Ivy Compton-Burnett - sylwetka autora

As the seventh child of an English homeopath, Ivy Compton-Burnett was the eldest among the seven children born to her father's second wife. She grew up in the coastal town of Hove. After earning a degree in classical literature from the University of London, she returned home to support her widowed mother in taking care of her younger siblings. Her favorite brother passed away from pneumonia at the age of twenty, while another brother, Noel, who may have contributed to her first novel "Dolores" (a work she eventually disowned), died during World War I. In 1917, the tragic suicide of two of her sisters led to Ivy experiencing a nervous breakdown. The devastation of the First World War left a deep impact on her, as she later remarked that it "shattered" her.

In 1925, at the age of 41, Ivy Compton-Burnett published "Pastors and Masters," marking the beginning of a series of nineteen novels written in her distinctive, mature style. The last book in this series, "A God and His Gifts," was published in 1963. One of her notable works, "A House and Its Head," was released in 1935. In 1955, she was awarded the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, one of the oldest literary honors in Britain.