The Edwardian Lady - The Story Of Edith Holden

by Ina Taylor (Compiled)

Edwardian Life of Edith Holden

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Art, Biography Memoir, History, Edwardian

208 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1980

Reviews

[Mary Beth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly, this was one of the worst written biographies I've ever read. I'm not sure whether there was just a lack of background information for the author to use or if the author just gave up towards the end. In either case, it was not great, though the beginning was better than the middle and end. I did enjoy the many photographs and drawings. It simply felt, though, like the author threw some words in around the illustrations. Literally, you would read a few paragraphs on one page (particularly toward the end), have 10 pages of photos or drawings, and then read another paragraph that was in no way connected to the previous paragraph. So, on one page you have something like, "Edith visited her sister in London and enjoyed the London scene." On the next page (10 pages removed, though), you'd have, "Edith got married at age 39 and there is not much information available about the 10 years of her marriage before her tragic death by drowning."

I suppose, to look on the bright side, I can say that once I made myself finish reading it, the time went by quickly!

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

For me, this is a 'must read' before picking up Holden's "Country Diary." Now that I know something about the woman and the setting, the diary is much more meaningful.

Interesting intro to the late 1800s/early 1900s, the location, and the Holden family. Well-illustrated.

p 122: In 1906, Edith writes to a friend -
I suppose it is very quiet at Dousland now, all the visitors will be leaving, that is just the time I would like to be there.

[Jasmine Shadows · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved her Country Diary, and it was great to read about this woman. She was an interesting woman. There were a few things regarding her that surprised me, but I guess that would be true of all people wouldn't it?

[Melinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not sure why I liked this little book so much. I wasn't dismayed by the lack of information about Edith Holden; it gave me the opportunity to imagine her life and what it may have been like. She would be an interesting subject for historical fiction because so little is known about her! I think I liked the way the book informed me about the Edwardian era, how England was changing with the second industrial revolution, and the way ideas were changing, too. The Holdens were an interesting family with their dabbling in socialism and spiritualism; all seven children were raised to be readers, naturalists, artists, and dedicated to the common good. This was the beginning of the middle class in England and the rise of industrialism -- the family business was established in Birmingham -- yet still there was time to fill their days with music, painting, and poetry. As I read this book and looked at the pictures, I thought about how much we've lost. Education in the humanities, common for all the middle class at one time, has fallen out of favor. I can't help believe we are the poorer for it.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, I thought I'd really like this, but it was a little dull and there were lots of things the author didn't address. It may be that there was just no information available, but I at least hoped for speculation. How did she die? How did her brother Kenneth die? This was kind of a "surface only" sort of book. Its redeeming quality was the artwork and photographs reproduced in the pages. I had not known just how much art training Holden had had; she had attended art school in Birmingham since childhood and exhibited pictures regularly at exhibits there and at the Royal Academy in London; this was not just a typical upper class woman who happened to keep a nature journal. She was a trained artist. It makes my failure to make my nature journal look like hers a bit easier to swallow. :-)

[Phoebe · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick read about Edith Holden who lived a relatively simple life and died in her late 40s of a tragic and silly drowning accident. The book itself is a study of a slowly industrializing England at the turn of the century, with marvelous period photographs and extensive art by Edith and her sisters. Still hard to get much of a sense about this rather quiet, mysterious artist--I came away with much more familiarity with her father, about whom the author waxes rhapsodic.

[Leaflet · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not the best biography, whether from lack of information or effort, I can’t be sure. Lots of photos and illustrations but not always of the highest quality. Still, I learned a little more about Edith Holden (and her four artistically gifted sisters) than I knew before picking up this book.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like this for the animal and flower illustrations, post cards, and stories of life in the early 1900’s of Edith’s documented life, but not necessarily of most womens’ experiences, just hers. Her whole biography is not complete and although written in bits and pieces of known facts, we must remember that she lived a life with all needs met.

This is a story of a privileged white woman, in a day and age where marriages mattered. I believe she was very unique in her freedoms, had untethered spaces to be herself, and wonderful relationships. Definitely, this is the opposite of Charles Dickens’ characters and stories.

I first got Edith (Holden) Smith’s The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady, asa gift, and then later found this biography to compliment the diary. It’s inspired me to create my own country diary of the animals and flora of the place where I live. Every month I read the month that it is, in her diary which is organized by months. I’m currently up to June.

This is a light, easy, sometimes confusing book because of all the places mentioned that I couldn’t be bothered to look up.

