Violet Vivian (Finlay) Mann (1914 - 1986)

Born 2 Jan 1914 in Easthampstead, Berkshire, England, United Kingdom

Ancestors

Wife of Esmé Austin Reeves Porch — married 1933 (to about 1935) in Easthampstead, Berkshire, England

Wife of Géza Stephan (Szántó) Santow — married 1938 (to 1944) in Budapest, Hungary

Wife of Cyril William Mann — married Oct 1958 in York, Yorkshire, England

Died Aug 1986 at age 72 in North Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom

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Biography

Vivian (Finlay) Mann is Notable.

William Stuart Long, née Violet Vivian Finlay was an English writer from the 1950s to 1980s. She published under several pen names. She was a founder of the Romantic Novelists' Association; being elected the first Chairperson. Vivian was also a qualified medical practitioner.

formative years

Vivian (Finlay) Mann was born in Berkshire, England.

Born Violet Vivian Finlay on 2nd January 1914 in Easthampstead, Berkshire, England, she was the daughter of Sir Campbell Finlay, owner and director of Burmah Oil Company Ltd, and Lady Alice Finlay nee Norton. ^[1] The majority of her childhood and youth was spent in Rangoon, Burma (now Myanmar), where her father worked.

writing

Vivian was a prolific author

Vivian published her first novels in 1953. She signed her romantic fiction as Vivian Stuart, her married name at that time, and also under the pen names Alex Stuart, Barbara Allen, Fiona Finlay and Robyn Stuart. For her military sagas, "Alexander Sheridan Saga" and "Phillip Hazard Saga" she used the name V A Stuart; and William Stuart Long was her pen name for the popular historical series: "The Australians", based on her research at The Mitchell Library Sydney, The National Maritime Museum, British Public Records Office and the New York Public Library.

Many of her romance novels were protagonised by doctors or nurses, and set in Asia, Australia or other places she had visited. Her novel, "Gay Cavalier" (1955 as Alex Stuart) caused trouble between Vivian and her Mills & Boon editors. She featured a secondary story line featuring a Catholic male and Protestant female who chose to marry. This so-called "mixed marriage" outraged many people in the United Kingdom at the time.

A prolific writer, Vivian had more than ninety of her works published; working right up until her death. ^[2]

In 1960, she was a founder of the Romantic Novelists' Association, along with Denise Robins, Barbara Cartland, and others; she was elected the first Chairperson. In 1970, Vivian became the first woman to chair Swanwick writers' summer school.

marriages

Vivian married, firstly, Esmé Porch, in 1933 in Easthampstead. ^[3] They had one daughter, Gillian Porch (c1934-). Following the dissolution of her first marriage within two years, Vivian studied Law in London, before changing to Medicine at the University of London.

Later she spent time in Hungary in the capacity of private tutor in English, while she obtained a pathologist qualification at the University of Budapest in 1938. Vivian married a second time whilst in Hungary, to Hungarian Doctor, Geza Szántó. In 1939, they emigrated to Australia. In 1942, she obtained a diploma in industrial chemistry and laboratory technique at the Technical Institute of Newcastle, New South Wales.

Having earned an ambulance driver's certificate, Vivian joined the Australian Women's Auxiliary Service (AWAS) during the Second World War. She was attached to the IVth Army, and attained the rank of Sergeant. After the war she returned to England, leaving behind her second husband and their young son, Hon. Justice Kim Santow AO (1941-2008), a noted New South Wales Judge.

Back in England, Vivian married for a third time, to unknown Stuart. They had three children:

• Jennifer Gooch (née Stuart) and
• twins Vary and Valerie Stuart

On 24th October 1958 in York, Yorkshire, she married her fourth and last husband, Cyril Mann, an investment banker. ^[4]

death

Vivian passed away, still only 72 years of age, in August 1986 in Yorkshire, England. ^[5] It is not known whether Vivian maintained contacted with her five children. What she seemingly lacked in her own life, true romance and love, she gave the world in abundance. Her many books are a wonderful legacy.

Sources

1. ↑ UK FreeBMD Birth Index Mar qtr 1914, vol 2c, page 745
2. ↑ Wikipedia list of books by Vivian
3. ↑ Marriage Index Jun qtr 1933, vol 2c, page 1156
4. ↑ UK FreeBMD Marriage Index Dec qtr 1958, vol 2d, page 1423
5. ↑ death record has yet to be located

See also

• Wikipedia: Vivian Stuart.