Bagnold, Enid (Algerine)

(British, 1889–1981)

Enid Bagnold spent her early years in Jamaica before returning to England to attend Prior's Field, a progressive school. She worked as a nurse and ambulance-driver during the First World War, and married in 1920. Her best-known novel is National Velvet (1935), the story of a young girl whose dream of winning the Grand National is realized when she impersonates a man and enters the race. Filmed with Elizabeth Taylor in the leading role in 1944, the story has been enduringly popular since its first publication. Also notable is The Squire (1938), an account of a pregnant woman awaiting the return of the father of her child. Bagnold also wrote successful plays, including The Chalk Garden (1956), and two volumes of diaries and autobiography.

Sylvia Townsend Warner  WB