Anna Kavan

Dr. Jennifer Daphne Sturm (University of Auckland)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.08: English Writing and Culture of the early Twentieth Century , 1900-1945.
Vol. editors: Chris Baldick (Goldsmiths College, University of London), Peter Childs (Birmingham Newman University), Louise McDonald (Birmingham Newman University), Andrew Radford (University of Glasgow)

Dates

Born 10 Apr 1901
Died 5 Dec 1967
Activity 1921-1967

Places

Born in France
Active in England

Activities

Primary

Novelist
Story-writer

Resources

Kavan's Works

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Anna Kavan is the assumed name of Helen Emily Woods, an English writer who was born in Cannes, France, on April 10th, 1901. Her father, Claude Charles Edward Woods, described as a “Gentleman”, was independently wealthy and something of an entrepreneur, spending several of the first few years of Kavan's childhood travelling between England, Europe, and the United States. Her mother, Helen Eliza Woods was the granddaughter of Dr. Richard Bright [1789-1858], the so-called “Father of Nephrology” and member of the “great men of Guy's”, the group of notable medical researchers [which included Thomas Addison and Thomas Hodgkin] based at Guy's Hospital in London. In 1837 Bright was appointed Physician Extraordinary to Queen Victoria. Kavan's mother was thirty-two at the time of her…

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2349 words

Citation: Sturm, Dr. Jennifer Daphne. "Anna Kavan". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 30 October 2007 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=2441, accessed 26 November 2024.]