Salvator Aubrey Clarence Menen (22 April 1912 – 13 March 1989) was a British writer, novelist, satirist and theatre critic. Born in London, his essays and novels explore the nature of nationalism and the cultural contrast between his own Irish-Indian ancestry and his traditional British upbringing. The first sentence of Dead Man in the Silver Market offers an example of his good-humoured approach to this contentious topic: "Men of all races have always sought for a convincing explanation of their own astonishing excellence and they have frequently found what they were looking for."
Aubrey Menen was born in London in 1912 to Kali Narain Menon (also Kalipurayath Narayana Menon), "scion of a prominent Nayar family"[1] of Indian Malayali origin, and Alice Villet, an Englishwoman of Irish descent.[2] Aubrey chose to change his surname's spelling, allegedly to avoid confusion with his friend V. K. Krishna Menon.[3] Menen was raised at Islington and Forest Hill in London. He was brought up Roman Catholic. His mixed heritage was central to his career, and he often drew heavily on it in his writing.[4]
He took a BA in Philosophy from University College London (UCL) in 1932. Whilst at UCL, he founded a drama group, the London Student Players, writing, directing, and performing in their productions; he befriended Duncan Grant, and commissioned him to design sets. Through Grant, Menen became acquainted with members of the Bloomsbury Group including Virginia Woolf and John Maynard Keynes.[5][6][7]
Careeredit
In 1932, having graduated from UCL, Menen became drama critic for The Bookman magazine, until, in 1934, serving as director of the Experimental Theatre in London until 1936. In 1933, H. G. Wells had granted Menen permission to produce an adaptation of his novel The Shape of Things to Come, which generated "considerable publicity". Menen's unconventional, boundary-pushing performances included production of politically-charged drama, his "radical plays... often fraught with controversy". He was sued for blasphemy and obscenity in 1934 in response to his play Genesis II, based on an incident when UCL had rejected Menen for a bursary due to his Indian heritage. In 1939, he went to India, where he became a "leading personality" in radio; from 1948 to 1980, he lived in Italy, where he "flourished as a writer of both fiction and non-fiction" until returning to India, settling at Kerala, where he spent the rest of his life.[8]
Menen's 1954 retelling of the classic Hindu epic Ramayana – meant as a funny and readable version of the work – was banned in India for some years, as devout Hindus were horrified by the liberties Menen took with a sacred text.[9] Menen stated that his goal was to, "aim at reviving [Valmiki's] attitude of mind."[10] Menen's humor did not undercut his love for India, however, as can be seen in his book on Hindu mystics and his text to Roloff Beny's great book of photographs of India (India, 1969).
Worksedit
Novelsedit
The Prevalence of Witches (1947)
The Stumbling-Stone (1949)
The Backward Bride: A Sicilian Scherzo (1950)
The Duke of Gallodoro (1952)
The Ramayana, As Told by Aubrey Menen (1954)
The Abode of Love: The Conception, Financing and Daily Routine of an English Harem in the Middle of the 19th Century (1956)
^Pillai, Manu S. (24 August 2017). "A Sita we must not know". LiveMint.
^Menen, Aubrey (1954). "Introduction", The Ramayana, p.4. Charles Scribner's Sons: New York. [ISBN unspecified]. LCCN 54-5919. LCCN 54-35716.
