Violet Nicolson (9 April 1865 – 4 October 1904), otherwise known as Adela Florence Nicolson (née Cory), was an English poet who wrote under the pseudonym Laurence Hope. In the early 1900s, she became a best-selling author.[1][2]
She was born on 9 April 1865 at Stoke Bishop, Gloucestershire, the second of three daughters to Colonel Arthur Cory and Fanny Elizabeth Griffin. Her father was employed in the British army at Lahore, and thus she was brought up by her relatives back in England. She left for India in 1881 to join her father. Her father was editor of the Lahore arm of The Civil and Military Gazette, and it was he who in all probability gave Rudyard Kipling (a contemporary of his daughter) his first employment as a journalist. Her sisters Annie Sophie Cory and Isabel Cory also pursued writing careers: Annie wrote popular, racy novels under the pseudonym "Victoria Cross," while Isabel assisted and then succeeded their father as editor of the Sind Gazette.
Adela married Colonel Malcolm Hassels Nicolson, who was then twice her age and commandant of the 3rd Battalion, the Baluch Regiment in April 1889. He had apparently gained a reputation for derring do, once crossing the Mango Pir River by hopping from one crocodile's back to another.[3] A talented linguist, he introduced her to his love of India and native customs and food, which she began to share. This widely gave the couple a reputation for being eccentric. On the Zhob Valley expedition of 1890 she followed her husband through the passes of the Afghan border disguised as a Pathan boy.[3] They lived in Mhow from 1895 until early 1900. After he died in a prostate operation, Adela, who had been prone to depression since childhood, committed suicide by poisoning herself and died at the age of 39 on 4 October 1904 in Madras. Her son Malcolm published her Selected Poemsposthumously in 1922.[4][5]
Writingedit
One of Byam Shaw's illustrations for the 1914 deluxe edition of The Garden of Kama
In 1901, she published Garden of Kama, which was published a year later in America under the title India's Love Lyrics. She attempted to pass these off as translations of various poets, but this claim soon fell under suspicion. Her poems often used imagery and symbols from the poets of the North-West Frontier of India and the Sufi poets of Persia. She was among the most popular romantic poets of the Edwardian era. Her poems are typically about unrequited love and loss and often, the death that followed such an unhappy state of affairs. Many of them have an air of autobiography or confession.
Details on her life are not easy to find due to her relative lack of letters, but Lesley Blanch, in her book Under a Lilac-Bleeding Star, included some biographical information that drew on unpublished memoirs written by her son. In Diaries and Letters from India, Violet Jacob provided some information about the Nicolsons and their milieu, although most of what is known of Violet, as she came to be known, had to be gleaned through her poetry. Despite Nicolson's use of pseudonyms and fictionalised characters, it was apparent to some of her contemporaries that her poems were deeply personal, even confessional. The "Dedication to Malcom Nicolson" that prefaces her last collection, written shortly before her suicide, provides an ambiguous disclaimer regarding the autobiographical origins of her poetry:
I, who of lighter love wrote many a verse, Made public never words inspired by thee, Lest strangers' lips should carelessly rehearse Things that were sacred and too dear to me.
Thy soul was noble; through these fifteen years Mine eyes familiar, found no fleck nor flaw, Stern to thyself, thy comrades' faults and fears Proved generosity thine only law.
Small joy was I to thee; before we met Sorrow had left thee all too sad to save. Useless my love—as vain as this regret That pours my hopeless life across thy grave.
Popular culture adaptationsedit
Advertisement for Pickford's film
The life and poetry of Adela Nicolson have inspired a wide range of adaptations, beginning with British composer Amy Woodforde-Finden's musical settings of four of the lyrics from The Garden of Kama to music. The most popular of these was Kashmiri Song. After the songs proved a critical success, Woodforde-Finden added four settings of lyrics from Nicolson's 1903 book Stars of the Desert. African-American composer Harry Burleigh published Five Songs of Laurence Hope in 1915. African-American composer Marques L.A. Garrett adapted Burleigh's compositions for mixed choir in 2020.[6]
The Mary Pickford film Less Than the Dust (1916) was ostensibly inspired by the poem and song of the same title. Stoll Pictures released a film entitled The Indian Love Lyrics in 1923.
