Hello, guilio-ga!
Thank you for your question. I had not previously heard of Rebecca
West, and was intrigued by her biography and references to her
writings. I will now have to go to the library in search of some of
her books!
According to information contained in the University of Indiana
library records, concerning a collection of letters composed by author
Rebecca West to family members, spanning nearly eight decades….
**Rebecca’s mother, Isabella Campbell (Mackenzie) Fairfield was born
in 1854 and died in 1921.**
(note the name is not Arabella, but Isabella.)
A brief description of the book follows:
“The West, R. mss., 1907-1984, consist primarily of letters from
author Rebecca West, 1892-1983, to members of her family, particularly
her two sisters. Born December 21, 1892 in Westbourne Park, London,
Dame Rebecca was the youngest of three children, all girls. Christened
Cicely [subsequently spelled Cicily] Isabel Fairfield, she
demonstrated an early aptitude for writing but was determined to be an
actress. After studying at the Royal Academy of Art she worked on
stage for about a year, and in 1911 began writing for the feminist
magazine Freewoman. In order to save her family embarrassment
regarding this latter employment she adopted as a pseudonym the name
of one of the roles she portrayed on stage, that of the rebellious
heroine in Ibsen's Rosmersholm: Rebecca West. West met H.G. Wells in
1912 and bore his son, Anthony Panther West in August 1914. She
remained one of Wells's mistresses for ten years. She continued to
write both fiction and non-fiction: short stories, novels, feminist
and socialist essays, biography and literary criticism. West married a
banker, Henry Maxwell Andrews in 1930, was made Commander of the
British Empire in 1949, and Dame Commander in 1959. She died in London
on the morning of March 15, 1983.”
“This collection of letters spans about eight decades of West's life
and is arranged alphabetically by recipient. The very earliest few to
her sister Letitia, although undated, almost certainly were written
before 1900.
***The major recipients are her mother, Isabella Campbell (Mackenzie)
Fairfield (1854-1921);***
her oldest sister, Dr. Letitia Denny Fairfield (1885-1978); her other
sister, Winifred Alice (Fairfield) Macleod, (1887-1960); and her
niece, Alison Flora (Macleod) Selford (b.1920). There is also a folder
of letters from West to other members of the family--brother-in-law,
nephews, grand nieces, etc., and one of copies of letters from niece
Alison to her aunt Rebecca. West mainly discusses family matters, but
sometimes includes commentary on politics, history, social issues,
aspects of her work, and notable personalities. A file of
miscellaneous correspondence involves non-family members and family
members writing to each other exclusive of West. A file of
miscellaneous items that includes a poem by Cicily Isabel Fairfield
and an undated, torn photograph of two young women, and another one of
newspaper clippings complete the collection.”
Read further information about the collection at
http://www.indiana.edu/~liblilly/lilly/mss/html/westr.html
An excellent article about Rebecca West, her life and her writings,
titled “Rebecca West.” Contemporary Authors / Gale's Literature
Resource Center at http://www.visionet-web.com/wfaa/womenhistory/westr.html
has a few references to her mother and father:
“Christened Cicily Fairfield, the youngest of three daughters born
to Charles and Isabella Fairfield, she had a childhood filled with
intellectual stimulation but marred by poverty and instability, the
death of her father, and her own attacks of tuberculosis. Both her
parents were gifted, her father with words and ideas, particularly
those relating to politics, and her mother with music. Cicily was born
and spent her early childhood in London, then accompanied her mother
and sisters to Edinburgh where Cicily finished her education. Her
father died alone in Liverpool, and a few years later the family moved
back to London.
“Much of The Fountain Overflows parallels the events and characters
of her own childhood. Her father had died when she was a child,
****her mother when West was twenty-eight,***** so the normal
relations between the generations were cut short.
I hope this provides the information you need!
umiat-ga
Google Search
author Rebecca West +mother
"isabella fairfield" |
