Jean Rhys (August 24, 1890 - May 14, 1979), born Ella Gwendolen Rees Williams, was a mid 20th century Dominican novelist. She is best known for her novel Wide Sargasso Sea, written as a "prequel" to Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre.
Jean Rhys was born in Roseau, Dominica on 24 August 1890. Her father, William Rees Williams, was a Welsh doctor and her mother, Minna Williams (Lockhart family), was a third-generation Dominican Creole of Scottish ancestr...
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Jean Rhys (August 24, 1890 - May 14, 1979), born Ella Gwendolen Rees Williams, was a mid 20th century Dominican novelist. She is best known for her novel Wide Sargasso Sea, written as a "prequel" to Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre.
Jean Rhys was born in Roseau, Dominica on 24 August 1890. Her father, William Rees Williams, was a Welsh doctor and her mother, Minna Williams (Lockhart family), was a third-generation Dominican Creole of Scottish ancestry.
Jean Rhys was educated at the Convent School and moved to England when she was sixteen, sent there to live with her "starchy" aunt, Clarice. She attended the Perse School for girls where she was made fun of because of her accent and outsider status, Cambridge (1907-08) and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London (1909) where they despaired of her ever being able to speak proper English; later she worked unsuccessfully as a chorus girl (1909-10).
When her father died in 1910, Rhys was forced to abandon her studies. In need of money, she...
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