D. K. Broster
Dorothy Kathleen Broster, often referred to as D. K. Broster, was a British author born on September 2, 1877, in Grassendale Park, near Liverpool, England. She was among the pioneering female students at St Hilda's College, Oxford, where she faced challenges, including a family estrangement, but ultimately graduated in 1920 after initially qualifying for honors in modern history in 1900. Throughout her career, Broster produced several notable works of historical fiction, starting with the collaborative novel "Chantemerle" in 1911 and continuing with her acclaimed Jacobite trilogy, which includes "The Flight of the Heron."
Broster's writing is characterized by its focus on male friendships and romantic ideals, and she also ventured into other genres, including detective fiction and horror. Despite facing personal hardships, including service as a nurse during World War I and living with her longtime companion Gertrude Schlich, Broster's literary contributions gained recognition, particularly among young readers. She passed away from lung cancer on February 7, 1950, leaving a legacy that includes a rich tapestry of historical narratives and a unique perspective on character relationships.
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D. K. Broster
- Born: September 2, 1877
- Birthplace: Grassendale, England
- Died: February 7, 1950
- Place of death: England
Biography
Dorothy Kathleen Broster was born at Grassendale Park, Garston, near Liverpool, England, on September 2, 1877. She was the daughter of Thomas Mawdsley Broster, a shipowner, and Emilie Kathleen Gething Broster. After a period of private education, she was sent to a boarding school in Lancashire, and she later attended Cheltenham Ladies College when her parents moved to Cheltenham. In 1896, Broster began attending the university at St Hilda’s, Oxford University, but her family seems to have disowned her thereafter; she supported herself by means of scholarships. She was among the first female students at Oxford, and although she qualified for second-class honors in modern history in 1900, she had to wait until 1920 to graduate.
Broster worked for a while as private secretary to the regius professor of modern history at Oxford. She wrote some poetry and short fiction but had no success until she and G. W. Taylor produced the novel Chantemerle (1911) about postrevolutionary discord in the French Vendée. They followed it up with The Vision Splendid (1913) about the Oxford Movement and the French haut ton. Broster began work on her first solo novel, Sir Isumbras at the Ford—an imitation of Baroness Orczy—shortly thereafter, but it was interrupted by the onset of World War I. Broster volunteered as a nurse, tending wounded soldiers in England before being sent to France in April, 1915. She was invalided and sent home with a knee infection in 1916.
Broster then moved in with Gertrude Schlich, who presumably supported her until her books began to make money. Broster never married and had no children; the portrayal of child characters in her books tends to be a trifle romanticized. She and Schlich lived for many years near Battle in Sussex and were still together when Broster died.
The improbably named hero of Sir Isumbras at the Ford, Fortune de la Vireville, eventually made a comeback in Ships in the Bay!. In the meantime, Broster continued in a conspicuously Orczyesque vein in The Yellow Poppy, although The Wounded Name and Mr Rowl, while set in the same period, are more distinctive. Male friendships come to the fore in these later volumes, displacing more conventional romantic relationships. Broster made her name when she switched location and period in the Jacobite trilogy: The Flight of the Heron (1925), The Gleam in the North (1927), and The Dark Mile (1929). The preservation of these books was assured by their appeal to teenage readers; they were dramatized for television as children’s serials.
Almond, Wild Almond is another Jacobite novel, but purist fans of historical fiction placed more value on Child Royal, about Mary, Queen of Scots. The Sea Without a Haven and The Captain’s Lady are also historical novels. Broster produced two books in other genres: World Under Snow, a collaboration with G. Forester, is a detective story, while Couching at the Door is a collection of horror stories much appreciated by connoisseurs. A few other contes cruels offering a bleak antiromantic counterpoint to her novels are reprinted in her collection of short stories, A Fire of Driftwood.
Broster died of lung cancer in Bexhill Hospital on February 7, 1950; the only family member to attend her funeral was a nephew.