Clemence Dane (born Winifred Ashton) C.B.E. (1888-1965) was a prolific inter-war middlebrow dramatist, novelist, scriptwriter, journalist and accomplished painter and sculptor. “A political creature” (Gale, “From Fame” 135), she held strong progressive opinions on a number of issues, particularly those related to women’s rights. Her famous and controversial play The Bill of Divorcement (1921) was adapted for the cinema in 1932 and starred Katherine Hepburn in her film debut. She wrote sixteen novels and was a “radical female scriptwriter” (Harper 12) and the first woman to win a scriptwriting Oscar -- for her original story for Alexander Korda’s 1945 film, Perfect Strangers. </…
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Citation: McDonald, Louise. "Clemence Dane". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 13 July 2017 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=13435, accessed 22 November 2024.]
