Annie O'Meara de Vic Beamish

Annie O'Meara de Vic Beamish (30 April 1883 – 1 August 1969), was an Irish writer, translator and playwright.

Annie O'Meara de Vic Beamish
Born
Anne O'Meara Beamish

30 April 1883
Dublin, Ireland
Died1 August 1969
Switzerland
NationalityIrish, British

Life edit

Beamish was the daughter of Reverend Franck John de Vic Beamish and Ann S. Greenfield. She was born April 30, 1883, in Dublin, Ireland, and was educated at home through governesses and tutors. She wrote under the names John Bernard and Noel de Vic Beamish. She wrote and translated for the stage. Beamish also founded various language schools in Europe and worked in the Berlitz school in Cannes teaching English.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]

She was a friend and neighbour of Samuel Beckett in Roussillon during the Second World War. She is the origin of the character "Old Miss McGlone" and appears as a character with Beckett in A Country Road, A Tree by Jo Baker. She lived at the time with a companion Suzanne Allévy and they were understood to be a couple. Beamish was considered a local character. She wore men's clothing, went by the name Noel and used a monocle for reading. She also taught English to the painter Henri Hayden while he was staying in the village. There were rumours she was involved with the British secret service or a member of Beckett's resistance cell. Certainly however she was supportive to the Jewish refugees who fled to the area. Beamish died in Switzerland, 1 August 1969.[11][12][13][14][15][16][17]

Publications edit

  • Tweet | H. Jenkins Limited | 1927
  • The Grafting of the Rose
  • The King's Missal. H. Jenkins, Limited. 1934.
  • Miss Perfection: The Story of an Airedale Terrier. Hutchinson. 1931.
  • The Queen's Jester. London. 1969.
  • Beatrice in Babel
  • The Quest of Love
  • Venetian Lady
  • The Blooming of the Rose
  • Fair Fat Lady (Ivor Nicholson and Watson; (1937), first edition dust jacket illustrated by Bip Pares priced 7s. 6d. Plot summary from The Bulletin review "The tragedy of a fat girl. She falls in love with the tenor of a concert party, discovers him in an infidelity, joins a Continental circus as fat woman, adopts the tenor’s illegitimate son (who is ashamed of her fat), discovers a gift for finance, returns home and becomes the millionaire philanthropist of her native town, cannot find happiness, but keeps a kind heart through it all.[18]
  • Lady Beyond the Walls
  • Shadows of Splendour
  • The Sword of Love
  • The Sign of the Beast
  • The New Race of Devils
  • A Woman of Fire (1923)

References and sources edit

  1. ^ Wearing, J.P. (2014). The London Stage 1930-1939: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel. The London Stage. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 95. ISBN 978-0-8108-9304-7. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  2. ^ Montgomery-Massingberd, Hugh (1976). Burke's Irish Family Records. London, U.K. Retrieved 5 December 2018.?
  3. ^ Reginald, R.; Menville, D.; Burgess, M.A. (2010). Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature. Borgo Press. p. 39. ISBN 978-0-941028-76-9. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  4. ^ "Authors : Bernard, John : SFE : Science Fiction Encyclopedia". The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. 11 August 2018. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  5. ^ "Summary Bibliography: Noel de Vic Beamish". The Internet Speculative Fiction Database. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  6. ^ "THE KING'S MISSAL by Noel de Vic Beamish, Annie O'Meara de Vic on L. W. Currey, Inc". L. W. Currey, Inc. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  7. ^ "Beamish, Noel de Vic [WorldCat Identities]". WorldCat.org. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  8. ^ Wearing, J.P. (2014). The London Stage 1890-1959: Accumulated Indexes. The London Stage. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 261. ISBN 978-0-8108-9321-4. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  9. ^ Reginald, R.; Burgess, M.A.; Menville, D. (2010). Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature Vol 2. Borgo Press. p. 812. ISBN 978-0-941028-78-3. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  10. ^ "Book Review: A Country Road, A Tree by Jo Baker – What Cathy Read Next…". What Cathy Read Next… – For book lovers everywhere. 10 June 2017. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  11. ^ Knowlson, James (2000). "Miss Beamish, Beckett's Roussillon neighbour". Journal of Beckett Studies. 9 (2). Edinburgh University Press: 86–90. doi:10.3366/jobs.2000.9.2.6. ISSN 0309-5207.
  12. ^ Knowlson, J. (2014). Damned to Fame: the Life of Samuel Beckett. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 319. ISBN 978-1-4088-5766-3. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  13. ^ Schaefe, G.F.P.H. (2012). From Rocks To Riches: Time, Change, and Ochre in a Village in the Vaucluseâ€"Roussillon-en-Provence. Xlibris US. p. 45. ISBN 978-1-4691-8618-4. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  14. ^ Doherty, R. (2002). Irish Volunteers in the Second World War. Four Courts Press. ISBN 978-1-85182-523-3. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  15. ^ BASILE, DAVIDE. "CHANGING HUMANITY:A STUDY OF FOUR DYSTOPIAS AT THE DAWN OF THE BIOTECHNOLOGICAL AGE" (PDF). UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON.
  16. ^ James and Elizabeth Knowlson. "University Museums and Special Collections Service" (PDF). University of Reading.
  17. ^ "Vol. 58 No. 2979 (17 Mar 1937)". Trove. Retrieved 10 December 2022.