Ivy Teresa Low Litvinov (Russian: Айви Вальтеровна Литвинова) (4 June 1889 – 16 April 1977) was an English-Russian writer and translator, and wife of Soviet diplomat and foreign minister Maxim Litvinov. She was also known as Ivy Low, Ivy Litvinova or Ivy Litvinoff.
Ivy Low was born in London into an Anglo-Jewish family.[1] Her father Walter was a friend of H. G. Wells. In 1894 her father died, and in 1896 her mother Alice remarried to John Alexander (Sandy) Herbert, and published some novels under the name Alice Herbert. Early in 1916 Ivy Low married Maxim Litvinov,[2] who at the time was a revolutionary exile living in London. They had two children, Mikhail (Misha) and Tatiana (Tanya).
Following the Russian Revolution Maxim returned home in 1918, and she followed him two years later. Maxim Litvinov became a prominent diplomat and served as People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs (foreign minister) from 1930 to 1939, and Soviet ambassador to the United States from 1941 to 1943. He died in 1951, having survived the purges of nearly all of his closest colleagues despite having fallen out of favour with Stalin on more than one occasion.
Apart from brief stays abroad as part of her husband's diplomatic service, she lived in the Soviet Union for most of her adult life before moving permanently to Hove, England in 1972, where she died in 1977.[3] Looking back on the precarious situation that Maxim and Ivy had faced in the Stalin era, George Kennan wrote "It is one of the wonders of the age that Ivy survived to die a natural death."[4][5]
Familyedit
Low's grandfather Maximilian Loewe emigrated from Hungary to England after the unsuccessful revolution of 1848. Through her father Walter, she was the niece of author Sir Sidney Low. Another uncle, Sir Maurice Low, was a journalist and Washington correspondent for British newspapers.[6] One of her aunts was Barbara Low, psychoanalyst, and another aunt, Edith, married David Eder. Through her son Misha, she was grandmother of Pavel Litvinov. Through her daughter Tatiana, she was grandmother of the journalist Masha Slonim [ru] (aka Maria Phillimore-Slonim), who married Robert Godfrey Phillimore, 3rd Baron Phillimore.
Writing careeredit
Low wrote the novels Growing Pains in 1913 and The Questing Beast in 1914, as well as His Master’s Voice: a Detective Story in 1930. She also wrote about a dozen short stories published in The New Yorker magazine beginning in the 1960s. A collection of short stories was published in book form as She Knew She Was Right.[7]
In 1946 she wrote the article "A visit to D.H. Lawrence" in Harper's Bazaar, about a six-week visit she had made in 1914 to the author and his soon-to-be wife Frieda in Tuscany.[5][4]
She produced numerous translations of Russian literature into English, including Maxim Gorky's Literary Portraits, and also wrote or edited reference books for Russian-speaking learners of English.[7] In the 1930s she supported the teaching of Basic English.
^O'Keeffe, Brigid (2021-03-29). "The people's ambassadress: the forgotten diplomacy of Ivy Litvinov". Aeon. Retrieved 2021-03-29.
^ abCynthia Haven. "Ivy Low Litvinov: surviving Stalin … and D.H. Lawrence, too". The Book Haven. Stanford University. Retrieved 2022-03-26.
^ abElena S. Danielson (Fall 2013). "Ivy Low Litvinov and D. H. Lawrence: A Literary Legacy at Stanford". Sandstone & Tile. 37 (3). Stanford Historical Society: 18–24. Retrieved 2022-03-26.
