Born Eva Unger in Berlin in 1932 to an affluent[citation needed], secular Jewish family, she arrived in Britain as a refugee in 1939 with her mother Irma Unger, and her younger brother, Ernst.[1][2] During Kristallnacht in November 1938, her father Emil was arrested and sent to Dachau concentration camp. He was later released after his wife offered the Nazis a large bribe and managed to escape to England to join his family in London.[1][3] At least three of Figes's grandparents on both sides of the family died in concentration camps.[4] Towards the end of the World War II, Figes recalled in The Observer in 1979, "my mother gave me nine pence and sent me off to the local cinema ... I sat alone in the dark and watched the newsreel of Belsen". It gave her nightmares for many years.[1]
She married John George Figes on 10 July 1954.[5] The couple had two children: the writer Kate Figes (1957–2019),[6] and the historian Orlando Figes.[7] The marriage was dissolved by divorce in 1962.[1] She met the German author Günter Grass in London and the two had a short romantic affair that turned into a lifelong friendship.[1]
In the 1960s, she was associated with an informal group of experimental British writers influenced by Rayner Heppenstall that included Stefan Themerson, Ann Quin, Alan Burns, and its informal leader, B. S. Johnson. Unger worked in publishing until 1967, when she became a full-time writer.[8]
Figes's best known work is Patriarchal Attitudes, a feminist polemic written in 1970, published one month before Germaine Greer's The Female Eunuch. The book argued that nurture rather than nature has shaped all secondary sex characteristics and considered why prominent female figures of the nineteenth century were ambivalent or hostile towards the feminist movement.[9]
Figes' novel, Light (1983), is an impressionistic portrait of a single day in the life of Claude Monet from sunrise to sunset.
Figes' archive was acquired by the British Library in 2009 consisting of 186 files of drafts and working papers relating to her literary works, as well as correspondence and personal papers.[10]
Tales of Innocence and Experience: An Exploration (2004)
Journey to Nowhere (2008)
Referencesedit
^ abcdefTucker, Eva (7 September 2012). "Eva Figes obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
^Flood, Alison (12 October 2009). "British Library acquires Eva Figes archive". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 17 January 2011.
^Figes, Kate (2018). "My family after the holocaust". The Guardian.
^Figes, Kate (2018). "My family after the Holocaust". The Guardian.. Kate Figes's piece implies all four did, but Eva Figes's own memoir Journey to Nowhere (Granta, 2009, p.87 of the paperback) recounts how grandmother Unger escaped to Sweden only to die in her bed (of natural causes) a few months later in Stockholm.
^"Figes [née Unger], Eva". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/105542. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
^Armitstead, Claire (9 December 2019). "Kate Figes obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
^. Bloomsbury Publishing. Archived from the original on 6 December 2010. Retrieved 17 January 2011.
^"Eva Figes". The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
^"PATRIARCHAL ATTITUDES: WOMEN IN SOCIETY". Kirkus Reviews. 1970.
^Eva Figes Archive, archives and manuscripts catalogue, the British Library, Retrieved 7 May 2020.
