Meynell, Alice |
| POET, ESSAYIST, EDITOR, SUFFRAGIST (ENGLAND) |
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BORN 11 Oct 1847, London: Barnes - DIED 27 Nov 1922, London BIRTH NAME Thompson, Alice Christiana Gertrude GRAVE LOCATION London: St Mary's Cemetery, Harrow Road, Kensal Green (NE - Grave no. 2583) |
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Alice Meynell was the daughter of the painter Thomas James and the concert pianist Christiana James, born Weller. The family lived in England, Switzerland, France, and Italy. Alice grew up mostly in Italy where a daughter from her father's first marriage lived. She suffered from bad health in her youth. In 1868 she became a Catholic. It is possible that she fell in love with the Jesuit Priest Augustus Dignam and that he was the inspiration for her love poems "After Parting" and "Renouncement". In 1875 her first collection of poetry "Preludes" was published. It was illustrated by her sister Elizabeth Butler (1846-1933) and praised by John Ruskin, who liked "Renouncement". In 1876 she met the newspaper editor Wilfrid Meynell (1852-1948), who had also converted to Catholicism. They married in 1877 and had eight children. Her daughter Viola Meynell (1885-1956) became a writer, and her son Francis Meynell (1891-1975) became a poet and a printer. Alice and her husband owned and edited several magazines, including "The Pen" and "The Weekly Register". Alice wrote for other magazines as well. The Meynells were the first to publish the poetry of Francis Thompson (1859-1907). She was a close friend of Coventry Patmore (1823-1896) and befriended his granddaughter Birgit Patmore (1882-1965). Meynell was a founding member of the Catholic Women's Suffrage Society. She died in 1922 in London. Related persons • was drawn by Sargent, John Singer |
| Images | |
 The grave of Alice Meynell at St. Mary's Cemetery, Kensal Green, London. Picture by Androom (08 Feb 2012) |
 The grave of Alice Meynell at St. Mary's Cemetery, Kensal Green, London. Picture by Androom (08 Feb 2012) |
Sources • Alice Meynell - Wikipedia (EN) |