[Talea · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really couldn't get into the book. I had no idea who Edith Holden was prior, and while now I know her work I don't really feel as if I know very much more after reading. Her art is very beautiful, just would like to have learned more about her.

[Lady reading under the Willow · Rating 3 out of 5]

This biography of Edith Holden Smith, as far as it is able, tells the story of the naturalist artist behind the pen and paintbrush of "The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady" (which was published some fifty years posthumously).

A great deal of research went into this, and even though personal details were scarce, much of Edith's professional work is documented here. It was a well-written biography that had very limited information to work with. It really is too bad that more was not known of her.

She met such a tragic fate, and the book ends there on a rather stark and depressing note. What a sad finish to the quiet life of this lady and her work.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The presentation of this book is very much in keeping with the Country Diary’s brand of Edwardian nostalgia and is beautifully illustrated but as a biography it is very thin. The main problem is that, aside from being an artist, Edith Holden lived a relatively unremarkable life and I am left with the impression that even if more documentation had been available to the author, there would still be little to write about beyond basic information. I’m a fan of Edith’s artwork and I have a number of items from the franchise but this was a little disappointing.

[Tristram · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is just delightful. It's so beautifully designed... filled with wonderful coloured photos and artworks, bordered with lovely illustrations, just a feast for the eyes and mind. No, it isn't necessarily a brilliant biography. It covers the main points of Holden's life and the lives of her family, but it conveys her spirit and artistic style very well. It's a book I can definitely see myself coming back to just to take in the artwork and the atmosphere of her life.

[Carolyn Page · Rating 4 out of 5]

The backstory to the lady who authored several beautifully written and illustrated books on nature observed in the old-fashioned English country-side. This book is just as lovely to read as the subject's claims to fame are.

[Amanda Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful, easy read with gorgeous illustrations. My great aunt gave me Edith’s diary when I was a youngster. Very interesting to read about Edith’s life. I admire the classes when philanthropy takes priority.

[Jessica Just · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful book! Lots of artwork and photos included. I love Edith's art, active lifestyle and especially her concern for animals. Will be checking out her nature notes when I get a chance.

[Reading with Cats · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a biography this was...not great. But there were tons of gorgeous illustrations and photos.
3.5 stars

[Erin Simone · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Krista · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brief biography of the author of The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady, beautifully illustrated with her drawings and contemporary photographs.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful read!! Love the pages with her work in them💜

[Blythe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick read on a house-bound day.

[Sharon Robertson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeous book stunning pictures and a remarkable journey.

[Emma Berg · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely biography of illustrator and naturalist Edith Holden.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was insightful to learn a few new things about Edith and her life and family, after reading and loving her Country Diary. So sad about her tragic death.

[Kirsty · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was absolutely charmed by Edith Holden’s The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady, which were compiled throughout 1906 and not published until 1977. I really wanted to know more about our charming illustrator. I found a biography, The Edwardian Lady: The Story of Edith Holden by Ina Taylor, and was able to request a revised edition, which was dug out from my local library’s country store.

It is promised that in The Edwardian Lady, Taylor has ‘established this fascinating story with the inclusion of a previously hidden chapter’ of Edith’s. In this, her first biography, Taylor follows the trajectory of Holden’s life, from her childhood in the West Midlands, to London.

The book’s introduction begins: ‘It is ironic that Edith Holden’s fame rests not on the several books she illustrated in her lifetime, not on the fifty or so oil paintings she exhibited, but on a private note-book she never intended to publish… Although it could never have been published at the time it was written, this journal became an immediate best-seller seventy years later.’ Taylor goes on: ‘We look at a whole year through Edith’s eyes, kneel down and peer among the primrose leaves for signs of buds, and yet when we get to the end of December we know very little about the person whose eyes we have been borrowing.’

I loved learning about Edith’s liberal upbringing in particular. Her father, Arthur, moved to Birmingham after the death of his father; he held ‘Liberal, even Radical’ views, and the directors of the company he worked for, and took over, were ‘known for their socialist ideals’. The family collectively pursued a lot of charity work; Edith, in particular, was involved with the RSPCA, producing artwork for them to sell.

Edith was born in 1871; she and her two younger sisters, who were also very talented, studied at the prestigious Birmingham School of Art, and were encouraged to follow their interests as much as was possible. For Edith, the choice to study the natural world in her art specialisation was ‘obvious’.

