Florence Bell (writer)

For the alpine skier from Ireland, see Florence Bell (skier). For the British suffragist and socialist, see Florence Harrison Bell.

Florence Bell

DBE JP
by "J. Weston & Son" 1910s
by "J. Weston & Son" 1910s
BornFlorence Eveleen Eleanore Olliffe
(1851-09-09)9 September 1851
Paris, France
Died16 May 1930(1930-05-16) (aged 78)
Chelsea, London, England
OccupationWriter, playwright
NationalityBritish
Period20th century
GenrePlays, fiction
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1876)​

Dame Florence Eveleen Eleanore, Lady Bell, DBE, JP (née Olliffe; 9 September 1851 – 16 May 1930)[1] was a British writer and playwright.

Biography

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Bell was born in Paris, France in 1851,[2] the youngest of four children of Irish-born Joseph Francis Olliffe (later Sir Joseph Olliffe) and Laura Cubitt.[3] She was the second wife of Sir Hugh Bell, 2nd Baronet, of Rounton Grange, and was styled Lady Bell. The couple had three children:

Bell was the stepmother to her husband's children from his first marriage: British explorer and key political figure in the Middle East, Gertrude Bell (1868–1926) and Maurice, 3rd Baronet (1871–1944).

In 1918 she was appointed as Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE). She died on 16 May 1930 at her home, 95 Sloane Street, Chelsea.

Works

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  • Alan's Wife (with Elizabeth Robins, 1893)
  • A Collection of Plays and Monologues for the Drawing Room
  • At the Works: Study of a Manufacturing Town, Middlesbrough (1907)
  • The Heart of Yorkshire (1923) a pageant play, written as part of the fundraising efforts towards the restoration of York Minster's Five Sisters window[5]
  • The Letters of Gertrude Bell, Volume 1 (1927)
  • The Letters of Gertrude Bell, Volume II (1927)
  • French Without Tears: Book I
  • French Without Tears: Book II
  • French Without Tears: Book III
  • Petit theâtre des enfants: twelve tiny french plays for children
  • ’Chantez, mes enfants! Chansons populaires mimées et sans gestes, rondes, etc avec accompagnement de piano choisies et arrangées par Lady Bell’ 1918

References

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  1. ^ "Lady Bell". The Times. London, England. 17 May 1930. p. 14.
  2. ^ The National Archives, RG33/71/page4, Foreign Registers & Returns, Baptisms, Consular/Overseas: Paris, France. Florence Eveline Eleanor Olliffe. Baptism date: 17 April 1851. Father: Joseph Olliffe. Mother: Laura. Father's occupation Physician
  3. ^ John, Angela V. (2004). "Bell, Florence Eveleen Eleanore, Lady Bell (1851–1930)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/41106. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  4. ^ "Trevelyan [née Bell], Mary Katharine [Molly], Lady Trevelyan (1881–1966), political hostess and voluntary worker". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2004. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/53939. Retrieved 4 May 2021. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  5. ^ Fitzsimmons, Linda; Gardner, Viv (1991). New Woman plays. London, England: Methuen Drama. p. 3. ISBN 0413642003.
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