Dot Allan
Dot Allan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Eliza MacNaughton Luke Allan 13 May 1886 Denny, Falkirk, Renfrewshire, Scotland |
| Died | 3 December 1964 (aged 78) Glasgow, Scotland |
| Occupation | novelist, playwright, journalist |
| Nationality | Scottish |
| Alma mater | University of Glasgow |
| Genre | gender and class issues |
| Notable works | Makeshift (1928) Hunger March (1934) |
Dot Allan, born Eliza MacNaughton Luke Allan, (13 May 1886 – 3 December 1964) was a Scottish novelist and freelance writer. Much of her work focused on class and gender issues in Glasgow society during the early 20th century.[1]
Biography
[edit]Allan was born in Denny, the only child of Jean Luke and Alexander Allan, an iron merchant. Her parents were affluent and middle-class, and she was privately educated before attending classes at the University of Glasgow. After her father's death, and while she was still a young woman, Allan and her widowed mother moved to the west end of Glasgow.[1]
She was described as a petite woman with a soft voice and a retiring disposition who hosted elegant afternoon teas.[2]
Allan enjoyed attending the theatre and began her writing career as a playwright.[1] She later became a prolific freelance writer and journalist who had articles and short stories published regularly in a range of newspapers and periodicals. Despite finding both popular and critical success during the 1920s and 1930s, Allan abandoned her writing during both world wars to focus on nursing and charity work. After the World War II she returned to writing however her later works are regarded as less notable.[2]
Allan was a member of the Scottish PEN[1] and she used the organisation to distribute some of her inheritance to financially support the work of other writers.[3]
She interviewed Sarah Bernhardt when she visited Glasgow.
Allan died of breast cancer in Glasgow in 1964.[1]
Notable works
[edit]Allan published ten novels in total,[1] including:
- The Syrens (1921)
- Makeshift (1928)
- Deepening River (1932)[3]
- Hunger March (1934)
- John Mathew, Papermaker (1948)[3]
- Charity Begins at Home (1958)
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f The biographical dictionary of Scottish women : from the earliest times to 2004. Ewan, Elizabeth., Innes, Sue., Reynolds, Sian. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. 2006. ISBN 0748617132. OCLC 367680960.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link) - ^ a b "Dot Allan – A Glasgow Woman Novelist". ASLS. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
- ^ a b c "Eliza Allan". oxforddnb.com. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
- 1886 births
- 1964 deaths
- Scottish novelists
- 20th-century Scottish novelists
- Scottish women novelists
- Scottish political writers
- People from Falkirk (council area)
- Alumni of the University of Glasgow
- 20th-century Scottish dramatists and playwrights
- Scottish journalists
- Scottish women dramatists and playwrights
- Scottish women journalists