January 01, 1970
figes, april, 1932, august, 2012, english, author, feminist, figes, wrote, novels, literary, criticism, studies, feminism, vivid, memoirs, relating, berlin, childhood, later, experiences, jewish, refugee, from, hitler, germany, borneva, unger, april, 1932, ber. Eva Figes ˈ f aɪ dʒ iː z 15 April 1932 28 August 2012 was an English author and feminist 1 Figes wrote novels literary criticism studies of feminism and vivid memoirs relating to her Berlin childhood and later experiences as a Jewish refugee from Hitler s Germany Eva FigesBornEva Unger 15 April 1932 Berlin Died28 August 2012 aged 80 Greater London Alma materQueen Mary CollegeOccupationNovelist social critic AwardsGuardian Fiction Prize 1967 Contents 1 Early life and education 2 Career 3 Awards 4 Legacy 5 Selected bibliography 5 1 Fiction 5 2 Literary and social criticism 5 3 Memoirs 6 ReferencesEarly life and education editBorn Eva Unger in Berlin in 1932 to an affluent citation needed secular Jewish family she arrived in Britain as a refugee in 1939 with her mother Irma Unger and her younger brother Ernst 1 2 During Kristallnacht in November 1938 her father Emil was arrested and sent to Dachau concentration camp He was later released after his wife offered the Nazis a large bribe and managed to escape to England to join his family in London 1 3 At least three of Figes s grandparents on both sides of the family died in concentration camps 4 Towards the end of the World War II Figes recalled in The Observer in 1979 my mother gave me nine pence and sent me off to the local cinema I sat alone in the dark and watched the newsreel of Belsen It gave her nightmares for many years 1 She graduated with a B A with honours from Queen Mary College in London in 1953 Career editShe married John George Figes on 10 July 1954 5 The couple had two children the writer Kate Figes 1957 2019 6 and the historian Orlando Figes 7 The marriage was dissolved by divorce in 1962 1 She met the German author Gunter Grass in London and the two had a short romantic affair that turned into a lifelong friendship 1 In the 1960s she was associated with an informal group of experimental British writers influenced by Rayner Heppenstall that included Stefan Themerson Ann Quin Alan Burns and its informal leader B S Johnson Unger worked in publishing until 1967 when she became a full time writer 8 Figes s best known work is Patriarchal Attitudes a feminist polemic written in 1970 published one month before Germaine Greer s The Female Eunuch The book argued that nurture rather than nature has shaped all secondary sex characteristics and considered why prominent female figures of the nineteenth century were ambivalent or hostile towards the feminist movement 9 Figes novel Light 1983 is an impressionistic portrait of a single day in the life of Claude Monet from sunrise to sunset Awards editFiges won the Guardian Fiction Prize for Winter Journey in 1967 Legacy editFiges archive was acquired by the British Library in 2009 consisting of 186 files of drafts and working papers relating to her literary works as well as correspondence and personal papers 10 Selected bibliography editLibrary resources about Eva Figes Resources in your library Resources in other libraries By Eva Figes Resources in your library Resources in other libraries Fiction edit Equinox 1966 Winter Journey 1967 Konek Landing 1969 B 1972 Days 1974 Nelly s Version 1977 Waking 1981 Light 1983 The Seven Ages A Novel 1986 Ghosts 1988 The Tree of Knowledge 1990 The Tenancy 1993 The Knot 1996 Literary and social criticism edit Patriarchal Attitudes Women in Society 1970 Tragedy and Social Evolution 1976 Sex and Subterfuge Women Writers to 1850 1982 Women s Letters in Wartime 1450 1945 1993 Memoirs edit Little Eden A Child at War 1978 Tales of Innocence and Experience An Exploration 2004 Journey to Nowhere 2008 References edit a b c d e f Tucker Eva 7 September 2012 Eva Figes obituary The Guardian Retrieved 9 December 2019 Flood Alison 12 October 2009 British Library acquires Eva Figes archive The Guardian London Retrieved 17 January 2011 Figes Kate 2018 My family after the holocaust The Guardian Figes Kate 2018 My family after the Holocaust The Guardian Kate Figes s piece implies all four did but Eva Figes s own memoir Journey to Nowhere Granta 2009 p 87 of the paperback recounts how grandmother Unger escaped to Sweden only to die in her bed of natural causes a few months later in Stockholm Figes nee Unger Eva Oxford Dictionary of National Biography online ed Oxford University Press doi 10 1093 ref odnb 105542 Subscription or UK public library membership required Armitstead Claire 9 December 2019 Kate Figes obituary The Guardian Retrieved 9 December 2019 Eva Figes Bloomsbury Publishing Archived from the original on 6 December 2010 Retrieved 17 January 2011 Eva Figes The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica Retrieved 29 January 2014 PATRIARCHAL ATTITUDES WOMEN IN SOCIETY Kirkus Reviews 1970 Eva Figes Archive archives and manuscripts catalogue the British Library Retrieved 7 May 2020 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Eva Figes amp oldid 1221891917, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
