Vivien Greene facts for kids

Vivien Greene (born Vivien Dayrell-Browning; 1 August 1904 – 19 August 2003) was a British writer. She was known as one of the world's top experts on dolls' houses. Vivien Greene was married to the famous writer Graham Greene.

Early Life and First Steps

Vivien Dayrell-Browning was born in a country called Rhodesia. When she was a child, she loved collecting tiny furniture for dolls' houses. She used her pocket money to buy these miniature items.

At just fifteen years old, Vivien published her first book. It was called The Little Wings. This book was a collection of poems and stories. A family friend, G. K. Chesterton, wrote the introduction for her book. Around the same time, she also started working for a publisher named Basil Blackwell.

Marriage and Family Life

Vivien Dayrell-Browning began writing letters to Graham Greene in 1925. She was a strong believer in the Roman Catholic faith. At first, she said no to his marriage proposal because he was an atheist. After he decided to become a Catholic, they got married. This happened on 15 October 1927, in London.

Vivien and Graham Greene had two children together. Their daughter, Lucy Caroline, was born in 1933. Their son, Francis Hugh, was born in 1936. Graham Greene left his family in 1947. They officially separated in 1948. However, because of Roman Catholic teachings, they never divorced. Their marriage lasted until Graham's death in 1991.

Collecting Dolls' Houses

During World War II, Vivien and her children lived in Oxford. Their home in London had been damaged by bombs. One day, at a local auction, she saw an old, broken doll's house. It was a beautiful Regency-style house. She bought it for a very small amount of money, just £5. She even took it home on the bus!

As the war continued and her marriage became difficult, she focused on this doll's house. She worked hard to fix it up and furnish it. Materials were hard to find during the war. She remembered using broken glass to scrape off old paint and wallpaper. She said, "I needed a hobby. The wartime evenings in the black-out were long and dark. So I started to furnish the house, to make carpets and curtains for it."

Vivien then began looking for other old dolls' houses. She also searched for miniature furniture. Her friend, the historian A. J. P. Taylor, helped her research their history. She restored these houses, filling her rented home with her tiny world.

Becoming an Expert

After her separation, Vivien traveled around the world. She wanted to add more items to her collection. She became a well-known expert on antique dolls' houses. She focused on houses made between 1700 and 1900. She also studied their history and how they were made.

The oldest item in her collection was a William-and-Mary house. It was built around 1690 from oak wood. It looked like a cabinet and was meant to be displayed in a fancy room. Dolls' houses were first made as a sign of wealth. They were often copies of the owner's own home. They were not usually for children until after the 1840s.

After her children grew up, Vivien started a special project. She wanted to find, draw, and list every historic doll's house she could. She wanted to do this before they disappeared after the war. She restored as many as possible to their original beauty. She paid great attention to making them historically correct.

Vivien Greene's first book was English Dolls' Houses of the 18th and 19th Centuries (1955). This book helped convince museums and dealers that dolls' houses were important. They realized these miniature homes needed to be saved. Her notes show she looked at 1,500 dolls' houses. She found them in North America, Europe, and South Africa. In 1962, she even traveled through Checkpoint Charlie into Communist East Germany. She went there to research old plans for miniature furniture.

The Rotunda Museum

In 1962, Vivien built a special museum for her dolls' houses. It was called the Rotunda. It was in the garden of her home near Oxford. The museum even had a spiral staircase from the old St James's Theatre. Sir Albert Richardson, a famous architect, opened the museum. He later gave one of his own dolls' houses to the collection.

By the mid-1990s, the Rotunda held over 50 miniature castles, cottages, and mansions. All of them were fully furnished, down to the tiniest piece of porcelain. They dated from about 1700 to 1886. The museum focused on the amazing craftsmanship of these tiny homes. Only visitors over sixteen years old were allowed to visit. It was open to the public once a month. Her collection was sold at an auction in London in 1998.

Vivien Greene loved cats. She also supported the Protection of Tigers League.

Later Life and Passing

Vivien Dayrell-Browning Greene passed away on 19 August 2003. She was 99 years old. She died in Oxfordshire, England.

See also

• Graham Greene

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