Lady Constance Malleson facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Lady Constance Malleson
Lady Constance Malleson in 1922
Born	Constance Mary Annesley (1895-10-24)24 October 1895 Castlewellan Castle, Northern Ireland
Died	5 October 1975(1975-10-05) (aged 79) Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England
Nationality	British
Other names	Colette O'Niel
Occupation	writer and actress
Years active	1915-1936

Lady Constance Malleson (born 24 October 1895 – died 5 October 1975) was a talented British writer and actress. She was also known by her stage name, Colette O'Niel.

Constance was the daughter of a nobleman, Hugh Annesley, who was the 5th Earl Annesley. She trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and became a popular performer in plays.

During her twenty-year acting career, she performed in many shows across the United Kingdom. This included plays in London's famous West End and a silent film called Hindle Wakes in 1918. Before she stopped acting, Malleson also wrote and produced her own play, The Way.

Constance was very active in working for peace and social fairness. After her acting career, she spent her time traveling and writing. She published several books, including stories about her own life. One of these was In the north, which shared her experiences helping people in Scandinavia during the Russo-Finnish War. Her 1933 novel, The Coming Back, is thought to be inspired by her friendship with the famous thinker and peace activist Bertrand Russell. They were friends until Russell's death and shared a strong interest in working for peace.

Biography

Early life and education

Castlewellan Castle in 2009

Constance Mary Annesley was born on 24 October 1895 at Castlewellan Castle in Castlewellan, Northern Ireland. She was the youngest child of Hugh Annesley, the 5th Earl Annesley, and his second wife.

Constance's sister, Lady Clare Annesley, was also a strong supporter of women's rights and peace. She even ran for Parliament in the 1920s and 1930s. Constance was taught at home by private teachers until her father passed away in 1908. After that, she went to a school called Down House in Kent. She didn't like the school much, calling it "Damned Hell" in her autobiography. This showed she didn't care much for strict upper-class rules.

Acting career

Constance started studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 1913. Before that, she had gone to finishing school in Germany and studied French in Paris. While at the Academy, she met Miles Malleson, an actor, and they married in 1915. They later divorced in 1922.

Constance chose acting because she believed "every woman ought to be able to earn a living." She cared a lot about fair pay for all actors. She spoke publicly about the importance of actors earning a minimum wage and being paid for rehearsal time, not just for performances.

Malleson performed in many West End plays in London. These included The Orphans at the Lyceum Theatre. She also appeared in the film Hindle Wakes. In 1925, she joined the Hull Repertory Theatre Company. She acted in plays like Peter and Paul and Advertising April. Constance believed that short-run plays were important for new writers. They allowed writers to see how audiences reacted to their work.

In March 1928, Malleson produced her own three-act play, The Way, in London. The play featured well-known actors like Una O'Connor and Charles Carson. Moyna Macgill played the main role, which Malleson had written especially for her.

During World War I, Constance's strong beliefs about peace led her to meet Bertrand Russell. They met in 1916 at a trial for Clifford Allen, who was a leader of a group that opposed military service. Constance and Russell became close friends and stayed in touch until Russell's death in 1970. Russell felt that acting didn't fully use her talents. He encouraged her to become a writer, and he even submitted her first short story, "The End," which was published in 1919.

Writing and travel

Map of Nordic countries

After she stopped acting, Constance Malleson moved to the countryside. She also traveled a lot and wrote several books. Her autobiography, a book about her own life, was published in 1931. Her first novel, The Coming Back, followed in 1933. This novel is thought to be a story inspired by her friendship with Bertrand Russell. It features a character who is an astronomer from Cambridge, similar to Russell. Malleson later said this book was a "feeble first effort."

Malleson traveled widely throughout her life. She visited the Middle East and Africa, and often went to the Nordic countries (like Norway, Sweden, and Finland). In the 1930s and 1940s, she gave talks in these countries about important social topics. These included mental health and blood donation.

In 1941, while helping with relief efforts in Finland during the Russo-Finnish War, Malleson found herself stuck. German forces had taken control of the country. She managed to escape by rowing 25 miles to Helsinki in a boat. After being held for several days, she got a spot on a Swedish warship to Stockholm. Her experiences in the Nordic countries led to her book, In the North: Autobiographical Fragments in Norway, Sweden, Finland, published in 1946.

Death

Lady Constance Malleson passed away in a nursing home near Bury St Edmunds on 5 October 1975.

Stage roles

Works

Publications

• As the Sight is Bent (1964) (edited by Constance Malleson, an unfinished autobiography of her half-sister Mabel Marguerite Annesley with 35 of her wood engravings)

Stage plays

• The Way (1928)

Short stories and articles