Clare Hoskyns-Abrahall

Clare Hoskyns-Abrahall, née Druny (31 January 1900 – 29 November 1990) was a British writer as C.H. Abrahall, Clare H. Abrahall or occasionally as C.M. Drury. She wrote biographies and historical fiction for children and young adults, school stories, stage plays which she sometimes helped produce, and more. She is known for her book Prelude about the pianist Eileen Joyce which was turned into a film, Wherever She Goes.

Clare Hoskyns-Abrahall
Clare Hoskyns-Abrahall in 1950
Native name
Clare Constance Maria Drury Hoskyns-Abrahall
BornClare Constance Maria Drury
(1900-01-31)31 January 1900
London, England
Died29 November 1990(1990-11-29) (aged 90)
England, UK
Pen nameC.H. Abrahall,
Clare H. Abrahall,
C.M. Drury
OccupationWriter
LanguageEnglish language
NationalityBritish

Biography

Clare Constance Maria Drury was born on 31 January 1900[1] in London to Gertrude Elizabeth (née Holt) and Lieutenant-Colonel Richard Frederick Drury, a civil engineer who was in the RAF during World War One.[2] They were living in Wheathampstead by the time Clare (sometimes Clara) Drury was eleven[3] and this was still the family home in 1925.[4] She was educated at St Helen's School, Abingdon and then at the Royal College of Music.[5] Towards the end of the First World War she served as a driver in the parachute section of the Women's Royal Air Force.[6] During World War Two she was a commandant in the British Red Cross.[6]

On 21 February 1925 she married Theo Chandos Hoskyns-Abrahall (1896–1975), who worked in the Colonial Service, mainly in Nigeria.[4][7] They had three Children: Priscilla (b. 1926), Robin Chandos (b. 1928) and Follett Peter Mark (b. 1934). They divorced in 1944.[8] The same year her ex-husband remarried Lois Jennet Ogle. In 1950 T. C. Hoskyns-Abrahall was made a knight.[5] After his knighthood Clare Hoskyns-Abrahall was sometimes called Lady Clare Hoskyns-Abrahall, despite the divorce and the prevailing conventions. In 1953 newspapers reported her shouting repeatedly at a political meeting because she felt the speaker "was saying such horrible things about England".[9] She described her politics as "Conservative".[6]

Clare Hoskyns-Abrahall survived her daughter Priscilla and son Follett and died on 29 November 1990.[10] Her other son Robin died in 1995.[10]

Writing and drama

Books for children and young adults
  • Kit Norris: Schoolgirl Pilot, Juvenile Productions, Runnymede series, 1937 ~ A combination of a school story friendship plot with a "flying melodrama".[5]
  • From Serf to Page, Harrap, 1939 ~ During the Peasants' Revolt in 1381 a young boy has split loyalties between his father, Clod, and an aristocratic benefactor.
  • Priscilla's Caravan, Epworth, 1939
  • Chris of Crighton's, Parrish 1964 ~ A "more mature" story of a girl settling into a new school.[5]
  • Looking after wild birds, Corgi mini-book 1971

Biographical books for children and young adults

After meeting at a charity concert around 1945, Hoskyns-Abrahall persuaded the concert pianist Eileen Joyce to let her tell her story,[11] in which she incorporated imaginative sections about Joyce's early life. They became friends and in the 1950s Hoskyns-Abrahall accompanied Joyce on concert tours, overseas[6] and in the UK.[11] The biography, Prelude, was her most successful book. Originally aimed at children, it was also read by adults. Not only was it re-published several times in English, it was translated into other languages too, including German (Ein Mädchen macht Karriere) and Dutch.[11] After the film version, Wherever She Goes, stage and radio adaptations followed.

In the 1950s a newspaper reported on a forthcoming book by Hoskyns-Abrahall, Kate Fox and the Princesses, the story of the nanny to Princesses Olga, Elisabeth and Marina.[11] It is listed in a reference book[6] but not in authoritative library catalogues.

Plays

Hoskyns-Abrahall was a member of the Arts Theatre Club, and of the Hovenden Theatre Club, both in London. She was sometimes involved in production as well as writing.[6]

  • Palissy the Potter in Short plays from history, edited by A. E. M. Bayliss, 1940
  • The Light Within, wth Ross Mackenzie, staged at the Hovenden Theatre Club ~ The story of Elizabeth Fry[14]
  • Pitchblende, with Justine Glover, staged at the Hovenden Theatre Club ~ The story of Marie Curie[15]
  • Florence Nightingale[16]
  • Butler in a Box, Steele's Play Bureau, c1963 ~ "Set in a Scottish castle, with thunder and lightning outside and murder within."[17]
  • Amateur Dramatics, Collins nutshell, 1963 ~ Advice on producing plays.

References
  1. Death records for England and Wales
  2. Drury, Richard Frederick (1866–1956)
  3. 1911 UK Census
  4. The Times, marriages, 25 February 1925
  5. Rosemary Auchmuty, Joy Wotton, The Encyclopaedia of School Stories, Ashgate 2000
  6. Ann Evory, Contemporary Authors New Revision Series, Volumes 29–32, Gale 1978
  7. Abrahall, Sir Theo Chandos Hoskyns- (1896–1975)
  8. Herts Advertiser & St Albans Times, 17 March 1944
  9. Aberdeen Evening Express, 10 September 1953
  10. Hertfordshire Burials and Memorials
  11. Dundee Courier, 1 March 1950
  12. Copac record
  13. Richard Hingley, Boudica Iron Age Warrior Queen, Black 2006, p183
  14. The Stage, 8 June 1956
  15. The Stage, 21 November 1957
  16. The Author's & Writer's Who's Who, 1971
  17. Drama: The Quarterly Theatre Review, Issues 68–75, p6
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