Caroline Blackwood
Caroline Blackwood was a notable Irish journalist and novelist, born into a wealthy Anglo-Irish family in Northern Ireland. The daughter of Basil Ava Blackwood, the Fourth Marquess of Dufferin and Ava, and Maureen Guinness, heiress to the Guinness Brewery fortune, Blackwood faced a tumultuous childhood marked by neglect and trauma. Known for her beauty and dark wit, she began her career as a journalist in London after skipping college. At eighteen, she married the renowned painter Lucian Freud, though their union was short-lived and fueled her struggles with alcohol.
Following her marriage to Freud, Blackwood relocated to New York City, where she married music composer Israel Citkowitz and had three children. However, she left the upbringing of her children largely to their father while focusing on her writing. Her writing career gained momentum after publishing an article about California beatniks, leading to further exploration of her life experiences in literature. Her tumultuous relationships, particularly with poet Robert Lowell, often mirrored her personal struggles with addiction and emotional turmoil.
In her later years, Blackwood faced significant personal tragedies, including the deaths of loved ones and her own battle with cancer. By the time of her passing at sixty-four, her life had transformed from one of beauty and promise to one marked by chaos and loneliness. Blackwood's literary works, particularly "Great Granny Webster," reflect the complexities of her aristocratic background and the darker aspects of her life experiences.
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Caroline Blackwood
- Born: July 16, 1931
- Birthplace: Northern Ireland
- Died: February 14, 1996
- Place of death: New York, New York
Biography
Caroline Blackwood, a twentieth century Irish journalist and novelist, was born in Northern Ireland into a wealthy Anglo-Irish family. Her father was Basil Ava Blackwood the Fourth Marquess of Dufferin and Ava. Caroline Blackwood’s mother was Maureen Guinness, heiress to the Guinness Brewery fortune.
Blackwood’s childhood was reportedly dysfunctional. Her parents spent days at a time playing bridge and drinking, leaving Caroline and her two siblings in the care of negligent nannies. One of these nannies took delight in terrorizing the children with morbid stories and withholding their food, leaving them half-starved. As Blackwood entered adulthood, she became known for her unsurpassable beauty and her dark wit. Her friends often described her as a “beautiful, brilliant darkness.”
After her high-school graduation, Blackwood skipped college and moved to London, where she worked as a journalist for the influential Claud Cockburn. While at a work-related party she met Lucian Freud, the grandson of Sigmund Freud. They married when Caroline Blackwood was eighteen. Freud was a well-known painter of the time, and portrayed his wife in many portraits. The most noted of these portraits was Girl in Bed (1952). Blackwood’s marriage to Freud lasted only three years. The end of their marriage marked the beginning of Caroline Blackwood’s lifelong struggle with alcohol.
Blackwood then moved to New York City, where she met and married her second husband, music composer Israel Citkowitz. Their marriage produced three children. Blackwood left these children in the complete care of her husband while she passed her time writing and drinking. She eventually broke off the marriage to Citkowitz when he failed to measure up to her expectations of becoming the next American Beethoven.
Next, Blackwood moved to Los Angeles, California, and took a small part in the television series Have Gun, Will Travel. At this time, she sold an article about California beatniks to Encounter Magazine. This article was the catalyst for her writing career.
Also at this time, Blackwood began an affair with the poet Robert Lowell. At the onset of their affair, Robert Lowell was married to Elizabeth Harkwood. However, during the course of their affair, Blackwood conceived a child. Soon after the birth of their son, Robert Lowell divorced Harkwood and married Blackwood.
Both Blackwood and Robert Lowell were heavy drinkers, and would often lapse into drinking binges that would last several days. Blackwood’s physical condition deteriorated as she failed to wash and take care of herself. Finally, Lowell decided to leave her and return to his ex-wife. Lowell died of a heart attack in a taxi cab on the way back to Harkwood.
Through these turbulent times, Blackwood’s writings became a dark reflection of her own life. Her book Great Granny Webster (1977), an autobiographical novel partially based on her own life, portrayed the absurdity and craziness behind the scenes of great aristocratic families. During her final years, Blackwood endured a series of catastrophes: her brother’s death from AIDS, the death of her oldest daughter from a heroin overdose, and her own battle with cancer. By the age of fifty, Blackwood’s inner darkness had eroded all signs of the beauty she possessed in her youth. Sadly, she found herself immersed in loneliness and chaos. Blackwood died at age sixty-four, at the Mayfair Hotel in Manhattan, New York.