Gilliatt

PENELOPE GILLIATT (1932 - 1993)

Penelope Ann Douglass Gilliatt (née Conner) was born in London. Her father was Cyril Conner, originally a barrister, while her mother was Marie Stephanie Douglass. Both came from Newcastle. Penelope Gilliatt herself was brought up in Northumberland. Her father was director of the BBC in the North East from 1938-41, and Penelope and her sister, now a noted sculptress, seem to have lived as Farnley Farm a mile east of Corbridge. Throughout her distinguished career as a writer and film critic in London and New York - she won an Oscar nomination with the screenplay for Sunday, Bloody Sunday in 1971, and her profiles of film makers like Jean Renoir and Jacques Tati are considered among the best of their kind - Penelope retained a love of the Roman Wall country.

Her novel Mortal Matters (1983), much concerned with ship-building and suffragettes, is largely set in Northumberland and Newcastle. There are several loving pages devoted to Hexham, and mentions of the Railway Hotel, the Old Assembly Rooms, the Grainger Market, Grey Street and much else. She refers to the meeting of the British Association in Newcastle in 1838, when Harriet Martineau (q.v.) was among those present:

'A splendid ball was given by the Mayoress on Monday evening in the Assembly Rooms, which were fitted up on a scale of great splendour for the occasion. About half-past ten, the Mayor and Lady Ann Compton, daughter of the Marquis of Northampton, led off the ball to the tune of the 'Keel Row'. Miss Amy pointed her dancing shoe as she read. ' Quadrilles, waltzes and gallopades followed, and the dancing was continued with great spirit to a late hour.'

Penelope Gilliatt celebrates the achievements of the North East, the famous vessels Mauretania and Turbinia, quoting the letter written by George Baden-Powell, brother of Lord Baden-Powell (q.v.), to the Times in 1897, the day after Turbinia had astonished the crowds at the Spithead Review:

Sir,
Your correspondent at the great Naval Review writes of the remarkable performance of the Turbinia - 'the fastest vessel in the world' - that she 'contrived at the cost of a deliberate disregard of authority' to make a 'brilliant but unauthorised' exhibition of 'astonishing speed'.
I happened to be on board the Turbinia at the time, and in justice to her designer, the Hon. Charles Parsons, and to Mr Leyland, who was running her, I ask leave to state that the astounding runs she made between A and B lines on Saturday were made in obedience to message brought by a picket boat that the admiral wished her to show her best speed, more especially for the benefit of His Royal Highness Prince Henry, who was watching from the German man-of-war. The exhibition of speed, so far from being unauthorised, was specially invited by the authorities.
Experts will like to know that on this run the Turbinia topped the unprecedented speed of thirty-four knots. The most noticeable feature was the entire absence of vibration.

Gilliatt also praises the Torrens, the Sunderland-built ship on which Joseph Conrad (q.v.) served for two years from 1891. In Mortal Matters, the South of England (symbolised by Harrow and the Stock Exchange) is portrayed throughout as a sybaritic and corrupting influence, while the North East exemplifies acumen and courage. The house Braw Fell is clearly Cragside, and the master, Sir William Douglass, is obviously modelled on Lord Armstrong. Douglass was the family name of Penelope's mother, Mary.

Myers Literary Guide:	The North-East
PENELOPE GILLIATT (1932 - 1993) Penelope Ann Douglass Gilliatt (née Conner) was born in London. Her father was Cyril Conner, originally a barrister, while her mother was Marie Stephanie Douglass. Both came from Newcastle. Penelope Gilliatt herself was brought up in Northumberland. Her father was director of the BBC in the North East from 1938-41, and Penelope and her sister, now a noted sculptress, seem to have lived as Farnley Farm a mile east of Corbridge. Throughout her distinguished career as a writer and film critic in London and New York - she won an Oscar nomination with the screenplay for Sunday, Bloody Sunday in 1971, and her profiles of film makers like Jean Renoir and Jacques Tati are considered among the best of their kind - Penelope retained a love of the Roman Wall country. Her novel Mortal Matters (1983), much concerned with ship-building and suffragettes, is largely set in Northumberland and Newcastle. There are several loving pages devoted to Hexham, and mentions of the Railway Hotel, the Old Assembly Rooms, the Grainger Market, Grey Street and much else. She refers to the meeting of the British Association in Newcastle in 1838, when Harriet Martineau (q.v.) was among those present: 'A splendid ball was given by the Mayoress on Monday evening in the Assembly Rooms, which were fitted up on a scale of great splendour for the occasion. About half-past ten, the Mayor and Lady Ann Compton, daughter of the Marquis of Northampton, led off the ball to the tune of the 'Keel Row'. Miss Amy pointed her dancing shoe as she read. ' Quadrilles, waltzes and gallopades followed, and the dancing was continued with great spirit to a late hour.' Penelope Gilliatt celebrates the achievements of the North East, the famous vessels Mauretania and Turbinia, quoting the letter written by George Baden-Powell, brother of Lord Baden-Powell (q.v.), to the Times in 1897, the day after Turbinia had astonished the crowds at the Spithead Review: Sir, Your correspondent at the great Naval Review writes of the remarkable performance of the Turbinia - 'the fastest vessel in the world' - that she 'contrived at the cost of a deliberate disregard of authority' to make a 'brilliant but unauthorised' exhibition of 'astonishing speed'. I happened to be on board the Turbinia at the time, and in justice to her designer, the Hon. Charles Parsons, and to Mr Leyland, who was running her, I ask leave to state that the astounding runs she made between A and B lines on Saturday were made in obedience to message brought by a picket boat that the admiral wished her to show her best speed, more especially for the benefit of His Royal Highness Prince Henry, who was watching from the German man-of-war. The exhibition of speed, so far from being unauthorised, was specially invited by the authorities. Experts will like to know that on this run the Turbinia topped the unprecedented speed of thirty-four knots. The most noticeable feature was the entire absence of vibration. Gilliatt also praises the Torrens, the Sunderland-built ship on which Joseph Conrad (q.v.) served for two years from 1891. In Mortal Matters, the South of England (symbolised by Harrow and the Stock Exchange) is portrayed throughout as a sybaritic and corrupting influence, while the North East exemplifies acumen and courage. The house Braw Fell is clearly Cragside, and the master, Sir William Douglass, is obviously modelled on Lord Armstrong. Douglass was the family name of Penelope's mother, Mary.
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