author
Olivia Shakespear
1863–1938
A writer at the edge of major literary circles, she produced sharp, thoughtful fiction about marriage, feeling, and social life. Though little read in her own time, her work now offers a fascinating glimpse into the world around the fin de siècle and early modernism.
1 Audiobook
The beloved of Hathor, and The shrine of the Golden Hawk
by Florence Farr, Olivia Shakespear
About the author
Born Olivia Tucker on March 17, 1863, on the Isle of Wight, Olivia Shakespear became a British novelist, playwright, and patron of the arts. She is known for six novels, often described as "marriage problem" fiction, along with two plays written with Florence Farr.
Shakespear moved in remarkable literary company. She was closely connected with W. B. Yeats, and her home became a meeting place for writers, artists, and thinkers. Through her daughter Dorothy, who married Ezra Pound, she was also linked to another major figure in modern literature.
Her books did not sell widely during her lifetime, but readers have continued to value them for their quiet intelligence and their close attention to relationships, inner life, and the pressures of society. She died in London on October 3, 1938.