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''''Margaret Rumer Godden''' [[Officer of the Order of the British Empire|OBE]] (10 December 1907&nbsp;– 8 November 1998) was an English author of more than 60 [[fiction]] and [[nonfiction]] books written under the name of '''Rumer Godden'''. A few of her works were co-written by her sister, [[Jon Godden]], who wrote several novels on her own. These include ''[[Two Under the Indian Sun]]'', a memoir of the Goddens' childhood in a region of India that is now part of [[Bangladesh]]. ==Early life== [[File:Greengage summer.JPG|thumb|upright|''The Greengage Summer'' (1958), 1962 Pan paperback edition.]] Godden was born in [[Sussex]], England. She grew up with her three sisters in [[Narayanganj]], [[British Raj|colonial India]] (now in [[Bangladesh]]), where her shipping company executive father worked for the Brahmaputra Steam Navigation Company.<ref name=dnb>{{cite web|last=Chisholm |first=Anne |title=Godden, (Margaret) Rumer (1907–1998) |url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/71256 |work=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, 2004, online edn (subscription required) |publisher=Oxford University Press |accessdate=11 December 2012 |year=2004}}</ref> Her parents sent the girls to England for schooling, as was the custom of the time, but returned them to Narayanganj when the First World War began. Godden returned to the [[United Kingdom]] with her sisters to continue her interrupted schooling in 1920, spending time at [[Moira House Girls School]] and eventually training as a dance teacher. She went back to [[Kolkata|Calcutta]] in 1925 and opened a dance school for English and Indian children.<ref name=dnb/> Godden ran the school for 20 years with the help of her sister Nancy. During this time she published her first best-seller, the 1939 novel ''[[Black Narcissus]]''. ==Writing career== After eight years in an unhappy marriage, entered into in 1934 because she was pregnant,<ref name=dnb/> in 1942 she moved with her two daughters (her husband Laurence Foster had joined the army)<ref name=dnb/> to [[Kashmir]], living first on a houseboat, and then in a rented house where she started a herb farm. After a mysterious incident in which it appeared that an attempt had been made to poison both her and her daughters she returned to Calcutta in 1944; the novel ''Kingfishers Catch Fire'' was based on her time in Kashmir. She returned to the United Kingdom in 1945 to concentrate on her writing, moving house frequently but living mostly in [[Sussex]] and London, and was divorced in 1948.<ref name=dnb/> After returning from America to oversee the script for the movie of her book ''[[The River (1951 film)|The River]]'', Godden married civil servant James Haynes Dixon on November 26, 1949. In the early 1950s Godden became interested in [[Roman Catholicism]], though she did not officially convert until 1968,<ref>Tickle, Phyllis. Introduction to ''In This House of Brede'', Loyola Classics, 2005</ref> and several of her later novels contain sympathetic portrayals of Roman Catholic priests and nuns. Two of her books deal with the subject of women in religious communities. In ''Five for Sorrow, Ten for Joy'' and ''In This House of Brede'' she acutely examined the balance between the mystical, spiritual aspects of religion and the practical, human realities of religious life. A number of Godden's novels are set in India, the atmosphere of which she evokes through all the senses; her writing is vivid with detail of smells, textures, light, flowers, noises and tactile experiences. Her books for children, especially her several doll stories, strongly convey the secret thoughts, confusions and disappointments, and aspirations of childhood. Her plots often involve unusual young people not recognized for their talents by ordinary lower or middle-class people but supported by the educated, rich, and upper-class, to the anger, resentment, and puzzlement of their relatives. She won a [[1972 Whitbread Awards|1972 Whitbread award]] for ''The Diddakoi'', a young adult novel about Gypsies, televised by the BBC as ''[[Kizzy (TV series)|Kizzy]]''.