Fictional literary works based on Nicolson's life or poetry include Somerset Maugham's The Colonel's Lady (Creatures of Circumstance, 1947). This was also adapted into a segment of the film Quartet (1948). Later fictional works include Mary Talbot Cross's Fate Knows no Tears (1996) and Tim Orchard's That Bloody Female Poet (a book before Google) (2011).
^Whitehead, Andrew (11 November 2018). "The forgotten English poet buried in India". BBC News. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
^Fhlathuin, Maire ni (27 March 2020). The Poetry of British India, 1780–1905 Vol 2. ISBN9781000748925 – via books.google.com.
^ abTurner, Michael R. (1982). The Edwardian Song Book. Great Britain: Methuen. p. 135. ISBN0413538001.
^Armstrong, I.; Blain, V. (12 February 1999). Women's Poetry, Late Romantic to Late Victorian: Gender and Genre, 1830–1900. ISBN9781349270217 – via books.google.com.
^"Violet Nicolson: The Forgotten English Poet Buried in India". thewire.in. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
^"5 Songs of Laurence Hope". www.mlagmusic.com. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
Referencesedit
Bickley, Francis L. and Sayoni Basu, "Nicolson nee Cory, Adela Florence pseud. Laurence Hope (1865–1904)," Dictionary of National Biography 2004.
Blanch, Lesley. "Laurence Hope—A Shadow in the Sunlight." Under a Lilac-Bleeding Star: Travels and Travelers. London: John Murray, 1963: 184–208.
Carter, Jennifer. "Love Among the Lotuses," NLA News (National Library of Australia) 12:2 (November 2001).
Cross, Mary Talbot, Fate Knows no Tears. Shalimar Press, 1996.
Jealous, John. "'Laurence Hope' (1865–1904)." The 1890s: An Encyclopedia of British Literature, Art, and Culture. New York: Garland, 1993. 283–84.
Marx, Edward, "Violet (Adela Florence) Nicolson." Encyclopedia of British Women Writers. Ed. Paul Schlueter and June Schlueter. New York: Garland, 1999. 476–77.
Marx, Edward. "'Laurence Hope' (Adela Florence Cory Nicolson)." Late Nineteenth- And Early Twentieth-Century British Women Poets (Dictionary of Literary Biography, Vol. 240). Ed. William Thesing. Detroit: Gale Group, 2001. 88–93.
Marx, Edward. “Reviving Laurence Hope.” Women's Poetry, Late Romantic to Late Victorian: Gender and Genre. Ed. Isobel Armstrong and Virginia Blain. London; New York: Macmillan Press, 1998.
Marx, Edward. "Decadent Exoticism and the Woman Poet." Women and British Aestheticism. Ed. Kathy Psomiades and Talia Schaffer. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 2000.
Marx, Edward. "The Exotic Transgressions of 'Laurence Hope'," in The Idea of a Colony: Cross-Culturalism in Modern Poetry. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2004.
Orchard, Tim. That Bloody Female Poet. Fictiondirect, 2011.
Roy, Anindyo. "'Gold and Bracelet, Water and Wave': Signature and Translation in the Indian Poetry of Adela Cory Nicolson," Women: a cultural review 13.2 (2002): 145–68.
