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Glyn, Elinor, 1864-1943We have 14 books for this author.
 Elinor Glyn (October 17, 1864 - September 23, 1943), born Elinor Sutherland, was an English novelist and scriptwriter who pioneered mass-market women's erotic fiction. She coined the use of It as a euphemism for sexuality, or sex appeal. BiographyElinor Glyn was born in Saint Helier, Jersey, Channel Islands. Following the death of her father, her mother returned to the parental home in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. Here Elinor was schooled by her grandmother (a minor French aristocrat) in the ways of upper-class society. This training not only gave her an entrée into aristocratic circles on her return to Europe, but it led her to be considered an authority on style and breeding when she worked in Hollywood in the 1920s. She was the celebrated author of such early 20th century bestsellers as It, Three Weeks, Beyond the Rocks, and other novels which were then considered quite racy, as tame as they might seem now. Glyn was also the younger sister of Lucy, Lady Duff-Gordon, famous as the fashion designer "Lucile". She had a long lasting affair between 1906 and 1916 with George Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston. CareerAlthough her writing would not be considered scandalous by modern standards, she pioneered mass-market women's erotic fiction. She coined the use of It as a euphemism for sexuality, or sex appeal. On the strength of the popularity and notoriety of her books, Glyn moved to Hollywood where she promoted the concept of the vamp, helping to make a star of actress Clara Bow (hence the soubriquet "the It girl"). She is credited with the re-styling of Gloria Swanson from giggly starlet to elegant star. A scriptwriter for the silent movie industry, she also had a brief career as one of the earliest female directors. References in popular cultureA scene in Glyn's most sensational work, Three Weeks, inspired the doggerel:
Glyn also makes an appearance in a 1927 Lorenz Hart song, "My Heart Stood Still" from One dam thing after another:
In Meredith Willson's 1957 musical The Music Man, Marian Paroo, the Librarian, asks the prudish Mrs. Shinn, the mayor's wife, if she would rather have her daughter reading Glyn's work than the classic Persian poetry of Omar Khayyam, to which Mrs. Shinn replies, "What Elinor Glyn reads is her mother's problem!" In the 2001 movie The Cat's Meow, Elinor Glyn, played by Joanna Lumley, is one of the guests aboard William Randolph Hearst's yacht on the fateful weekend Thomas Ince died. Lumley, as Glyn, provides voice-over narrative at the beginning and the end of the film. External links
This biographical information was gathered from the Elinor_Glyn page, courtesy of the Wikipedia project. BooksBeyond The Rocks A Love StoryThe Damsel and the Sage A Woman's Whimsies Elizabeth Visits America Halcyone His Hour The Man and the Moment Man and Maid The Point of View The Price of Things The Reason Why Red Hair The Reflections of Ambrosine A Novel Three Weeks The Visits of Elizabeth |
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