Ivy Compton Burnett

Short Biography

IVY COMPTON-BURNETT (1884-1969)Surely one of the oddest of 20th century writers and one of those whose reputation has often been higher than her book sales, Compton-Burnett is a favorite of mine—albeit one that I take in small doses and recommend to others only with disclaimers. Most of her novels have the same basic plot—dysfunctional upper-crust Victorian family life. They have large casts of characters and unfold almost entirely in ridiculously stiff, formal, and unrealistic dialogue, with characters splitting hairs and nitpicking ad nauseum about the meanings of events—which, in Compton-Burnett novels, may include marriage, death, re-marriage, adultery, conflicts with servants, jealousy, spite, hatred, emotional abuse, manipulations, machinations, and even murder—virtually all of which occur "offstage" and are only endlessly discussed after the fact. And yet, bizarre and claustrophobia-inducing as they are, these novels are also brilliantly dark, funny, and incisive, and provide considerable insight into the Victorian family dynamic Compton-Burnett was so fascinated by. Until fairly recently, only two of her best works, A House and Its Head (1935) and Manservant and Maidservant (1947), were in print from New York Review Books Classics, but now Hesperus has reprinted Pastors and Masters (1925) and Bloomsbury has released e-books of several more, including Men and Wives (1931), Parents and Children (1941), and A Family and a Fortune (1939). Happily, they have also made available, for the first time since its original printing, Compton-Burnett's disowned debut novel, Dolores (1911), which is written in a much more traditional style and is reputedly autobiographical. All in all, by no means a "cozy" writer, but a very enjoyable one if you can acquire the taste.