Virginia Jealous' travels across the globe to unearth details of Laurence Hope's life
January 01, 1970
violet, nicolson, april, 1865, october, 1904, otherwise, known, adela, florence, nicolson, née, cory, english, poet, wrote, under, pseudonym, laurence, hope, early, 1900s, became, best, selling, author, adela, florence, nicolsonbornadela, florence, cory, 1865,. Violet Nicolson 9 April 1865 4 October 1904 otherwise known as Adela Florence Nicolson nee Cory was an English poet who wrote under the pseudonym Laurence Hope In the early 1900s she became a best selling author 1 2 Violet NicolsonAdela Florence NicolsonBornAdela Florence Cory 1865 04 09 9 April 1865Stoke Bishop Gloucestershire EnglandDied4 October 1904 1904 10 04 aged 39 Madras Madras Province British IndiaResting placeSt Mary s Cemetery Chennai IndiaOccupationPoetSpouseMalcolm Hassels NicolsonParent s Arthur Cory father Fanny Elizabeth Griffin mother Contents 1 Biography 2 Writing 3 Popular culture adaptations 4 Notes 5 References 6 External linksBiography editShe was born on 9 April 1865 at Stoke Bishop Gloucestershire the second of three daughters to Colonel Arthur Cory and Fanny Elizabeth Griffin Her father was employed in the British army at Lahore and thus she was brought up by her relatives back in England She left for India in 1881 to join her father Her father was editor of the Lahore arm of The Civil and Military Gazette and it was he who in all probability gave Rudyard Kipling a contemporary of his daughter his first employment as a journalist Her sisters Annie Sophie Cory and Isabel Cory also pursued writing careers Annie wrote popular racy novels under the pseudonym Victoria Cross while Isabel assisted and then succeeded their father as editor of the Sind Gazette Adela married Colonel Malcolm Hassels Nicolson who was then twice her age and commandant of the 3rd Battalion the Baluch Regiment in April 1889 He had apparently gained a reputation for derring do once crossing the Mango Pir River by hopping from one crocodile s back to another 3 A talented linguist he introduced her to his love of India and native customs and food which she began to share This widely gave the couple a reputation for being eccentric On the Zhob Valley expedition of 1890 she followed her husband through the passes of the Afghan border disguised as a Pathan boy 3 They lived in Mhow from 1895 until early 1900 After he died in a prostate operation Adela who had been prone to depression since childhood committed suicide by poisoning herself and died at the age of 39 on 4 October 1904 in Madras Her son Malcolm published her Selected Poems posthumously in 1922 4 5 Writing edit nbsp One of Byam Shaw s illustrations for the 1914 deluxe edition of The Garden of Kama In 1901 she published Garden of Kama which was published a year later in America under the title India s Love Lyrics She attempted to pass these off as translations of various poets but this claim soon fell under suspicion Her poems often used imagery and symbols from the poets of the North West Frontier of India and the Sufi poets of Persia She was among the most popular romantic poets of the Edwardian era Her poems are typically about unrequited love and loss and often the death that followed such an unhappy state of affairs Many of them have an air of autobiography or confession Details on her life are not easy to find due to her relative lack of letters but Lesley Blanch in her book Under a Lilac Bleeding Star included some biographical information that drew on unpublished memoirs written by her son In Diaries and Letters from India Violet Jacob provided some information about the Nicolsons and their milieu although most of what is known of Violet as she came to be known had to be gleaned through her poetry Despite Nicolson s use of pseudonyms and fictionalised characters it was apparent to some of her contemporaries that her poems were deeply personal even confessional The Dedication to Malcom Nicolson that prefaces her last collection written shortly before her suicide provides an ambiguous disclaimer regarding the autobiographical origins of her poetry I who of lighter love wrote many a verse Made public never words inspired by thee Lest strangers lips should carelessly rehearse Things that were sacred and too dear to me Thy soul was noble through these fifteen years Mine eyes familiar found no fleck nor flaw Stern to thyself thy comrades faults