 |
| You can find out more here |
This is an extra-special Valentine’s Day for me, as my lovely husband is taking me out to dinner this evening. The most romantic night of the year is going to be combined with an early celebration, as my non-fiction book about women’s lives between 1850 and 1950, Struggle and Suffrage in Bristol, is going to be published by Pen and Sword Books on the 28th February. You can find out more about it here, but to whet your appetite here’s the story of a woman from Bristol who really knew the meaning of love…
 |
| The happy couple, Clara and Kennerley. (Pic via Wikimedia commons) |
Dame Clara Butt (1872–1936) was an international singing sensation. Her early life was full of romance. Her father was a sea captain, and her parents had eloped. They moved to Bristol in 1880, when Clara was 8 years old and settled at 3, Sydney Terrace, Totterdown. Clara was educated at South Bristol High School where her singing ability was soon noticed. She took lessons with local teacher Daniel Rootham, who told her: ‘you have gold in your throat, my child’. Clara left Bristol in 1890 to take up a scholarship at the Royal College of Music in London. Her powerful contralto voice was outstanding, and during her time at the college she spent some months studying in Italy, sponsored by Queen Victoria. Clara soon became a popular recitalist and concert singer. The Princess of Wales (later Queen Alexandra) would ask Clara to sing whenever they met – even on one occasion in a shop in Baker Street, London!
Clara persuaded Edward Elgar to transpose his Sea Pictures song cycle into a key suitable for her contralto range. The premier was on 5 October 1899 at the Norfolk and Norwich festival, with Elgar conducting and Clara, who was 6 ft 2 in tall, dressed as a mermaid.
 |
| Bristol Cathedral (Pic via Pixabay) |
Despite her huge fame, Clara never forgot her roots in Bristol. She returned to visit her parents often, and to perform in the city. One of her fellow artistes, bass baritone Robert Kennerley Rumford, would write little love notes on her musical score. While they were performing a piece called The Keys of Heaven, Clara turned a page to find Robert’s marriage proposal written on her sheet music. She accepted. As such a well-loved national celebrity, Clara was offered the chance to marry in St Paul’s Cathedral. She chose Bristol Cathedral instead. It was the first wedding to be held there in a century, so 26 June 1900 was very special for Bristol. Everyone was given the day off, and all the national newspapers covered the event. The city presented Clara with a diamond brooch including the initials CB for both Clara Butt and City of Bristol, and Ivor Novello (later a famous composer and actor) was a little page boy. In 1920, Clara became the first British female musician to become
an honorary dame.
 |
| Pic via Pixabay |
As well as many other world-famous performers, Bristol was home to women who became important reformers, intellectuals, activists, and politicians. Between them, they improved life and the conditions in which everyone lived and worked—not only in their own city, but across the world. Struggle and Suffrage in Bristol tells their story.
As well as non-fiction, Christina Hollis writes contemporary fiction starring complex men and independent women. She has written more than twenty novels, sold nearly three million books, and her work has been translated into twenty different languages. When she isn’t writing, Christina is cooking, walking her dog, or gardening.
You can catch up with her at https://christinahollisbooks.online, on Twitter, Facebook, and see a full list of her published books at christinahollis.com
No comments:
Post a Comment