Dorothy Bussy, Olivia

Christopher Yiannitsaros (University of Warwick)

Ed. by Chris Baldick, Goldsmiths College, University of London
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.5.2.06: French Writing and Culture: Early Twentieth-century , 1900-1945.
Vol. editors: Kate Averis (University of Western Australia), Hugo Azerad (University of Cambridge), Patrick ffrench (King's College London), Edward Forman (University of Bristol), Akane Kawakami (Birkbeck, University of London), Siobhán McIlvanney (King's College London), Sinan Richards (King's College London), Tim Unwin (University of Bristol), David Williams (University of Sheffield)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1949

Places

United Kingdom (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Novella

Resources

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Olivia

is a novella by Dorothy Bussy (

née

Strachey, 1865-1960) first published in 1949 by the Hogarth Press. Bussy’s novella appeared pseudonymously, announcing itself as a memoir of the eponymous “Olivia” herself, and has until recently been reprinted under that pseudonym. Focussing on desire between women,

Olivia

recalls an intensely formative year in the life of its sixteen-year-old protagonist as she moves from England to France to finish her education at Les Avons school in the late nineteenth century. The novella has been widely translated, and has become a classic of modern lesbian fiction. Kathryn Holland suggests that

Olivia

has garnered an “idiosyncratic reputation, with praise and strong interest before and after its publication followed by little scholarly…

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2115 words

Citation: Yiannitsaros, Christopher. "Olivia". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 05 August 2020 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=39168, accessed 21 November 2024.]

Dorothy Bussy, Olivia

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