Cressida Connolly

Cressida Connolly
FRSL
Born (1960-01-14) January 14, 1960 (age 64)
Sussex, England
Occupation(s)Novelist, biographer, journalist and critic
Spouse(s)A. A. Gill (m.1982–1983);
Charles Hudson
​
(m. 1985)​
Children3, including Nell
Parent(s)Cyril Connolly and Deirdre Levi

Cressida Connolly FRSL (born 14 January 1960) is an English novelist, biographer, journalist and critic. She is also the mother of English actress Nell Hudson.

Personal life

Connolly grew up in Sussex, England. She is the only daughter of the critic and writer Cyril Connolly (died 26 November 1974).[1] Her mother, Deirdre Levi, is the widow of the poet and writer Peter Levi (died 1 February 2000).[2]

Connolly was the first wife (1982–1983) of The Sunday Times critic and writer A. A. Gill (died 10 December 2016).[3] She married Worcestershire petal farmer Charles Hudson in 1985; the couple have three children, including actress Nell Hudson.[4][5]

Career

Connolly has written book reviews and occasional journalism for Vogue, The Spectator, The Times, The Oldie, Literary Review, The Daily Telegraph and The Guardian. Her interview subjects have included the writers Maya Angelou, Alice Munro, Michael Ondaatje and Elizabeth Strout.

She has written, curated and lectured on Ladybird Books, and appeared on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Television, talking about her collection and the artists whose work illustrated the books and whom she befriended.[6][7] Her introduction of Ladybird artist Harry Wingfield to The New Art Gallery, Walsall, led to an exhibition and to the acquisition of the artist's studio.[8]

Connolly is the author of a collection of short stories, The Happiest Days, which won the PEN Macmillan Award; a biography of the Garman family, The Rare and The Beautiful; and a novel, My Former Heart, which won a special commendation from the Society of Authors. Her second novel, After the Party, was selected as a Waterstones Book of the Month and shortlisted for the Walter Scott Prize in 2019.[9][10]

Connolly was interviewed by Mariella Frostrup about her novel After the Party for Open Book on BBC Radio 4 and the novel was selected on Radio 4's A Good Read.[11][12]

In 2020, Connolly was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.[13]

Her third novel, Bad Relations, was published in 2022. The Times called it "her latest understated masterpiece", "beautiful" and "a ravishing novel";[14] while Country Life wrote that: "The novels of Cressida Connolly are a wonderful discovery" and "nostalgic, perceptively portrayed and beautifully written."[15] The Observer described it as "haunting and beautiful", concluding: "I don't often wish a book were longer, but this one I did."[16]

Published works

  • The Happiest Days – Fourth Estate, 1999, ISBN 1-85702-683-7
  • The Rare and the Beautiful – Fourth Estate, 2004, ISBN 1-84115-633-7
  • My Former Heart – Fourth Estate, 2011, ISBN 978-0-00-728711-6
  • After the Party – Penguin Books, 2018, ISBN 978-0-241-32724-1
  • Bad Relations - Penguin Books, 2022, ISBN 978-0-241-53770-1

References

  1. ^ "Cyril Connolly, British writer and editor". Britannica. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  2. ^ Forbes, Peter (3 February 2000). "Peter Levi". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  3. ^ Jeffries, Stuart (10 December 2016). "AA Gill obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  4. ^ Lynch, Finola (26 June 1999). "Writing's the family way; The Finola Lynch interview: Cressida Connolly". The Birmingham Post. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
  5. ^ Relf, Tim (17 August 2015). "Farmer boosts turnover with wedding confetti diversification". Farmers Weekly. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  6. ^ Connolly, Cressida (13 November 2013). "Comfortable, optimistic, safe ÿ oh, for the lost Britain of the Ladybird book". The Independent. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  7. ^ Calkin, Jessamy (21 November 2011). "World of Cressida Connolly, writer". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  8. ^ "The Harry Wingfield Archive". The New Art Gallery Walsall. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  9. ^ "Cressida Connolly – on being shortlisted". The Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction. 3 May 2019. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  10. ^ "Walter Scott book prize shortlist revealed". BBC News. 2 April 2019. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  11. ^ "Books and Authors: Cressida Connolly on her new book After the Party". BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  12. ^ "A Good Read: Dolly Alderton and Clare Mackintosh". BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  13. ^ "RSL Fellows: Cressida Connolly". The Royal Society of Literature. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  14. ^ Katsoulis, Melissa (18 May 2022). "Bad Relations by Cressida Connolly review — military history, sexy hippies and stout Aussie matrons". The Times. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  15. ^ Green, Kate (18 May 2022). "Books". Country Life. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  16. ^ Quinn, Anthony (16 May 2022). "Bad Relations by Cressida Connolly review – deaths in the family". The Observer. Retrieved 25 May 2022.