George Egerton

For the British naval officer, see George Egerton (Royal Navy officer). For the British peer and Conservative politician, see George Egerton, 2nd Earl of Ellesmere.

George Egerton
Cover of Keynotes, a collection of short stories with cover art by Aubrey Beardsley.
Cover of Egerton's first short story collection with cover art by Aubrey Beardsley.
Born
Mary Elizabeth Annie Dunne

(1859-12-14)14 December 1859
Melbourne, Australia
Died12 August 1945(1945-08-12) (aged 85)
Sussex,[1] United Kingdom
OccupationWriter
Spouses
  • Henry Peter Higginson
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1888⁠–⁠1889)​
  • Egerton Tertius Clairmonte
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1891; div. 1901)​
  • Reginald Golding Bright
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1901)​
ChildrenGeorge Egerton Clairmonte (b. 1895)

Mary Chavelita Dunne Bright (born Mary Elizabeth Annie Dunne; 14 December 1859 – 12 August 1945), better known by her pen name George Egerton (pronounced Edg'er-ton),[2] was a writer of short stories, novels, plays and translations, noted for her psychological probing, innovative narrative techniques, and outspokenness about women's need for freedom, including sexual freedom. Egerton is widely considered to be one of the most important writers in the late nineteenth century New Woman movement, and a key exponent of early modernism in English-language literature. Born in Melbourne, Colony of Victoria, she spent her childhood in Ireland, where she settled for a time, and considered herself to be "intensely Irish".[3]

  1. ^ Alison Charlton, Dunne, Mary Chavelita (1859-1945), Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004. Online edition doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/38648. Accessed 20 March 2015.
  2. ^ Charles Earle Funk, What's the Name, Please?, Funk & Wagnalls, 1936
  3. ^ Eleanor Fitzsimons, "The Irish Identity of George Egerton". Irish Women's Writing Network, 4 August 2017: "In a letter to her cousin Ethel de Vere White, written in 1926, Egerton declared herself ‘Intensely Irish’".