Olive Custance
Olive Eleanor Custance (1874-1944) was a British poet and a notable figure in the early 20th-century literary scene, particularly within the context of the Sapphic Circle of women writers in Paris. Born to Colonel Frederick Hambledon Custance, she is recognized for her progressive views on romantic love and gender equality, and she played a significant role in popularizing the term "lesbian" as a marker of cultural identity and prestige. In 1902, Custance married Alfred Bruce Douglas, whose earlier relationship with Oscar Wilde had profound implications for their lives. The couple led a rural existence in Wiltshire, though their marriage faced challenges, including a separation and a custody battle over their son, Raymond, who later struggled with mental health issues.
Custance’s poetry, like that of her contemporaries, has often been overshadowed, reflecting broader trends of neglect towards women writers of her time. Despite this, her works have been included in significant anthologies, highlighting her contributions alongside renowned authors like Wilde and W. B. Yeats. Throughout her life, Custance maintained a complex relationship with Douglas, supporting him during his personal and legal troubles, while also carving out her own literary identity. Her legacy is marked by her involvement in a pivotal cultural movement and her exploration of themes that continue to resonate in discussions of gender and sexuality today.
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Subject Terms
Olive Custance
Poet
- Born: February 7, 1874
- Birthplace: Weston Hall, Norfolk, England
- Died: February 12, 1994
- Place of death: East Sussex, England
Biography
Olive Eleanor Custance, daughter of Colonel Frederick Hambledon Custance, became a sexual rebel. Olive Custance, Natalie Barney (with whom Custance was involved), and Renee Vivien were among a group of women writers in Paris who appropriated the term “lesbian,” in the context in which it is still known, as a term of cultural prestige, and they formed a “Sapphic Circle.” Custance also published her feelings about romantic love and her beliefs in the equality between men and women.
In 1902, Custance married Alfred Bruce Douglas, son of John Sholto Douglas, Ninth Marquess of Queensbury. This marriage occurred two years after the death of Oscar Wilde—a fact which is significant to their history because Lord Alfred had been seriously involved with Wilde. It was because of his relationship with Douglas, ultimately, that Wilde went to prison and that, after his release, he left England.
In November of 1902, Raymond Wilfred Sholto Douglas was born to the newlyweds. Douglas’s cousin Pamela Tennant and her husband Edward offered the couple a house on their land at Wilsford in Wiltshire. Here the Douglases enjoyed a rural existence.
In 1907, one of Douglas’s former lovers recommended him for the position of editor of The Academy. Douglas accepted. Oscar Wilde: A Critical Study, written in part by this lover, was published around this time. Douglas sued for libel because of the way he (Douglas) was portrayed in the study, resurrecting the infamy which had died down after Wilde’s demise.
In 1913, Lord Alfred Douglas was declared bankrupt on the petition of a moneylender. Also in 1913, Olive Custance, for eleven years “Lady Douglas,” separated from but did not divorce her husband. After a bitter custody battle, which she won, Custance and Douglas reconciled, though they were to reside together again for only a brief period of time in the 1920’s. She remained a friend and supporter of the ever- more-litigious Douglas—who, like Wilde, spent time in prison and out of favor with most of his countrymen. In 1927, Raymond, the son of this atypical couple, was diagnosed “schizo-effective.” He entered St. Andrew’s Hospital, a mental institution. He spent most of the rest of his life institutionalized.
Lord Alfred Douglas’s work is said to have been overlooked because of his bad name. Lady Douglas’s—Olive Custance’s—poetry is likewise said to have been neglected, though in her case it is also said of other women of the period. Three of Douglas’s works were included in the famed Oxford Book of English Verse. Custance’s verse has been included in such volumes as Aubrey Beardsley’s Aesthetes and Decadents of the 1890’s, New Woman Poets: An Anthology, and The Religion of Beauty: Selections from the Aesthetes. In addition to her poetry, Custance was a contributor, as were Oscar Wilde and W. B. Yeats, to the exotic quarterly The Yellow Book.