Allan Harper (6 November 1904 - 3 November 1992) was an English writer and a member of the Bright Young Things. She was the person who introduced Cecil Beaton to the group which was a major event in his career.
Biography
editHarper was born on 6 November 1904 in Brighton. Her father was an engineer who was a consultant during the design of the Egyptian Aswan Dam.[1] He was also involved in the construction of the first trans-Andean railway.[2]
Harper attended Miss Wolf's school in London and Miss Douglas's school at Queen's Gate. At Queen's Gate she met Lady Eleanor Smith and Zita Jungman and together they became early members of what the British press would call the "Bright Young Things".[1] The British photographer Cecil Beaton was introduced by Harper to leading intellectuals including Edith Sitwell, Elizabeth Ponsonby and Frederick Ashton.[3] Beaton exploited his friendship with Allan by getting her to model for his photographs as he knew that pictures of her would be bought by newspapers.[4]
Harper was also a close friend of the poet Brian Howard, and she participated in the Bright Young Things mischievous behaviour. Harper, Smith and Howard broke into a house that belonged to Richard Sydney Guinness. He was the Jungman sister's stepfather and they stole a pearl necklace and they set fire to Margot Asquith's nightgown, who was a guest there.[3] Harper and the Jungman sisters devised "Treasure Hunts"[3] which included fake versions of real newspapers and loaves of bread that had been specially made to include clues for their hunts.[4]
She moved to France and in 1929 she founded Echanges, a French bi-lingual quarterly review, with the goal of exposing English writers to the French and vice versa. She was financially backed by the millionaire Aga Khan, a long-lasting friend of Harper. The magazine was responsible for introducing W. H. Auden, Ivy Compton-Burnett, T. S. Eliot, Peter Quennell, Gertrude Stein, and Virginia Woolf to French readers. In return she and Echanges introducerd Léon Paul Fargue, André Gide, and Henri Michaud to British readers.[3]
Harper married Robert Statlender, and in 1941 they moved to America. After they separated, Harper returned to France. She lived in France until her death, but she continued to correspond with[3] Sybille Bedford, Edith Sitwell, and Lady Amy Smart.[3]
Harper contributed useful anecdotes to the biography of Brian Howard by Marie-Jaqueline Lancaster. However she objected to him being called a "failure" and to the emphasis on his homosexuality which she considered to be an "illness" and something that should not be drawn attention to.[5] Her own autobiography, All Trivial Fond Records, was published in 1948.[3][6]
Allan Harper died in England on 3 November 1992.[3]
Legacy
editAllan Harper's papers are preserved at the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center at the University of Texas at Austin.[2]
References
edit- ^ a b D J Taylor (30 September 2010). Bright Young People: The Rise and Fall of a Generation 1918-1940. Random House. pp. 24, 55. ISBN 978-1-4090-2063-9.
- ^ a b "Allan Harper: An Inventory of Her Papers at the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center". Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center, University of Texas at Austin. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Taylor, D J (2010). Bright Young People: The Rise and Fall of a Generation 1918-1940. Random House. p. 19. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
- ^ a b Horwell, Veronica (2006-03-03). "Obituary: Zita Jungman". the Guardian. Retrieved 2018-03-06.
- ^ "Obituary: Allanah Harper". The Independent. 1992-12-22. Retrieved 2018-03-06.
- ^ "The Year's Most Charming Book? - 15 Feb 1948, Sun • Page 37". The Des Moines Register: 37. 1948. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
Category:1904 births
Category:1993 deaths
Category:English women writers