Clemence Dane

Louise McDonald (Newman University)
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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. </&hellip;

2690 words

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 28 March 2024.]

13435 Clemence Dane 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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