Alice Thomas Ellis

Born Anna Margaret Lindholm in Liverpool, Alice Thomas Ellis (1932-2005) became a notable British writer and essayist. After a childhood marked by wartime evacuation and a brief period in a convent following a conversion to Catholicism at 19, she moved to London and embraced a bohemian life. She married Colin Haycraft in 1956, and the couple had seven children. Ellis also worked as a fiction editor at Gerald Duckworth and Company, a publishing house her husband co-owned, where she was known for her insightful editing. She adopted the pseudonym Alice Thomas Ellis for her writing, beginning with her first novel, The Sin Eater, in 1977. Her works, often imbued with melancholy, sharp wit, and a gothic sensibility, explored themes of female discontent and domestic life. Ellis was also a conservative Catholic, critical of post-Vatican II changes in the Church, and a regular columnist for Catholic publications.

Alice Thomas Ellis authored numerous novels and non-fiction works, including cookery books and essays. Her literary output, which began under the pseudonym Alice Thomas Ellis with 'The Sin Eater' (1977), is characterized by a distinctive blend of dark humor, melancholy, and sharp social commentary. Critics noted her ability to capture the "small savageries, deep discontents and abiding grief of women's lives," often juxtaposed with "mordantly funny sendups of bourgeois manners." Her novels, such as the Booker Prize-shortlisted 'The 27th Kingdom' (1982) and the widely recognized 'Unexplained Laughter' (1985), frequently featured complex female characters and explored unsettling domestic and gothic undertones, drawing comparisons to Shirley Jackson. Her essays, including her 'Home Life' column for The Spectator, were also noted for their dry, dark wit.

Ellis's life was significantly shaped by her religious convictions. She converted to Catholicism at age 19 and later spent time in a convent, though she was expelled due to a physical injury. Throughout her life, she remained a conservative Roman Catholic and was outspoken in her criticism of the changes implemented after the Second Vatican Council, describing them with strong disapproval. Her faith informed her perspective, and she was a regular columnist for the Catholic Herald newspaper. Despite her fiction often featuring female protagonists, she opposed what she perceived as radical feminist activism within the Church, indicating a complex relationship between her personal beliefs and broader societal movements.

“All his beauty, wit and grace Lie forever in one place. He who sang and sprang and moved Now, in death, is only loved.”

“Lovely characters, darling, but where's the plot?”

“There is no reciprocity. Men love women. Women love children. Children love hamsters. Hamsters don't love anyone”

“tide of sewage”

“Protestantized happy-clappy stuff.”