Edith Somerville

May 2, 1858 (age 91)

Corfu, Greece

In 1886, Somerville met her second cousin, Violet Martin. In summer, Violet was attempting to write some articles when it was suggested that Edith might do the illustrations. They collaborated on an article on palmistry which was published in The Graphic in October 1886. In December 1886 Violeta went to Dublin. The frustration caused by these separations between the cousins intensified in the years ahead. When she rejoined Edith at Drishane in August 1887, they discussed the possibility of a literary collaboration and soon started writing An Irish Cousin. For both women, money was initially the main reason as they were financially dependent on their families. By the 1880s, the agricultural depression and land agitation in Ireland which culminated in the Land War resulted in reduced rental incomes for both the Martins and the Somervilles. "Spinster" sisters like Edith and Violet were expected to be unpaid housekeepers and companions, maintaining the house until their brothers came back from London or imperial service. Their families expressed some disapproval about their literary activities. Sections of some books were written when they were apart. They would then send each other what they had written; they also read chapters to their families and took careful note of their reactions. Both were assiduous eavesdroppers and always wrote down interesting or amusing conversations they heard in their daily lives. Subjects noted in one of their commonplace books included Hunting, Dogs, Letters, Trains, Horses, Racing, Beggars, Abuse and Exclamations, Blessings and Commendations, Drink and Fighting, and the Supernatural. In winter 1888 Edith and Violet learned that An Irish Cousin had been accepted for publication. When it was released in September 1889, it received good reviews and was into a second printing by the following month. This led to commissions from other publishers and from magazines. In summer 1890, they toured Connemara in the west of Ireland for a travelogue for the Lady's Pictorial. This was later published as Through Connemara in a Governess Cart (1893). The travelogue was successful, and in 1891 they received a commission from the Lady's Pictorial to write another, this time about the vineyards of Bordeaux, which was published as In the Vine Country (1893). They also completed their second novel, Naboth's Vineyard, which was published in 1891. This year Edith and her brother Aylmer founded the West Carbery Hunt which absorbed increasing amounts of her time and especially money over the following years. In February 1893, Somerville and Ross finished their third novel, The Real Charlotte, which is considered to be their best work. They themselves recognized its quality, although Edith's family thought it vulgar. Several of the characters were in fact drawn from members of their families, and Lady Dysart was based on Edith's mother Adelaide. When the book was published, it earned them much needed money, most of which went on the upkeep of either Ross or Drishane and hunting. Edith and Violet had acquired a literary agent, J.B. Pinker, who urged them to consider writing about a subject close to their hearts, hunting. They started writing several short stories in summer 1898 and the first three of what became the "Irish R.M." series were published in the Badminton Magazine the following autumn. The stories were soon bought for book form by Longmans and were published as Some Experiences of an Irish R.M. in 1899. The book was an enormous success, and by December 1899 the first edition of 3,000 copies had sold out. Their agent was pressing them to write a further series of R.M. stories, but the only books which appeared over the next seven years were two collections of previously published stories, All on the Irish Shore (1903) and Some Irish Yesterdays (1906). In 1908, a new series of R.M. stories, Further Experiences of an Irish R.M., was finally published and sold well. But despite its success, money continued to be a problem. Edith had to give up the West Carbery Hunt because of the expense, while the dairy farm which she set up with her sister Hildegarde Somerville failed after a few years. She and Violet wrote only two more books after 1908, Dan Russel the Fox (1911) and In Mr Knox's Country (1915), the final collection of R.M. stories. Violet died on December 21, 1915. Following Violet's death, Edith tried to desperately to contact her spirit, and at a seance in June 1916 she finally believed she had made contact through automatic writing. From now until her death, she consulted Violet's spirit regularly not just about writing but about everyday problems. Because she firmly believed that their collaboration continued through these seances, she wanted the subsequent books to be published under the joint authorship of Somerville and Ross. Her publishers, however, were reluctant to endorse this practice, as it attracted ridicule, and after Mount Music (1919) her writings were published under her name alone. In 1917, Somerville published Irish Memories which was in its fourth reprint by January 1918. In 1919 she published Mount Music. Over the next few years Somerville paid regular visits to London and became acquainted with many in literary and artistic circle. In 1923, after the war, Somerville visited London again for another exhibition of her paintings. Wheeltracks, a collection of articles, was also published and both were successful. After this, she started work on a new novel, The Big House of Inver, which was the most important of her post-Violet fiction. In fact, the novel was inspired by a letter which Violet had written to Edith in 1912 about a visit to Tyrone House in County Galway, the home of the aristocratic St. George family who were living in dilapidated squalor. The Big House of Inver describes the story of the Prendeville family between 1739 and 1912, one of those minor dynasties, that, in Ireland, have risen, and ruled, and rioted and have at last crashed in ruins. The central character is Sibby, the illegitimate daughter of the Big House. Since Edith had never actually seen Tyrone House, Violet's old home Ross was the model for the Big House. Although the novel sold 10,000 copies, money remained a problem as most of Somerville's earnings went into the upkeep of Drishane. In February 1929, she visited America for the first time and went on a lecture tour; there was also a successful exhibition of her paintings. Her account of her American visit, The States through Irish Eyes, was rather thin and perfunctory. In 1932, she published a biography of her (and Violet's) great-grandfather Charles Kendal Bushe who had been lord chief justice of Ireland. The research proved difficult, and she summoned his spirit in several seances to get the required information. But neither this nor the American book sold well and financial troubles loomed once more. However, with the help of her trusted groom, Michael Hurley, she started a horse-coping business which was successful and which led to another American visit in 1936. With the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, life became very difficult for Edith as the income from her books and horses evaporated. She had relied on her brother Cameron's pension to help with the upkeep of Drishane, but this disappeared with his death in January 1942. In 1947, a collection of articles and reminiscences, Happy Days, was published, and the following year, to her great satisfaction, Oxford University Press included The Real Charlotte in its "World's Classics" series.

