Esmé Wynne-Tyson
Esmé Wynne-Tyson, born Dorothy Estelle Esmé Ripper in London in 1898, was a multifaceted British writer and playwright. Initially drawn to the stage, she performed in notable productions like *The Blue Bird* during her teenage years, and collaborated with renowned playwright Noel Coward on various sketches. Her early career was disrupted when she was sent to a Belgian convent for education, but she later returned to writing after marrying Lynden Charles Tyson in 1918, with whom she had one son.
Throughout the 1920s, Wynne-Tyson wrote multiple plays and began expanding her repertoire to include poetry, short fiction, and novels, collaborating with novelist J. D. Beresford on three published works in the 1940s. A convert to Christian Science in 1922, her spiritual beliefs influenced her writing, leading her to author nonfiction books focused on religion, global harmony, and nonviolence. Notable works include *Prelude to Peace* and *The Unity of Being*, which reflect her progressive ideals and early feminist views. Wynne-Tyson also edited the magazine *World Forum* from 1961 to 1970, advocating for animal rights and universal brotherhood until her passing in 1972. Her legacy encompasses a range of contributions from theater to impactful nonfiction, showcasing her diverse interests and social concerns.
On this Page
Subject Terms
Esmé Wynne-Tyson
Writer
- Born: June 29, 1898
- Birthplace: London, England
- Died: January 17, 1972
- Place of death:
Biography
Esmé Wynne-Tyson was born Dorothy Estelle Esmé Ripper in London, England, in 1898. As an only child, she was educated by a governess and at a boarding school. At a young age she gravitated to the London stage, and in her adolescent years she was appearing in The Blue Bird and Where the Rainbow Ends. She also wrote sketches and “curtain- raisers,” short plays performed before the principal dramatic productions, with the actor and playwright Noel Coward.
In 1914, however, her stage career was interrupted when her parents sent her to a Belgian convent for further education. In 1918, she married Lynden Charles Tyson, an officer in the Royal Air Force. The couple had one son before they separated in 1930.
During the 1920’s, Wynne-Tyson continued to write plays that were produced in London but also began to write poetry, short fiction, and novels. At the end of the 1930’s, she began to collaborate with the novelist J. D. Beresford, and the two wrote three novels that were published in the 1940’s.
Wynne-Tyson became a Christian Scientist in 1922, and her religion ultimately led her to write nonfiction books that dealt with religion, world harmony, and nonviolence. The first of these books, Prelude to Peace: The World Brotherhood Educational Movement, proposed reforms to the educational system and was published in 1936, followed by The Unity of Being, which appeared in 1949. Mithras: The Fellow in the Cap included an attack on orthodox Christianity, and The Philosophy of Compassion: The Return of the Goddess was an early work of feminism. She also edited On Abstinence from Animal Food, a treatise written by Porphry, an ancient Roman writer.
Wynne-Tyson edited World Forum from 1961 to 1970, and in this magazine she expressed her support for nonviolence, universal brotherhood, and animal rights, among other positions. She died in 1972, leaving behind a literary legacy that moved from the theater, to fiction, to polemical nonfiction.