Rumer Godden (1907–1998)
Author of In This House of Brede
About the Author
Margaret Rumer Godden was born Dec. 10, 1907, in Sussex, England. She was nine months old when her family moved to India, where her father ran a shipping line. She returned to London at age 20 to learn how to teach dance to children, and opened a school back in India. Returning to England while she show more was pregnant, she wrote her first book, "Chinese Puzzle," published in 1936. Her marriage to a stockbroker, Laurence Sinclair Foster, ended in 1941, leaving her penniless. In an effort to pay off her former husband's debts, Godden moved her family into a mountain cottage where she ran a school, made herbal teas for sale, and wrote books. Another novel of India, "The River," published in 1949, was one of her most acclaimed books and was made into a film by Jean Renoir in 1951. She returned to England to stay in 1945. Rumer Godden was the author of more than 60 books, including novels, short story collections, poetry, plays and non-fiction. She published her 21st novel, "Cromartie vs. the God Shiva," in 1997. Rumer Godden died a year later on November 8, 1998, in Thornhill, Scotland, at the age of 90. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Disambiguation Notice:
Please don't combine this author with her sister Jon Godden.
Image credit: Courtesy of Jane Murray Flutter.
Series
Works by Rumer Godden
The Battle of the Villa Fiorita / The Greengage Summer / An Episode of Sparrows (1963) 90 copies, 1 review
The India Novels Volume One: Black Narcissus, Breakfast with the Nikolides, and The River (2018) 9 copies
The India Novels Volume Two: Cromartie vs. the God Shiva, The Lady and the Unicorn, The Peacock Spring, and Coromandel… (2018) 3 copies
Chinese Puzzle 3 copies
Bengal Journey: A story of the part played by women in the province, 1939-1945 (with 14 pages of illustrations) (1945) 2 copies
The River / Water Music 1 copy
The Fairy Doll 1 copy
Premiēre 1 copy
Godden, Rumer Archive 1 copy
Associated Works
Prayers from the Ark and The Creatures' Choir (1976) — Translator, some editions — 163 copies, 1 review
Great Tours and Detours: The Sophisticated Traveler Series (1985) — Contributor — 34 copies, 1 review
The Best of Both Worlds: An Anthology of Stories for All Ages (1968) — Contributor — 25 copies, 1 review
Reader's Digest Best Sellers: Airport | Nicholas and Alexandra | The Kitchen Madonna | Vanished (1969) 20 copies
My Most Inspiring Moment: Encounters with Destiny Relived by Thirty-Eight Best-Selling Authors (1965) 10 copies
These Simple Things: Some Appreciations of the Small Joys in Daily Life (1965) — Contributor — 8 copies
Reader's Digest Condensed Books: In This House of Brede • The Durrells in Corfu • The Black Camels of Qashran • A… (1970) 5 copies
Reader's Digest Condensed Books: The Dark Horse • Still Missing • This Was The North • Sharpe's Gold (1981) 5 copies
Reader's Digest Auswahlbücher 90 - Die Hunde des Krieges. La Balsa. Der Kardinal schweigt. Das fremde Kind (1975) — Contributor — 3 copies
Reader's Digest Condensed Books: Man-Eater! / A Single Pebble / Island in the Sun / Crash Pilot / An Episode of… (1950) 3 copies
Reader's Digest Condensed Books: One Child / The Dam / The Dark Horse / Wanted Dead — Author — 3 copies
Reader's Digest Condensed Books: The Battle of the Villa Fiorita | The Edge of Sadness | On Safari | Of Good and Evil (1964) 3 copies
Best-in-Books Volume 29: The Greengage Summer; Please Don't Eat the Daisies; Peter Freuchen's Book of the Seven Seas;… (1958) 3 copies
Elephant Bill; Dokter... spoedgeval; Een stukje van de hemel; Zij volgden het spoor 2 copies, 1 review
Black Narcissus [2020 miniseries] — Original book — 2 copies
Reader's Digest Auswahlbücher 40 - Der Künstler. In den Schuhen des Fischers. Der Kampf in der Villa Fiorita.… (1965) — Contributor — 2 copies
Der Turm Von Babel, Fuchsspur, Die Küchen-madonna, Aufstand Der Soldaten, Mädchenmord Mit Voranmeldung (1969) 1 copy
Sélection du Livre No. 76 : (1) Au nom de tous les miens - (2) Opération Sippacik - (3) Course contre la vie - (4) Le… — Contributor — 1 copy
Een madonna voor Marta; De President; De wereldreis van de Gipsy Moth; Spion met twee gezichten — Author — 1 copy, 1 review
Nudo io venni al mondo David weiss Il viale della serenita’ Keith wheeler La prima pietra Noel calef La battaglia… (1965) — Contributor — 1 copy
De Diddakoi; De honden van de oorlog; De Spaanse vrouw; Neem eens een getal in gedachten 1 copy, 1 review
