Jessie Urquhart

Jessie Urquhart (1890 – 12 April 1948) was an Australian journalist, novelist and short-story writer.

Jessie Urquhart
Jessie Urquhart, c. 1933
Born1890 (1890)
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
DiedApril 12, 1948(1948-04-12) (aged 57–58)
St John's Wood, London, England
Occupationnovelist, journalist, short-story writer
NationalityAustralian

Jessie Urquhart was born in Sydney in 1890, younger daughter of William (c.1861–1931)[1] and Elizabeth Barsby Urquhart (née Gault) (c.1861–1916).[2] Her father, who was a gaol administrator, had migrated from Scotland in 1884, while her mother was from Leicester, England.

As well as writing three novels, Urquhart wrote stories for The School Magazine published by the NSW Department of Education for primary school students, some of which had appeared previously in The Sydney Morning Herald.[3] She also contributed short stories to The Australian Woman's Mirror, The Bulletin and The Australian Women's Weekly.[4] During her years in England she reported on the London literary scene.

Urquhart was a member of the Society of Women Writers and acted as secretary from 1932 until her departure for England in 1934.[5][6]

In 1935 Zora Cross wrote of Urquhart that "she will not, I think, do her best work until, like Alice Grant Rosman, she relinquishes journalism for fiction".[7]

Urquhart died in a nursing home in St John's Wood, London on 12 April 1948.[8][9] She was survived by her sister, Eliza Urquhart (1885–1968).[10]

Works
  • Wayside, Angus & Robertson, 1919
  • Maryplace: The Story of Three Women and Three Men, Nicholson & Watson, 1934
  • Giving Amber Her Chance, Endeavour Press, 1934

References
  1. "Late Mr. W. Urquhart". Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954). 24 January 1931. p. 14. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  2. "Obituary". Goulburn Evening Penny Post (NSW : 1881 - 1940). 19 February 1916. p. 2. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  3. New South Wales. Department of Education (2 May 1928), "THE LOVELIEST THING IN THE WORLD. (2 May 1928)", The school magazine of literature for our boys and girls, The Dept, 13 (4 Part 2 Class 4), retrieved 30 April 2020
  4. "Versatile Australian Writer". Australian Women's Weekly (1933 - 1982). 17 June 1933. p. 39. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  5. Heath, Lesley. "Society of Women Writers 1925-1935." Australian Literary Studies, vol. 21, no. 3, 2004, p. 362+. Gale Literature Resource Center
  6. Adelaide, Debra (1988). Australian women writers: a bibliographic guide. Pandora. ISBN 978-0-86358-148-9.
  7. "Australian Women Who Write". Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954). 4 April 1935. p. 12. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  8. "Family Notices". Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954). 14 April 1948. p. 20. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  9. Austlit. "Jessie Urquhart | AustLit: Discover Australian Stories". www.austlit.edu.au. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  10. "RE will and codicil of Eliza Urquhart". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales (Sydney, NSW : 1901 - 2001). 16 June 1972. p. 2343. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
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