904);[3] The Girl and the Gods (1907);[4] Love and a Woman;[5] Red Pearls (1914);[6] Gloria, a Girl of the South African Veldt (1916);[7] The Dupe (1917), a World War I spy story;[8] Sex and Siller (1920);[9] and Strings (1920), a supernatural thriller about an evil violin.[10] She also published two books of poems, Flowers of the Wind (1899), and Poems (1902).[11][12] The Spectator reviewer called her poetry "verses of indifferent quality, now and then audacious in sentiment."[13]

Her widely publicized "Cape to Cairo" tour in fact only reached to Lake Tanganyika before returning to South Africa.[14] She wrote about her travels in southern Africa in Via Rhodesia: A Journey Through Southern Africa (1911)).[15] In reviewing the book, The Register of Adelaide commented, "a less fitting person to follow in the steps of Mary Kingsley could hardly be imagined."[16]

Mansfield's Gloria, A Girl of the South African Veldt was one of the first South African novels to be adapted for the screen, when American director Lorimer Johnston made a silent picture at Killarney Film Studios in 1916 based on Mansfield's novel, starring English actress Mabel May in the title role.[17]

Charlotte Mansfield was also an accomplished needlework artist, and exhibited her embroidery work in London.[18]

Personal life

In 1909, she married mining engineer Vladimir Raffalovich in London; they lived in Johannesburg, South Africa.[19] Alfred Edward Turner and Mansfield's new sister-in-law Vera Raffalovich Friedlander presented and hosted the wedding festivities.[20] Vladimir Raffalovich survived Charlotte Mansfield Raffalovich when she died in 1936, aged 55 years.

References

  1. "From Cape to Cairo: Big Trip for Women" Winnipeg Tribune (28 November 1908): 9. via Newspapers.com
  2. "Marriage of the White Donna" New Zealand Herald (23 November 1909).
  3. Charlotte Mansfield, Torn Lace (W. Scott 1904).
  4. Charlotte Mansfield, The Girl and the Gods (Hermes Press 1907).
  5. "Lady's Trek through Africa" Glamorgan Gazette (20 August 1909): 3.
  6. Charlotte Mansfield, Red Pearls (London 1914).
  7. Charlotte Mansfield, Gloria, A Girl of the South African Veldt (Holden and Hardingham 1916).
  8. Sharon Ouditt, Women Writers of the First World War: An Annotated Bibliography (Routledge 2002): 31-32. ISBN 9781134946020
  9. Charlotte Mansfield, Sex and Siller (Holden and Hardingham 1920)
  10. Charlotte Mansfield, Strings (W. Westall & Company 1920).
  11. Charlotte Mansfield, Flowers of the Wind (Elkin Matthews 1899).
  12. Charlotte Mansfield, Poems (London: Bumpus & Co., 1902).
  13. "Some Books of the Week" The Spectator (15 July 1899): 97/
  14. "Via Rhodesia" Sydney Morning Herald (22 April 1911): 4. via Trove.
  15. Charlotte Mansfield, Via Rhodesia: A Journey through Southern Africa (London: S. Paul & Co. 1911).
  16. "Review of Books: A Lady in Africa" The Register (1 April 1911): 4. via Trove.
  17. "Lorrimer Johnston Heard From" The Moving Picture World 27(March 18, 1916): 1839.
  18. Ernest L. Scott, "Society Belle's Long Walk" Omaha Daily Bee (31 January 1909): 11. via Newspapers.com
  19. Mick Conefrey, How to Climb Mount Blanc in a Skirt: A Handbook for the Lady Adventurer (Macmillan 2011): 54. ISBN 9780230106420
  20. "Exploration Romance" The Telegraph (20 November 1909): 8. via Trove.
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