Educated at St. Leonard's Ladies College, Kaye-Smith began writing as a teenager and wrote a number of short novels before the publication of her first work, The Tramping Methodist, in 1908. Many of her works would reflect her rural ties to Sussex and Kent. Her first real success came with Sussex Gorse in 1916. In 1923, her book The End of the House of Alard, became a best-seller. In 1924, she married Theodore Fry, an Anglican minister, and the couple lived in London until they converted to Catholicism in 1929. They returned to Sussex and subsequently built a church at Northiam. Kaye-Smith Realized a great deal of popularity and financial success during her career, which continued until her death. She produced non-fiction works as well as short-story collections and some poetry. Her works, many of which are still in print today, include Samuel Richardson (1911), Willow's Forge and Other Poems (1914), Three Against the World (1914), Little England (1918), Green Apple Harvest (1920), The Mirror of the Months (1925), Joanna Godden (1921), The Village Doctor (1929), The Ploughman's Progress (1933), Faithful Stranger and Other Stories (1938), The Hidden Son (1941), Kitchen Fugue (1945) and All the Books of My Life (1956). |
