A busy week with not very much time for blogging but I wanted to quickly to highlight an author who I am currently reading – a book I will have finished by the time this post is scheduled to appear. Although I know many of you will already be familiar with Pamela Hansford Johnson, some of you might not. With Bello books having made so many of her novels available again, I am surprised I have seen so few of her books being reviewed. The book I’m reading is Too Dear for My Possessing, (1940) the first book in PHJ’s famous Helena Trilogy – I am enjoying it so much I have acquired the next two books in the trilogy along with a couple of others. This is not the first PHJ I have read, but I seem to keep forgetting about her.
Pamela Hansford Johnson was a novelist, playwright, poet, literary and social critic. Upon her second marriage to author C P Snow she became one half a very famous literary duo – with whom she collaborated on several plays. In their later years, making themselves appear rather ridiculous to the British public, Baron and Lady Snow became fodder for the satirists at Private Eye. Pamela Hansford Johnson was a hugely prolific writer, producing twenty-seven novels as well as works of criticism, plays and poetry. As a young woman she knew Dylan Thomas, they were even briefly engaged.During her lifetime she was awarded several honorary degrees, held visiting academic positions at North American universities and in 1975 was awarded the CBE.
Weirdly, it was the divine Elizabeth Taylor who introduced me to PHJ. When I was first reading the biography of Elizabeth Taylor by Persephone books founder Nicola Beauman (I’ve read it twice) I discovered that PHJ was one of a little group of well-known literary figures who took against Elizabeth Taylor and said bad things about her books. There’s a famous photograph of the two women meeting at some literary event. It oozes polite, British dislike. I love Elizabeth Taylor so much I have been saving some of her short stories for years as I like having them to look forward to (yes I am that illogical). So I immediately decided I wouldn’t read PHJ – I probably wouldn’t like her that much anyway (I’m nothing if not loyal). At that time, PHJ novels (unlike Taylor’s) were out of print, so not reading them was easy. When Bello re-issued her books via their print on demand and ebook service I couldn’t help but be a bit intrigued. I decided to read one (The Impossible Marriage 1954) – I liked it – a lot. 
Several months after reading that novel I was offered a review copy of a biography of Pamela Hansford Johnson by Wendy Pollard. A hugely fascinating book – it is a must for PHJ fans. In that book I learned a lot of PHJ that convinced me that although I wouldn’t have liked the woman very much, there were things I had to admire about her. I donated my lovely hardback copy of that book to my local library – as I thought it would probably be a book they might not have – and at the time Birmingham libraries were appealing for newly published books to be donated as they couldn’t afford to buy them (don’t get me started on that one).
For the record – I’m still on team Elizabeth Taylor – but I have to admit PHJ is definitely worth reading.
heavenali 
That photograph is amazing! Very interesting profile Ali!
Thank you. Yes I do love that photo.
Thanks for this very intriguing profile, Ali. I had heard of PHJ (possibly in connection with Elizabeth Taylor) but knew very little about her until your post appeared in my reader this morning. She sounds worth getting to know.
She was a fascinating character I think and produced a large body of work.
Excellent post Ali. I have at least one of PHJ’s books on my shelf, plus the whole of Snow’s “Strangers and Brothers” sequence for a future project. Oh for more time…
Funnily enough I really don’t want to read CP Snow.
How intriguing! I’m such a fan of Taylor that my first response was just like yours! And that photograph is priceless – all the simmering bile underneath the courteous exteriors. I think I’m too partial to read any PHJ straight away, but your post has made me curious to get hold of a copy of Taylor’s biography, and possibly even PHJ’s, and take it from there!
Both those biographies are fascinating- highly recommend them both.
I must engage with PHJ at some point – do you think I’d like her? (silly question, probably). A good idea to do this kind of post occasionally, too.
Yes I think you would like her. I do like to do these kinds of posts occasionally.
Thank you for reminding me about PHJ. I read and enjoyed one of her books – ‘Catherine Carter’ – a few years ago, I always meant to read more, but she’s never quite made it to the top of my list of reading priorities.
She never made it to the top of my list either and somehow I keep forgetting about getting despite having several on my kindle.