Die Töchter der Madame Liang , Der geschenkte Gaul , Die blauen Blumen der Catstreet , Papillon (1972) — Contributor — 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Godden, Margaret Rumer (born)
Haynes-Dixon, Margaret Rumer Godden (married) - Birthdate
- 1907-12-10
- Date of death
- 1998-11-08
- Burial location
- Rye, East Sussex, England, UK
- Gender
- female
- Nationality
- UK
- Birthplace
- Eastbourne, Sussex, England, UK
- Place of death
- Moniaive, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, UK
- Places of residence
- Narayanganj, India (now Bangladesh)
Calcutta, India
Moniaive, Dumfriesshire, Scotland, UK
Lamb House, Rye, East Sussex, England, UK
Eastbourne, Sussex, England, UK
London, England, UK (show all 7)
Kashmir, India - Education
- Moira House School, Eastbourne, Sussex, England, UK
privately educated - Occupations
- dance teacher
novelist
children's book author - Relationships
- Godden, Jon (sister)
Key, Thomas Hewitt (great-great-grandfather) - Organizations
- Roman Catholic Church
- Awards and honors
- Order of the British Empire (Officer, 1993)
- Agent
- Edith Haggard
- Short biography
- Rumer Godden wrote some 60 works, including novels, children's books, biographies, and poetry, a number of them drawing on her experiences of life growing up in British India and then working there as an adult. Her portrayals of the secret thoughts and confusions of childhood are especially noteworthy.
- Disambiguation notice
Please don't combine this author with her sister Jon Godden.
Members
Discussions
July Read: Rumer Godden in Virago Modern Classics (October 2017)
December 2011: Rumer Godden in Monthly Author Reads (February 2012)
Reviews
The Doll's House: 2 by Rumer Godden
Charming, with a surprisingly heavy ending. Loved it.
Finished this on Easter, appropriately enough, since there are several great set pieces in the book that take place on Easter, and just in time for my book club discussion. We all loved the book, as did I—it's both smart and kind, and very well written. I've got a soft spot for nun stories, and the writing and structure here are great. It's a lovely portrait of the dynamics of an enclosed group of people deeply involved in each other's lives—really, anyone who thinks first person plural is an interesting way to get at a cluster consciousness but finds that it gets tiring after a while should take a look at what she does here, moving between voices and minds and even time frames with beautiful, almost acrobatic control, but the writing's never flashy. It's about NUNS, so of course it's not—small, deft story arcs, characters who grow through their voices and deeds, and what struck me as a beautiful portrait of the contemplative life without ever being sentimental.… (more)
I have read both these authors so I was curious about this memoir of their childhood in India under the Raj. It was fascinating as a collection of impressions and events, far less about day to day life but the places felt very real. I'm not sure how they wrote it, it is very much third person about both Rumer and Jon and how their growing up made them the writers and artists they became. Not what I expected but worth reading.
This was a book club edition and I'm thinking I got it new in 1979. I have no idea why I would've gotten it - maybe it was one of those things were the book was sent to you automatically if you didn't turn it down beforehand - because I don't believe at that age I would've selected a 'religious' book.
It was excellent and not what I expected at all; yes, it was a 'religious' book, about a woman who became a nun and all that that entailed (which was very interesting), but there was also the backstory about this woman's life before becoming a nun. I'm so glad I finally read it. And honestly, I felt uplifted after reading it.… (more)
It was excellent and not what I expected at all; yes, it was a 'religious' book, about a woman who became a nun and all that that entailed (which was very interesting), but there was also the backstory about this woman's life before becoming a nun. I'm so glad I finally read it. And honestly, I felt uplifted after reading it.… (more)
Lists
Which house? (1)
1960s (1)
Summer Books (1)
Elevenses (1)
Folio Society (1)
Christmas Books (1)
Unmarried women (1)
Comfort Reads (3)
Monastic life (3)
A Novel Cure (2)
1964 Project (1)
Sonlight Books (1)
Favourite Books (1)
All Things India (1)
Garden-fiction (1)
Awards
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Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 88
- Also by
- 60
- Members
- 13,825
- Popularity
- #1,673
- Rating
- 4.0
- Reviews
- 278
- ISBNs
- 541
- Languages
- 10
- Favorited
- 64
