Pauline Smith
Pauline Smith was a South African writer, born in the early 1880s, who experienced a tumultuous life marked by personal loss and health challenges. The daughter of a physician, she struggled with illness throughout her childhood, which hindered her education and left her deeply affected by her father's death in 1898. After moving to Britain in 1895, Smith began to write stories, initially publishing in local journals and gaining literary support from established authors like Arnold Bennett. Her writing often reflected her experiences and emotions, with notable works including the critically acclaimed short story collection *The Little Karoo* (1925) and her first novel, *The Beadle* (1927), which faced controversy for its sexual content. Smith's later works included a collection of children's stories inspired by her South African upbringing, titled *Platkops Children* (1935). Despite declining health that limited her writing in later years, her literary contributions continue to be recognized, including posthumous publications of her journals and miscellaneous writings. Smith's life and work exemplify the complexities of an artist shaped by personal experiences and cultural contexts.
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Subject Terms
Pauline Smith
Writer
- Born: April 2, 1882
- Birthplace: Oudtshoorn, South Africa
- Died: January 29, 1959
- Place of death: Broadstone, Dorset, England
Biography
Pauline Smith was born in the early 1880’s in South Africa. The daughter of a physician, she was a sickly child and was only able to attend school sporadically. Smith was profoundly affected by the death of her father in 1898 and never fully recovered from her grief. This despondency would be apparent in writing in later years.
In 1895, Smith and her sister moved to Britain. They lived together off and on in both Britain and Europe. Smith attended a boarding school in Scotland for a time, but by 1899 her ill health caused her to cease attendance. It was at this point in her life that Smith began writing stories.
In the early 1900’s, Smith published a few pieces in the Aberdeen Evening Gazette and was reading her work to friends. She actively sought a literary agent and began keeping a diary in order to aid her later writing. Smith befriended author Arnold Bennett, who began critiquing her work for her. Soon, Smith was returning the favor, offering input on Bennett’s novel The Card and his play The Honeymoon.
In 1911, Smith’s health declined dramatically, and she was forced to convalesce at a nursing home in Italy. After she was sufficiently recovered, Smith moved in with her friends the Bennetts, at whose home she met many musicians, artists, and writers. With the help of friends, Smith published the short story “The Pain” in The Adelphi literary journal in 1923. Two more stories were published in the journal. By 1925, Smith had released eight short stories presented in a volume titled The Little Karoo in England and South Africa to great critical acclaim. The following year Smith returned to South Africa to live with her mother, sister, and an aunt, settling in the town of Dorset.
Smith published her first full-length novel, The Beadle, in 1927. Released in America a year later, The Beadle was banned in Boston due to its sexual content. In 1933, Smith wrote A.B. . . . “A Minor Marginal Note”, an essay on her dear friend Arnold Bennett. Smith’s final book of fiction, a collection of children’s stories titled Platkops Children, was published in 1935. The stories in Platkops Children are largely autobiographical, recalling Smith’s childhood in South Africa.
After the publication of Platkops Children, Smith wrote very little due to her ever-declining health. In 1959, Smith suffered a heart attack and died. Two later works of Smith’s, The South African Journal, 1913-1914 and Miscellaneous Writings: Stories, Diaries, and Other Unpublished and Out-of-Print Work, were published posthumously.