Clemence Dane

Louise McDonald (Birmingham Newman University)

Ed. by Peter Childs, Birmingham Newman University
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.08: English Writing and Culture of the early Twentieth Century , 1900-1945.
Vol. editors: Chris Baldick (Goldsmiths College, University of London), Peter Childs (Birmingham Newman University), Louise McDonald (Birmingham Newman University), Andrew Radford (University of Glasgow)

Dates

Born 21 Feb 1888
Died 28 Mar 1965
Activity 1917-1964

Places

Active in England

Cultural Identities

Feminist

Activities

Primary

Playwright / Dramatist

Other

Film/TV Script-writer/ Screenwriter
Novelist

Resources

Dane's Works

Save to Bookshelf

Clemence Dane (born Winifred Ashton) C.B.E. (1888-1965) was a prolific inter-war middlebrow dramatist, novelist, scriptwriter, journalist and accomplished painter and sculptor. “A political creature” (Gale, “From Fame” 135), she held strong progressive opinions on a number of issues, particularly those related to women’s rights. Her famous and controversial play

The Bill of Divorcement

(1921) was adapted for the cinema in 1932 and starred Katherine Hepburn in her film debut. She wrote sixteen novels and was a “radical female scriptwriter” (Harper 12) and the first woman to win a scriptwriting Oscar -- for her original story for Alexander Korda’s 1945 film,

Perfect Strangers.

She

produced articles for feminist paper

Time and Tide

and

Good Housekeeping

magazine, was

Good

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2690 words

Citation: McDonald, Louise. "Clemence Dane". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 13 July 2017 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=13435, accessed 23 November 2024.]

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