External linksedit
NYT Obituary
May 01, 2024
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This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Aubrey Menen news newspapers books scholar JSTOR May 2016 Learn how and when to remove this message Salvator Aubrey Clarence Menen 22 April 1912 13 March 1989 was a British writer novelist satirist and theatre critic Born in London his essays and novels explore the nature of nationalism and the cultural contrast between his own Irish Indian ancestry and his traditional British upbringing The first sentence of Dead Man in the Silver Market offers an example of his good humoured approach to this contentious topic Men of all races have always sought for a convincing explanation of their own astonishing excellence and they have frequently found what they were looking for Aubrey MenenBorn 1912 04 22 22 April 1912London EnglandDied13 March 1989 1989 03 13 aged 76 Thiruvananthapuram Kerala IndiaNationalityBritishOccupationAuthor Contents 1 Early life and education 2 Career 3 Works 3 1 Novels 3 2 Travel 3 3 Other non fiction 4 References 5 External linksEarly life and education editAubrey Menen was born in London in 1912 to Kali Narain Menon also Kalipurayath Narayana Menon scion of a prominent Nayar family 1 of Indian Malayali origin and Alice Villet an Englishwoman of Irish descent 2 Aubrey chose to change his surname s spelling allegedly to avoid confusion with his friend V K Krishna Menon 3 Menen was raised at Islington and Forest Hill in London He was brought up Roman Catholic His mixed heritage was central to his career and he often drew heavily on it in his writing 4 He took a BA in Philosophy from University College London UCL in 1932 Whilst at UCL he founded a drama group the London Student Players writing directing and performing in their productions he befriended Duncan Grant and commissioned him to design sets Through Grant Menen became acquainted with members of the Bloomsbury Group including Virginia Woolf and John Maynard Keynes 5 6 7 Career editIn 1932 having graduated from UCL Menen became drama critic for The Bookman magazine until in 1934 serving as director of the Experimental Theatre in London until 1936 In 1933 H G Wells had granted Menen permission to produce an adaptation of his novel The Shape of Things to Come which generated considerable publicity Menen s unconventional boundary pushing performances included production of politically charged drama his radical plays often fraught with controversy He was sued for blasphemy and obscenity in 1934 in response to his play Genesis II based on an incident when UCL had rejected Menen for a bursary due to his Indian heritage In 1939 he went to India where he became a leading personality in radio from 1948 to 1980 he lived in Italy where he flourished as a writer of both fiction and non fiction until returning to India settling at Kerala where he spent the rest of his life 8 Menen s 1954 retelling of the classic Hindu epic Ramayana meant as a funny and readable version of the work was banned in India for some years as devout Hindus were horrified by the liberties Menen took with a sacred text 9 Menen stated that his goal was to aim at reviving Valmiki s attitude of mind 10 Menen s humor did not undercut his love for India however as can be seen in his book on Hindu mystics and his text to Roloff Beny s great book of photographs of India India 1969 Works editNovels edit The Prevalence of Witches 1947 The Stumbling Stone 1949 The Backward Bride A Sicilian Scherzo 1950 The Duke of Gallodoro 1952 The Ramayana As Told by Aubrey Menen 1954 The Abode of Love The Conception Financing and Daily Routine of an English Harem in the Middle of the 19th Century 1956 The Fig Tree 1959 SheLa A Satire 1962 A Conspiracy of Women 1965 Fonthill A Comedy 1974 Travel edit Rome Revealed 1960 Speaking the Language Like a Native 1962 India with Roloff Beny 1969 Upon This Rock 1972 Cities in the Sand 1973 about Leptis Magna Timgad etc London 1976 Venice 1976 Other non fiction edit Dead Man in the Silver Market 1953 The Space within the Heart 1970 Cities in the Sand 1972 The New Mystics and the True Indian Tradition 1974 Four Days of Naples 1979 Art and Money 1980 References edit The Literary Criterion vol 20 Popular Prakashan 1985 p 17 Irish Indian families in Britain The Mixed Museum Retrieved 24 March 2022 Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature vol 2 R Reginald Mary A Burgess Douglas Menville Wildside Press LLC 2010 p 998 Irish Indian families in Britain The Mixed Museum Retrieved 24 March 2022 Encyclopaedia of Post Colonial Literatures in English second edition ed Eugene Benson L W Conolly Routledge 2004 p 1021 Aubrey Menen 9 February 2019 Collection Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center Aubrey Menen 9 February 2019 Pillai Manu S 24 August 2017 A Sita we must not know LiveMint Menen Aubrey 1954 Introduction The Ramayana p 4 Charles Scribner s Sons New York ISBN unspecified LCCN 54 5919 LCCN 54 35716 External links editNYT Obituary Time magazine review of Man Without a Country and information about Mr Menen Review of A Conspiracy of Women Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Aubrey Menen amp oldid 1200265959, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