<ref name=dnb/> ==Later life and death== In 1968 she took the tenancy of [[Rye, East Sussex|Rye]]'s historic [[Lamb House]] where she lived until the death of her husband in 1973. She moved to [[Moniaive]] in [[Dumfriesshire]] in 1978 when she was 70 to be near her daughter Jane.<ref name=dnb/> She was appointed an [[Officer of the Order of the British Empire]] (OBE) in 1993. She visited India once more, in 1994, returning to Kashmir for the filming of a BBC ''Bookmark'' documentary about her life and books. Rumer Godden died at the age of 90, after a series of strokes, on 8 November 1998; her ashes were buried with her second husband's in Rye.<ref name=dnb/> ==Works== ===Books for adults=== ====Fiction==== * 1936 ''Chinese Puzzle'', her first published book-length work. * 1937 ''The Lady and the Unicorn'' * 1939 ''Black Narcissus'', a story about the disorientation of European nuns in India; the first of her books to be adapted for the screen, as the [[Black Narcissus|film of the same name]] in 1947; a radio adaptation was also broadcast in 2008.<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/arts/whour_drama.shtml Black Narcissus]</ref> * 1940 ''Gypsy, Gypsy'' * 1942 ''Breakfast with the Nikolides'' * 1945 ''Take Three Tenses: A Fugue in Time'', made into the film ''[[Enchantment (1948 film)|Enchantment]]'' in 1948, starring [[David Niven]] and [[Teresa Wright]] * 1946 ''The River'', made into [[The River (1951 film)|a film]] in 1951 directed by [[Jean Renoir]], and she collaborated on the screenplay for the film * 1947 ''A Candle for St. Jude'' * 1950 ''A Breath of Air'' * 1953 ''Kingfishers Catch Fire'' * 1956 ''[[An Episode of Sparrows]]'', made into the film ''Innocent Sinners'' in 1958 * 1957 ''Mooltiki, and other stories and poems of India'' * 1958 ''[[The Greengage Summer]]'', again made into a film in 1961 * 1961 ''China Court: The Hours of a Country House'' * 1963 ''The Battle of the Villa Fiorita'' [[The Battle of the Villa Fiorita|filmed in 1965]] * 1968 ''Gone: A Thread of Stories'' (written with Jon Godden) * 1968 ''Swans and Turtles'' (short stories) * 1969 ''In This House of Brede'', follows Philippa (a cloistered Benedictine nun in the abbey of Brede in [[Sussex]]) through her first years in the abbey and not only her, but many of the other nuns who live there as well; made into a television film starring [[Diana Rigg]] * 1975 ''The Peacock Spring'', adapted for television in 1995 * 1979 ''Five For Sorrow, Ten For Joy'' * 1981 ''The Dark Horse'' * 1984 ''Thursday's Children'' * 1989 ''Indian Dust'' (written with Jon Godden) * 1990 ''Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love: Stories'' (written with Jon Godden) * 1991 ''Coromandel Sea Change'' * 1994 ''Pippa Passes'' * 1997 ''Cromartie vs. the God Shiva'', her last novel ====Non-fiction==== * 1943 ''Rungli-Rungliot'' – republished in 1961 as ''Thus Far and No Further'' * 1955 ''Hans Christian Andersen'' (biography) * 1966 ''Two Under the Indian Sun'' (childhood memories – written with Jon Godden) * 1968 ''Mrs. Manders' Cook Book'' * 1971 ''The Tale of the Tales: Beatrix Potter Ballet'' * 1972 ''Shiva's Pigeons'' (written