Ethel Sidgwick
Ethel Sidgwick was an English writer and schoolteacher, born on December 20, 1877, in Rugby, England. Coming from a wealthy family, she was the daughter of a schoolmaster and the niece of philosopher Henry Sidgwick, a notable figure in the Society for Psychical Research. Ethel received her education at Oxford High School and through private lessons in music and literature. Throughout her life, she remained unmarried and dedicated much of her career to teaching and writing.
Sidgwick published nine novels between 1910 and 1918, which are often recognized as her most significant contributions to literature. Critics frequently compare her work to that of Henry James, noting her intricate syntax and detailed character development. Although her novels were praised for their depth of character, they sometimes faced criticism for weaker plotlines. After 1918, her writing style evolved, leading to less critical acclaim for her subsequent works. Her final publication, a biography of her aunt Eleanor Mildred Sidgwick, came out in 1938. Ethel Sidgwick passed away on April 29, 1970, and while she may not be regarded as a major literary figure, her novels continue to be recognized for their complex characters and stylistic experimentation.
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Ethel Sidgwick
Writer
- Born: December 20, 1877
- Birthplace: Rugby, England
- Died: April 29, 1970
Biography
Ethel Sidgwick was born on December 20, 1877, in Rugby, England. She was the daughter of Arthur and Charlotte Sidgwick. Her father was a schoolmaster at the Rugby School, and the family was wealthy. Her uncle was Henry Sidgwick, a philosopher and one of the founders of the Society for Psychical Research. Her aunt and Henry Sidgwick’s wife was Eleanor Mildred Sidgwick, the principal of Newnham College, Cambridge, from 1892 to 1910. Ethel attended Oxford High School and also received private education in music and literature. She never married.
Sidgwick worked as a schoolteacher and translated A History of the French People (1923). She also wrote a number of dramatic works for children, specializing in fairy tales for performances at schools. Sidgwick began writing novels in her thirties. The nine novels she published between 1910 and 1918 are considered her best work. Critics most frequently compare her work with that of Henry James, a comparison based on the complexity of her syntax and meticulous character development. Contemporary critics praised Sidgwick’s ability to create convincing characters but sometimes criticized the weakness of her plots. Sidgwick wrote a number of novels after Jamesie (1918), but they received little critical attention, largely due to her increasingly opaque prose style and outdated subject matter.
Her last book, published in 1938, was a biography of her aunt, Eleanor Mildred Sidgwick. Ethel Sidgwick died on April 29, 1970. Although not considered one of the major writers of her time, her novels remain important to literary history for their sensitively created and convincing characters and for the author’s experiments in prose style.