Rebecca West was once called “the world’s best woman writer” because she wrote about politics, travel, socialism, and feminism, among other things. She was known for being fiercely independent and having strong political views. She was also brave enough to go against what society expected women to do at the time. She wrote a lot and was a literary critic. She reviewed books for well-known newspapers and magazines like “The New York Herald Tribune,” “New Republic,” and “Sunday Telegraph.” She was a strong-willed woman who was known for her feminist views and her strong support of the movement to give women the right to vote. She was one of the most influential political and intellectual thinkers of the 20th century, and she knew a number of other modernist writers. She was the first woman to write a book about World War I. It was called “The Return of the Soldier.” Many of her books were about love, romance, politics, and history. She had a long affair with the writer H.G. Wells and had a son with him. She believed in free love. Even though she was well-known and well-liked while she was alive, her fame went down after she died. The once-famous author is now a name that not many people know.
Early years and childhood
She was born in London and given the name Cicely Isabel Fairfield. Charles Fairfield, her father, was a journalist, and Isabella, her mother, was a good pianist before they got married. Two sisters lived with her.
She grew up in a place where people talked about ideas and politics, read good books, and listened to good music. But things changed when she was eight years old and her father left the family.
She went to school at George Watson’s Ladies College in the Scottish city of Edinburgh. But she had to drop out in 1907 because she had tuberculosis, and she didn’t have the money to go back to school.
She was rebellious and independent, and she went to the Academy of Dramatic Art from 1910 to 1911 to study theater. At first, she wanted to be an actress. During this time, she took the name “Rebecca West” from the main character in “Rosmersholm” by Henrik Ibsen.
She and her sister Lettie worked hard to get women the right to vote and often took part in street protests.
Rebecca West’s Career
In 1911, West got a job as a journalist for the feminist weekly “The Freewoman,” which was run by Dora Marsden, Grace Jardine, and Mary Gawthorpe, three women who fought for women’s right to vote.
She wrote an article about free love for the first issue of “The Freewoman” journal, which caused quite a stir. She got both a lot of fans and a lot of haters for the way she spoke.
She joined the Fabian Society, a socialist debate group, and got involved in the socialist movement in a big way. During this time, she also got to know George Bernard Shaw.
In 1912, she started working for “The Clarion,” a socialist newspaper that came out every week. Over the next 16 months, the journal put 34 of her articles in print.
From 1912 to 1916, she wrote often for “The Freewoman” and other newspapers and magazines. The feminist magazine “The Freewoman” talked about several ways in which women are treated unfairly in society.
In the 1920s, she wrote two books: “The Judge” (1922), an existential story with Freudian themes and a focus on women’s right to vote, and “Harriet Hume” (1929), a modernist story about a pianist and her obsessive lover.
In 1935, she published a book called “The Harsh Voice: Four Short Novels.” It included the story “There Is No Conversation,” which was turned into an hour-long radio drama on NBC University Theatre in 1950.
She was a reporter in the 1940s and 1950s. During that time, she covered many espionage and treason trials. Instead of just reporting the facts, she tried to figure out what was going on in the minds of the accused and why they did what they did.
Works of note
She was a writer with a strong sense of independence. She was known for her sharp wit, fearless journalism, and literary criticism. She was the first woman to write a novel about World War I, and she was also the first woman to work as a reporter in the House of Commons.
Awards & Achievements
In 1959, she was made a dame commander of the Order of the British Empire for her important work in British literature.
Personal History and Legacies
In 1913, she had an affair with the author H.G. Wells. This couple was together for ten years and had a son. There were also rumors that she dated the actor Charlie Chaplin.
In 1930, she got married to a banker named Henry Maxwell Andrews. The two of them were married until Henry died in 1968.
She has always cared about helping the poor, and during World War II, she took in a group of Yugoslav refugees. After the Spanish Civil War, she worked with people like Emma Goldman and Sybil Thorndyke to set up the Committee to Help Homeless Spanish Women and Children.
She lived an active life until she was 90 years old. She died in 1983 at the age of 90.
Estimated Net worth
Rebecca is one of the wealthiest activists and is on the list of the most well-known activists. Based on what we’ve found on Wikipedia, Forbes, and Business Insider, Rebecca West’s net worth is about $1.5 million.
Trivia
Robert D. Kaplan said that her book “Black Lamb and Grey Falcon” was the best travel book of this century.
This great activist cum writer is also the name of a Canadian girl rock band led by Alison Outhit.