Edith Anna Œnone Somerville Edit Profile

also known as Geilles Herring

author

Background

Edith Anna Œnone Somerville was born May 2, 1858, on the island of Corfu, Greece. She was the eldest of eight children. Her parents, Colonel T. Henry Somerville and Adelaide Coghill Somerville (granddaughter of Charles Kendal Bushe, the chief justice of Ireland), left Corfu about a year after Somerville’s birth, and Edith, for the most part, was raised on the family estate of Drishane in Castletownshend.

Education

Edith Somerville was educated by governesses at home but briefly attended a course of lectures at Alexandra College in Dublin. A talented artist, she had studied at art school in Düsseldorf and Paris in the early 1880s. Later in life, Edith Somerville was awarded the degree of Doctor of Letters by Trinity College Dublin.

Career

In 1886, Somerville met her second cousin, Violet Martin. In summer, Violet was attempting to write some articles when it was suggested that Edith might do the illustrations. They collaborated on an article on palmistry which was published in The Graphic in October 1886. In December 1886 Violeta went to Dublin. The frustration caused by these separations between the cousins intensified in the years ahead.

When she rejoined Edith at Drishane in August 1887, they discussed the possibility of a literary collaboration and soon started writing An Irish Cousin. For both women, money was initially the main reason as they were financially dependent on their families. By the 1880s, the agricultural depression and land agitation in Ireland which culminated in the Land War resulted in reduced rental incomes for both the Martins and the Somervilles. "Spinster" sisters like Edith and Violet were expected to be unpaid housekeepers and companions, maintaining the house until their brothers came back from London or imperial service. Their families expressed some disapproval about their literary activities.

Sections of some books were written when they were apart. They would then send each other what they had written; they also read chapters to their families and took careful note of their reactions. Both were assiduous eavesdroppers and always wrote down interesting or amusing conversations they heard in their daily lives. Subjects noted in one of their commonplace books included Hunting, Dogs, Letters, Trains, Horses, Racing, Beggars, Abuse and Exclamations, Blessings and Commendations, Drink and Fighting, and the Supernatural.

In winter 1888 Edith and Violet learned that An Irish Cousin had been accepted for publication. When it was released in September 1889, it received good reviews and was into a second printing by the following month. This led to commissions from other publishers and from magazines.

In summer 1890, they toured Connemara in the west of Ireland for a travelogue for the Lady's Pictorial. This was later published as Through Connemara in a Governess Cart (1893). The travelogue was successful, and in 1891 they received a commission from the Lady's Pictorial to write another, this time about the vineyards of Bordeaux, which was published as In the Vine Country (1893). They also completed their second novel, Naboth's Vineyard, which was published in 1891. This year Edith and her brother Aylmer founded the West Carbery Hunt which absorbed increasing amounts of her time and especially money over the following years.