litvinov, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, march, 2022, lear. 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 Ivy Low Litvinov news newspapers books scholar JSTOR March 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message Ivy Teresa Low Litvinov Russian Ajvi Valterovna Litvinova 4 June 1889 16 April 1977 was an English Russian writer and translator and wife of Soviet diplomat and foreign minister Maxim Litvinov She was also known as Ivy Low Ivy Litvinova or Ivy Litvinoff Maxim and Ivy Litvinov in 1918 Contents 1 Biography 2 Family 3 Writing career 4 References 5 Sources 6 External linksBiography editIvy Low was born in London into an Anglo Jewish family 1 Her father Walter was a friend of H G Wells In 1894 her father died and in 1896 her mother Alice remarried to John Alexander Sandy Herbert and published some novels under the name Alice Herbert Early in 1916 Ivy Low married Maxim Litvinov 2 who at the time was a revolutionary exile living in London They had two children Mikhail Misha and Tatiana Tanya Following the Russian Revolution Maxim returned home in 1918 and she followed him two years later Maxim Litvinov became a prominent diplomat and served as People s Commissar for Foreign Affairs foreign minister from 1930 to 1939 and Soviet ambassador to the United States from 1941 to 1943 He died in 1951 having survived the purges of nearly all of his closest colleagues despite having fallen out of favour with Stalin on more than one occasion Apart from brief stays abroad as part of her husband s diplomatic service she lived in the Soviet Union for most of her adult life before moving permanently to Hove England in 1972 where she died in 1977 3 Looking back on the precarious situation that Maxim and Ivy had faced in the Stalin era George Kennan wrote It is one of the wonders of the age that Ivy survived to die a natural death 4 5 Family editLow s grandfather Maximilian Loewe emigrated from Hungary to England after the unsuccessful revolution of 1848 Through her father Walter she was the niece of author Sir Sidney Low Another uncle Sir Maurice Low was a journalist and Washington correspondent for British newspapers 6 One of her aunts was Barbara Low psychoanalyst and another aunt Edith married David Eder Through her son Misha she was grandmother of Pavel Litvinov Through her daughter Tatiana she was grandmother of the journalist Masha Slonim ru aka Maria Phillimore Slonim who married Robert Godfrey Phillimore 3rd Baron Phillimore Writing career editLow wrote the novels Growing Pains in 1913 and The Questing Beast in 1914 as well as His Master s Voice a Detective Story in 1930 She also wrote about a dozen short stories published in The New Yorker magazine beginning in the 1960s A collection of short stories was published in book form as She Knew She Was Right 7 In 1946 she wrote the article A visit to D H Lawrence in Harper s Bazaar about a six week visit she had made in 1914 to the author and his soon to be wife Frieda in Tuscany 5 4 She produced numerous translations of Russian literature into English including Maxim Gorky s Literary Portraits and also wrote or edited reference books for Russian speaking learners of English 7 In the 1930s she supported the teaching of Basic English References edit William D Rubinstein Michael Jolles Hilary L Rubinstein The Palgrave Dictionary of Anglo Jewish History Palgrave Macmillan 2011 p 608 Index entry FreeBMD ONS Retrieved 2017 06 11 O Keeffe Brigid 2021 03 29 The people s ambassadress the forgotten diplomacy of Ivy Litvinov Aeon Retrieved 2021 03 29 a b Cynthia Haven Ivy Low Litvinov surviving Stalin and D H Lawrence too The Book Haven Stanford University Retrieved 2022 03 26 a b Elena S Danielson Fall 2013 Ivy Low Litvinov and D H Lawrence A Literary Legacy at Stanford Sandstone amp Tile 37 3 Stanford Historical Society 18 24 Retrieved 2022 03 26 Low Jewish Virtual Library Archived from the original on 2020 08 07 Retrieved 2021 03 29 a b Young Sarah 2014 03 03 Works by Ivy Low Litvinov Dr Sarah J Young Archived from the original on 2020 12 03 Retrieved 2021 03 29 Sources editCarswell John 1983 The Exile A Life of Ivy Litvinov London Faber amp Faber ISBN 0571131352 External links editWorks by Ivy Low Litvinov Ivy Litvinov papers Hoover Institution Archives Stanford University Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ivy Low Litvinov amp oldid 1216848260, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
