Elizabeth Cadell

Violet Elizabeth Cadell, née Vandyke (10 November 1903 – 9 October 1989) was a 20th-century British writer. She sometimes used the pseudonym, Harriet Ainsworth. Biography Violet Elizabeth Vandyke was born and raised in Calcutta, British Raj, daughter of Elizabeth Lynch and Frederick Reginald Vandyke, a colonial officer. She later was educated in England. In 1928, she married Henry Dunlop Raymond Mallock "H.D.R.M." Cadell; they had two children. In 1960, she moved to Portugal, where she spent her last years. Writing In Last Straw for Harriet (1947), Cadell writes a "social comedy of the first order, hilarious, gay and given just the right touch", according to The Courier-Journal. Her second novel, Gay Pursuit (1948), tells the story of an American woman who marries into a British family who live in Devonshire. Kirkus Reviews described the book as light entertainment. The movie rights for Gay Pursuit were purchased by Twentieth Century Fox for $27,000 in 1948 with Rex Harrison meant to be the main star. Later, it was decided that Harrison was "too old" to play the lead. Gene Tierney was also meant to star in the picture. Her next novel, River Lodge (1948), was called "a pleasant, gay book which grips the attention from start to finish" by The Age. Iris in Winter (1949) was considered a light, fun read by the Oakland Tribune. In 1950, she published the humorous ghost story, Brimstone in the Garden. Elsa J. Radcliffe wrote in Gothic Novels of the Twentieth Century (1979) that the ghost in the novel was "one of the most amusing ghosts it has been my pleasure to meet". Cadell's next novel, Enter Mrs. Belchamber (1951), told the story of a young man who needs to rely on the help of the "grim" Mrs. Belchamber. Spring Green (1953) was called by The Observer an "unexpectedly good light romance of gentry, and Americans, love and mystery, in a remote English village". The Marshfield News-Herald called Crystal Clear (1953) a book that "belongs in the category of English feminine comedy". Around the Rugged Rock (1954) is set in Andalusia and is a light comedic romance. Money to Burn (1955) was reviewed by Virginia Jones for the Paducah Sun, which said, "If you want to start the New Year off in a spirit of utter good humor, read "Money to Burn"." Jones later reviewed The Lark Shall Sing (1955) and described it as a fun, easy read. This novel was adapted for an episode of NBC Matinee Theater in 1956. Shadows on the Water (1957) is a murder mystery set in Lisbon.