About
Katherine Mansfield, born Kathleen Mansfield Beauchamp in Wellington, is a central figure of British literary modernism, often compared to Virginia Woolf and James Joyce. She published three major short story collections: In a German Pension (1911), Bliss and Other Stories (1920), and The Garden Party and Other Stories (1922). Her writing, influenced by Chekhov, is noted for its psychological subtlety and oblique narration. After her brother's death in World War I, she drew on her New Zealand childhood, as in 'Prelude' (1918). Suffering from tuberculosis, she died in France in 1923 at age 34.
* 1888-10-14 — † 1923-01-09
Major works
- In a German Pension (1911)short story collection
- Bliss and Other Stories (1920)short story collection
- The Garden Party and Other Stories (1922)short story collection
- Prelude (1918)short story
Key milestones
- 1918Married critic and editor John Middleton Murry.
- 1915Death of her brother Leslie during World War I, an event that deeply influenced her writing.
- 2015Her manuscripts, notebooks, and letters held at the Alexander Turnbull Library are inscribed on the UNESCO Memory of the World New Zealand register.
Themes
Childhood and memoryCharacter psychologyIsolation and lonelinessSocial critiqueNature and landscape
Sources: teara.govt.nz · nzhistory.govt.nz · britannica.com