In February 1893, Somerville and Ross finished their third novel, The Real Charlotte, which is considered to be their best work. They themselves recognized its quality, although Edith's family thought it vulgar. Several of the characters were in fact drawn from members of their families, and Lady Dysart was based on Edith's mother Adelaide. When the book was published, it earned them much needed money, most of which went on the upkeep of either Ross or Drishane and hunting.

Edith and Violet had acquired a literary agent, J.B. Pinker, who urged them to consider writing about a subject close to their hearts, hunting. They started writing several short stories in summer 1898 and the first three of what became the "Irish R.M." series were published in the Badminton Magazine the following autumn. The stories were soon bought for book form by Longmans and were published as Some Experiences of an Irish R.M. in 1899. The book was an enormous success, and by December 1899 the first edition of 3,000 copies had sold out.

Their agent was pressing them to write a further series of R.M. stories, but the only books which appeared over the next seven years were two collections of previously published stories, All on the Irish Shore (1903) and Some Irish Yesterdays (1906). In 1908, a new series of R.M. stories, Further Experiences of an Irish R.M., was finally published and sold well. But despite its success, money continued to be a problem. Edith had to give up the West Carbery Hunt because of the expense, while the dairy farm which she set up with her sister Hildegarde Somerville failed after a few years. She and Violet wrote only two more books after 1908, Dan Russel the Fox (1911) and In Mr Knox's Country (1915), the final collection of R.M. stories.

Violet died on December 21, 1915. Following Violet's death, Edith tried to desperately to contact her spirit, and at a seance in June 1916 she finally believed she had made contact through automatic writing. From now until her death, she consulted Violet's spirit regularly not just about writing but about everyday problems. Because she firmly believed that their collaboration continued through these seances, she wanted the subsequent books to be published under the joint authorship of Somerville and Ross. Her publishers, however, were reluctant to endorse this practice, as it attracted ridicule, and after Mount Music (1919) her writings were published under her name alone.

In 1917, Somerville published Irish Memories which was in its fourth reprint by January 1918. In 1919 she published Mount Music. Over the next few years Somerville paid regular visits to London and became acquainted with many in literary and artistic circle.

In 1923, after the war, Somerville visited London again for another exhibition of her paintings. Wheeltracks, a collection of articles, was also published and both were successful. After this, she started work on a new novel, The Big House of Inver, which was the most important of her post-Violet fiction. In fact, the novel was inspired by a letter which Violet had written to Edith in 1912 about a visit to Tyrone House in County Galway, the home of the aristocratic St. George family who were living in dilapidated squalor. The Big House of Inver describes the story of the Prendeville family between 1739 and 1912, one of those minor dynasties, that, in Ireland, have risen, and ruled, and rioted and have at last crashed in ruins. The central character is Sibby, the illegitimate daughter of the Big House. Since Edith had never actually seen Tyrone House, Violet's old home Ross was the model for the Big House.

Although the novel sold 10,000 copies, money remained a problem as most of Somerville's earnings went into the upkeep of Drishane. In February 1929, she visited America for the first time and went on a lecture tour; there was also a successful exhibition of her paintings. Her account of her American visit, The States through Irish Eyes, was rather thin and perfunctory. In 1932, she published a biography of her (and Violet's) great-grandfather Charles Kendal Bushe who had been lord chief justice of Ireland. The research proved difficult, and she summoned his spirit in several seances to get the required information. But neither this nor the American book sold well and financial troubles loomed once more. However, with the help of her trusted groom, Michael Hurley, she started a horse-coping business which was successful and which led to another American visit in 1936.

With the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, life became very difficult for Edith as the income from her books and horses evaporated. She had relied on her brother Cameron's pension to help with the upkeep of Drishane, but this disappeared with his death in January 1942. In 1947, a collection of articles and reminiscences, Happy Days, was published, and the following year, to her great satisfaction, Oxford University Press included The Real Charlotte in its "World's Classics" series.

Achievements

Edith Somerville was a popular author of more than dozens of books, among which are The Real Charlotte and Some experiences of an Irish R.M. In 1941, the Irish Academy of Letters bestowed on her the Gregory Gold Medal, its most important literary award.