Radclyffe Hall an English poet and author

 

Marguerite Antonia Radclyffe Hall (12 August 1880 – 7 October 1943) was an English poet and author, best known for the novel The Well of Loneliness, a groundbreaking work in lesbian literature. The publishing of which leads to one of the most famous trials in London during the interwar years. Radclyffe Hall, shocked conventional society with the lesbian theme of the novel “The Well of Loneliness.” Viciously attacked by the editor of the Sunday Express—“I would rather give . . . [a child] a phial of prussic acid than this novel”—the work was eventually judged obscene and all copies of the book ordered to be destroyed. Devastating as this was, the case gave Hall, or “John,” as she was known among her friends, a celebrity she relished. Wealthy, arrogant and notoriously short-tempered, Hall dressed as a man, in a suit and tie, with her hair cropped short, cigar usually in hand. Diana Souhami describes with perspicacity and wit the life Hall led with her devoted lover, Una Troubridge. Ensconced in luxury in London, with a large staff and a chauffeur-driven Daimler, the two holidayed across Europe.

They remained together for nearly 30 years, despite Hall’s final affair with a young Russian woman, Evgenia Souline which was deeply resented by Una, who had to wait for Hall’s death before she could take her revenge. On her deathbed, Hall revoked a previous will that had provided Souline with an income and instead left everything to Troubridge, including the copyrights to her works. In her new will she asked Troubridge to "make such provision for our friend Eugenie Souline as in her absolute discretion she may consider right"; Troubridge provided Souline with only a small allowance. She burned Souline's letters. In her 1945 biography, The Life and Death of Radclyffe Hall, she minimized Souline's role in Hall's life. Souline died in 1958.