with Jon Godden) * 1977 ''The Butterfly Lions'' * 1980 ''Gulbadan: Portrait of a Rose Princess At the Mughal Court'' * 1987 ''A Time to Dance, No Time to Weep'', an autobiography * 1989 ''A House with Four Rooms'', an autobiography ===Children's books=== * 1947 ''The Doll's House'', made into an animated series: ''[[Tottie: The Story of a Doll's House]]'' * 1951 ''The Mousewife'', a children's book * 1952 ''Mouse House'' * 1954 ''Impunity Jane: The Story of a Pocket Doll'' * 1956 ''The Fairy Doll'' * 1958 ''[[The Story of Holly and Ivy]]'' * 1960 ''Candy Floss'' * 1961 ''Saint Jerome and the Lion'' (retelling of the legend in verse) * 1961 ''Miss Happiness and Miss Flower'', a children's book about Japanese dolls and the house built for them. * 1963 ''Little Plum'', the sequel to ''Miss Happiness and Miss Flower'' * 1964 ''Home is the Sailor'' * 1967 ''The Kitchen Madonna'': two children make an icon for their Ukrainian housekeeper, a war refugee. * 1969 ''Operation Sippacik'' * 1972 ''[[The Diddakoi]]'' (also published as ''Gypsy Girl''), a children's book and winner of the [[Whitbread Book Awards|Whitbread Award]]. Adapted by the [[BBC]] as a radio drama of the same name starring [[Nisa Cole]],<ref>{{cite web|title=Rumer Godden&nbsp;– The Diddakoi|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01dhknc|publisher=[[BBC]]|accessdate=9 March 2012}}</ref> and for television as ''Kizzy''. * 1972 ''The Old Woman Who Lived in a Vinegar Bottle'' * 1975 ''Mr. McFadden's Hallowe'en'' * 1977 ''The Rocking Horse Secret'' * 1978 ''A Kindle of Kittens'' * 1981 ''The Dragon of Og'' * 1983 ''Four Dolls'' * 1983 ''The Valiant Chatti-Maker'' * 1984 ''Mouse Time: Two Stories'' * 1990 ''Fu-Dog'' * 1992 ''Great Grandfather's House'' * 1992 ''Listen to the Nightingale'' * 1996 ''The Little Chair'' * 1996 ''Premlata and the Festival of Lights '' ===Poetry=== * 1949 ''In Noah's Ark'' * 1968 ''A Letter to the World'' (written with Emily Dickinson) * 1996 ''Cockcrow to Starlight: A Day Full of Poetry'' (Anthology for Children) * 1996 ''A Pocket Book of Spiritual Poems'' ===Translations=== * 1963 ''Prayers from the Ark'', a translation of a collection of poems by French author [[Carmen Bernos de Gasztold]] * 1967 ''The Beasts' Choir'', a translation of a collection of poems by French author [[Carmen Bernos de Gasztold]] ==References== {{Reflist}} ==Further reading== *Chisholm, Anne (1998), ''Rumer Godden: A Storyteller's Life''. New York: Greenwillow. ==External links== * [http://www.rumergodden.com/ The Rumer Godden Literary Trust] * [http://www.lunaea.com/words/rumer/ Rumer Godden: A House with 4 Rooms] *{{IMDb name|323869}} {{Authority control|VIAF=110463979}} {{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. --> | NAME = Godden, Rumer | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = | SHORT DESCRIPTION = | DATE OF BIRTH = 1907 | PLACE OF BIRTH = Eastbourne, County of Sussex, England | DATE OF DEATH = 1998 | PLACE OF DEATH = Dumfriesshire, Scotland }} {{DEFAULTSORT:Godden, Rumer}} [[Category:1907 births]] [[Category:1998 deaths]] [[Category:British people of colonial India]] [[Category:English novelists]] [[Category:English children's writers]] [[Category:English women writers]] [[Category:Converts to Roman Catholicism]] [[Category:People from Dumfries and Galloway]] [[Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire]] [[Category:People from Sussex]] [[Category:English Roman Catholics]] [[Category:Narayanganj District]] [[Category:Roman Catholic writers]] [[de:Rumer Godden]] [[es:Rumer Godden]] [[it:Rumer Godden]] [[he:רומר גודן]] [[nl:Rumer Godden]] [[ja:ルーマー・ゴッデン]] [[sv:Rumer Godden]]'