Winifred Holtby

Chris Willis (London Metropolitan University)
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One of Yorkshire's best-loved authors, Winifred Holtby (1898-1935) died tragically young in 1935 just after finishing her masterpiece, South Riding.

Born the Yorkshire Wolds village of Rudston in 1898, Holtby was the daughter of farmers Alice (nèe Winn) and David Holtby. As a teenager, Winifred was sent to Queen Margaret's School, Scarborough. On 6 December 1914 the town was shelled by German warships, causing heavy casualties. 16-year-old Holtby's vivid eye-witness account was published in the Bridlington Chronicle. The article was reprinted as a pamphlet and sold in aid of the Red Cross. It was still being used as a teaching aid in Scarborough schools in the 1970s.

After working briefly in a London n…

804 words

Citation: Willis, Chris. "Winifred Holtby". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 07 July 2001 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=5056, accessed 19 March 2024.]

5056 Winifred Holtby 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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