I really appreciated Taylor’s attention to detail throughout. She gives as much as she could uncover during her research period, and in some ways, her biography is rather illuminating. However, we learn very little about Edith’s marriage, for example, as little is known. Indeed, Taylor addresses this in her epilogue: ‘Despite the widespread posthumous fame, the real Edith Holden has remained elusive. When I originally researched her life over ten years ago, I knew that I did not come as close to my subject as I should have liked, but felt sure that the moment my book was published a marvellous hoard of Holden memorabilia would appear. But that never happens… No revelations about the woman or her family have come forth, nor has a single piece of Edith’s artwork.’

A lovely element of The Edwardian Lady is the mirrored parallel which echoes The Country Diary. Taylor’s biography includes a lot of lovely, and rather interesting ephemera, mostly in the form of photographs and illustrations. Taylor has also added a great deal of supplementary material. The presentation is lovely, and has clearly been carefully thought out; it feels very much in keeping with Edith’s own work, particularly with the addition of full-page, colour illustrations.

If you are keen to learn more about the woman behind The Country Diary, as well as her other work, The Edwardian Lady is something of a treasure trove. Whilst the biographical details here are perhaps not as extensive as I was expecting, I feel Taylor handled the information she was able to find very well indeed.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a bare bone biography, of Edith Blackwell Holden Smith, author and illustrator of Country Diary of An Edwardian Lady. This biography compiles primary sources and known facts about Edith Holden, but there is not much to flesh out much of a story about the person, mainly her accomplishments.

Her sister Evelyn was supposedly an even more talented artist. Edith preferred illustrating animals. I would enjoy seeing their training and work in context with other people during the day. Beatrix Potter was a contemporary, but no contemporary comparison is provided.

I did find it interesting to find out her family's religious background: Unitarian, and also involved in spiritualism, which included the practice of seances and automatic writing. Did this type of upbringing encourage the artistic sides of the family? Did this also encourage interest in nature? Were they very talented or were these typical Edwardian interests and education.

Country Diary of An Edwardian Lady is based on her Nature Notes from 1906, which were used for teaching in the classroom and preparation for some illustrating projects. I thought it was more of a nature journal or diary, like most Edwardian ladies would keep. Knowing that it wasn't makes me feel less intimidated. I have always been inspired by her illustrations, and use them as a stimulus for our nature notebooks.

[Willa Guadalupe Grant · Rating 3 out of 5]

An ok biography of Edith Holden whose nature notes for one year formed the book A Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady. There isn't anything scandalous or salacious about Edith Holden. She was a nice lady & a talented artist with friends who married late & had no children. She died unusually & at only 49 but other than that it her life was pretty quiet. I found this to be a depressing book. Not only the slow slide into a less affluent life than she started with, but also the quick end of the book when she died. Meh- I was happier not knowing about her & just enoying the book about some of her art.

[Melinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I am familiar with Edith Holden's "Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady", I never knew much about her life. This book brings in her family history, paintings and illustrations she did for books and magazines, and puts a face to the "Edwardian Lady".

This book is very worthwhile. Sadly, I had not known that Edith Holden tragically drowned in an accident. She was leaning out over a backwater part of the Thames River near Kew Gardens, probably to get chestnut buds to take back to her studio and draw. It seems she fell into the river reaching out to get the chestnut buds and with no one near to hear her, she unhappily drowned.

[Rachel Kopel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was very interested in reading about the life of this painter and illustrator, who we are familiar with through her Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady. Which she kept for her own use and did not show or publish. She was a *working* artist, as well as dutiful daughter. She traveled in the British Isles an studied art throughout most of her life. She showed in exhibitions. And she had an excellent eye and brush for animals. But I most enjoy reading and seeing photographs of life just 100 years ago.

[Zoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short, sweet, and populated with some beautiful examples of Holden's work, as well as many photographs from her life. This woman had talent akin to Beatrix Potter's, but without quite as much need to self-market and a desire to teach as much as produce, she wasn't destined to become a household name to anyone except fans of her Nature Notes, which was published decades after she died. The family history is an interesting one, especially for those curious about the post Downton Abbey era. A lovely snapshot of a life too short.

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

"An Edwardian Lady's Diary" by Edith Holden is a beautifully illustrated nature journal chronicling the year 1906. Holden, an Edwardian-era artist, has meticulously documented her observations of British wildlife through watercolor paintings and writings. The diary captures the rural life she encounters. While I adored the pictures, I was less enamored of her poems. But I must confess that I don’t have a deep appreciation of poetry in general so this should not deter someone else from reading this book.