Cicely (Fairfield) Andrews DBE CBE
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Cicely Isabel (Fairfield) Andrews DBE CBE (1892 - 1983)

Dame Cicely Isabel "Rebecca West" Andrews DBE CBE formerly Fairfield
Born in Westbourne Park, London, Englandmap
Ancestors ancestors
[sibling(s) unknown]
[spouse(s) unknown]
Died at age 90 in South Kensington, London, Englandmap
Problems/Questions Profile manager: Ken McEvoy private message [send private message]
Profile last modified | Created 6 Mar 2017
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Biography

Notables Project
Cicely (Fairfield) Andrews DBE CBE is Notable.

Dame Cicily Isabel Fairfield, also known as Rebecca West, was a novelist, journalist, literary critic, travel writer, and suffragette. She took the pseudonym "Rebecca West" from the rebellious young heroine in Rosmersholm by Henrik Ibsen. [1]

Cicily was christened 25 February 1893 in London, England, United Kingdom.

In 1901, the family was living in Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, United Kingdom. Cicily attended George Watson's Ladies College.

Her major works include:

  • Black Lamb and Grey Falcon (1941), on the history and culture of Yugoslavia;
  • A Train of Powder (1955), her coverage of the Nuremberg trials, published originally in The New Yorker;
  • The Meaning of Treason (1949), later The New Meaning of Treason (1964), a study of the trial of the British fascist William Joyce and others;
  • The Return of the Soldier (1918), a modernist World War I novel; and
  • The "Aubrey trilogy" of autobiographical novels, The Fountain Overflows (1956), This Real Night (published posthumously in 1984), and Cousin Rosamund (1985).

In September 1912, West criticized writer H. G. Wells in a provocative review of his novel Marriage. The review attracted Wells's interest and an invitation to lunch. The two writers became lovers in late 1913, and their 10-year relationship produced a son, English author and literary critic Anthony West, born on 4 August 1914. Her friendship with Wells lasted until his death in 1946.

Cicily arrived 26 October 1923 in New York, New York, USA. She departed 26 October 1926 upon the "Pennland" to Southampton, Hampshire, England. On 19 January 1927 she left upon the "Majestio" from Cherbourg, France. 22 September 1928 she was upon the "Aquitania" departing Southampton, Hampshire, England.

In 1930, at the age of 37, she married a banker, Henry Maxwell Andrews, and they remained nominally together, despite one public affair just before his death in 1968.

West is also said to have had relationships with Charlie Chaplin, newspaper magnate Lord Beaverbrook (Max Aitken), and journalist John Gunther.

In 1949, Cicily was made Order of the British Empire, Commander (CBE) England, United Kingdom. In 1959, she was made Order of the British Empire, Dame Commander (DBE) England, United Kingdom. Time magazine called her "indisputably the world's number one woman writer" in 1947. She was a recipient of the Benson Medal.

Cicily died 15 March 1983 in London, England, United Kingdom. She was buried in Brookwood Cemetery, Brookwood, Surrey, England, United Kingdom.

On hearing of her death, William Shawn, then editor in chief of The New Yorker, said:

"Rebecca West was one of the giants and will have a lasting place in English literature. No one in this century wrote more dazzling prose, or had more wit, or looked at the intricacies of human character and the ways of the world more intelligently."

Sources

  1. Wikipedia contributors, 'Rebecca West', Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 29 January 2024, 06:28 UTC, <https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rebecca_West&oldid=1200303507> [accessed 5 February 2024]

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Comments: 2

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Hello Profile Managers!

We are featuring this profile in the Connection Finder this week. Between now and Wednesday is a good time to take a look at the sources and biography to see if there are updates and improvements that need made, especially those that will bring it up to WikiTree Style Guide standards. We know it's short notice, so don't fret too much. Just do what you can.

Thanks!

Abby

posted by Abby (Brown) Glann
Fairfield-539 and Fairfield-311 appear to represent the same person because: Amy, I'm afraid that I didn't find your profile for Cicily Fairfield when I created one today. I had been working on a profile of Alexander Campbell Mackenzie (Mackenzie-5197), who I believe was her uncle (which is what led me to Cicily). The reason that your profile didn't appear may have been the spelling of 'Cicily', which is what was used on Wikipedia.
posted by Ken McEvoy

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Categories: English Authors | Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire | British Authors | Featured Connections | Authors | Notables