and fears Proved generosity thine only law Small joy was I to thee before we met Sorrow had left thee all too sad to save Useless my love as vain as this regret That pours my hopeless life across thy grave Popular culture adaptations edit nbsp Advertisement for Pickford s film The life and poetry of Adela Nicolson have inspired a wide range of adaptations beginning with British composer Amy Woodforde Finden s musical settings of four of the lyrics from The Garden of Kama to music The most popular of these was Kashmiri Song After the songs proved a critical success Woodforde Finden added four settings of lyrics from Nicolson s 1903 book Stars of the Desert African American composer Harry Burleigh published Five Songs of Laurence Hope in 1915 African American composer Marques L A Garrett adapted Burleigh s compositions for mixed choir in 2020 6 The Mary Pickford film Less Than the Dust 1916 was ostensibly inspired by the poem and song of the same title Stoll Pictures released a film entitled The Indian Love Lyrics in 1923 Fictional literary works based on Nicolson s life or poetry include Somerset Maugham s The Colonel s Lady Creatures of Circumstance 1947 This was also adapted into a segment of the film Quartet 1948 Later fictional works include Mary Talbot Cross s Fate Knows no Tears 1996 and Tim Orchard s That Bloody Female Poet a book before Google 2011 In the 1910s and 1920s dances based on The Garden of Kama were created and performed by Ruth St Denis and Ted Shawn Martha Graham and Michio Ito Notes edit Whitehead Andrew 11 November 2018 The forgotten English poet buried in India BBC News Retrieved 6 May 2024 Fhlathuin Maire ni 27 March 2020 The Poetry of British India 1780 1905 Vol 2 ISBN 9781000748925 via books google com a b Turner Michael R 1982 The Edwardian Song Book Great Britain Methuen p 135 ISBN 0413538001 Armstrong I Blain V 12 February 1999 Women s Poetry Late Romantic to Late Victorian Gender and Genre 1830 1900 ISBN 9781349270217 via books google com Violet Nicolson The Forgotten English Poet Buried in India thewire in Retrieved 6 May 2024 5 Songs of Laurence Hope www mlagmusic com Retrieved 6 May 2024 References editBickley Francis L and Sayoni Basu Nicolson nee Cory Adela Florence pseud Laurence Hope 1865 1904 Dictionary of National Biography 2004 Blanch Lesley Laurence Hope A Shadow in the Sunlight Under a Lilac Bleeding Star Travels and Travelers London John Murray 1963 184 208 Carter Jennifer Love Among the Lotuses NLA News National Library of Australia 12 2 November 2001 Cross Mary Talbot Fate Knows no Tears Shalimar Press 1996 Jealous John Laurence Hope 1865 1904 The 1890s An Encyclopedia of British Literature Art and Culture New York Garland 1993 283 84 Marx Edward Violet Adela Florence Nicolson Encyclopedia of British Women Writers Ed Paul Schlueter and June Schlueter New York Garland 1999 476 77 Marx Edward Laurence Hope Adela Florence Cory Nicolson Late Nineteenth And Early Twentieth Century British Women Poets Dictionary of Literary Biography Vol 240 Ed William Thesing Detroit Gale Group 2001 88 93 Marx Edward Reviving Laurence Hope Women s Poetry Late Romantic to Late Victorian Gender and Genre Ed Isobel Armstrong and Virginia Blain London New York Macmillan Press 1998 Marx Edward Decadent Exoticism and the Woman Poet Women and British Aestheticism Ed Kathy Psomiades and Talia Schaffer Charlottesville University Press of Virginia 2000 Marx Edward The Exotic Transgressions of Laurence Hope in The Idea of a Colony Cross Culturalism in Modern Poetry Toronto University of Toronto Press 2004 Orchard Tim That Bloody Female Poet Fictiondirect 2011 Roy Anindyo Gold and Bracelet Water and Wave Signature and Translation in the Indian Poetry of Adela Cory Nicolson Women a cultural review 13 2 2002 145 68 External links edit nbsp Poetry portal Selected Poetry of Adela Florence Nicolson Cory Works by Adela Florence Nicholson at Project Gutenberg Works by Violet Nicolson at LibriVox public domain audiobooks nbsp Laurence Hope poems on Poetry Archive Laurence Hope bibliography Less Than the Dust 1916 at IMDb nbsp The Indian Love Lyrics 1923 at IMDb nbsp Laurence Hope Notes The forgotten English poet buried in India Virginia Jealous travels across the globe to unearth details of Laurence Hope s life Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Violet Nicolson amp oldid 1222564585, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
