HS
Helen Simpson
Bio
Helen de Guerry Simpson (1897-1940) was born in Sydney, New South Wales, to Edward Percy Simpson and Anne de Lauret Simpson. She was educated at the Convent of the Sacred Heart in Rose Bay and at Abbotsleigh, Wahroonga. In 1914, she travelled to France to continue her studies. After her arrival in England, she attended the University of Oxford, reading French from 1916-1917. In 1918, she joined the Women’s Royal Naval Service (popularly known as the Wrens) and worked as a senior section officer specializing in decoding. In 1919, Simpson returned to Oxford to study music and while there also became interested in theatre, eventually founding the Oxford Women’s Dramatic Society, as well as publishing several plays. Her studies ended in 1921 when she broke university regulations which prohibited male and female students from acting together. In 1927, she married the surgeon Sir Denis John Browne. Her first novel, Acquittal, was published in 1925. One of her most successful works, Boomerang, an historical fiction novel, was published in 1932 and won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize. Simpson published two historical biographies, The Spanish Marriage (1933) and Henry VIII (1934), and a book on household management, The Happy Housewife (1934). She collaborated with Clemence Dane on the novels, Enter Sir John (1929), Printer’s Devil (1930) and Re-enter Sir John (1932). Another novel, Under Capricorn (1937) was adapted into a 1949 British thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock. In 1939, Simpson was chosen as a parliamentary candidate by the Isle of Wight Liberal Association but her political career was cut short by illness and her death the following year. Her close friend, the novelist Margaret Kennedy, took charge of Simpson’s daughter Clemence during the war while Simpson was in her last illness. Clemence features in Kennedy’s wartikme memoir, Where Stands A Winged Sentry, also published by Handheld Press.Helen Simpson Books
Enter Sir John
Clemence DaneEnter Sir John
Clemence DaneAsk a Policeman
The Detection ClubCockfosters
Helen SimpsonFreeman's: Arrival
John FreemanIn-Flight Entertainment
Helen SimpsonIn the Driver's Seat
Helen SimpsonGetting a Life
Helen Simpson