(1908-1986, North London Collegiate 1919 – 1926)
“Helen Louise Gardner was a distinguished academic, who, as an editor and an interpreter made enduring contributions to literary studies”
[1]
Helen Gardner, born 1908, resided in Finchley as the middle child and sole daughter of journalist, Charles Gardner, and his wife. Helen’s father passed away when she was only 11, and her family moved to the home of her grandparents.
During her time at North London Collegiate School, she undertook many posts of responsibility, including Senior Prefect, and held posts on several pupil committees.
The school magazine records her successes at sport, and her interest in the Arts is reflected there too, as she participated in many school productions, and wrote poetry and short stories.
Upon leaving school she won a place at St Hilda’s College, Oxford (in 1926), attaining a first-class honours degree in English and an M.A. Having lectured at the University of Birmingham and at Royal Holloway College, the most prominent of her career moves took her to Oxford, as a tutor, and led to her becoming Merton Professor of English Literature (1966-1975). This was a great achievement, as she was the first woman to hold this chair.
In the latter period of her life she became a literary critic, with a particular interest in T.S Eliot’s work, as seen by her 1949 study, The Art of T.S Eliot [2], in which she presented numerous controversial and unique notions. For instance, she stated “If there are passages whose meaning seems elusive, where we feel we are ‘missing the point’, we should read on… [and] find the meaning in the reading” [3], to express that one must strive to interpret his work, as there is always a meaning however vague. She was also associated with the poetry of John Donne, editing John Donne: the Divine Poems [4] and she compiled The Faber Book of Religious Verse [5] and The New Oxford Book of English Verse [6] and other works.
T.S. Eliot and Dame Helen Gardner
She was a lively, strong personality, and her clear, strong voice and enthusiasm made her a popular lecturer.
Appointed a CBE in 1962 and a DBE in 1967,
t
he truly inspirational characteristic of this ONL was her perseverance and her love of academia, reflected by the fact that she was granted honorary degrees from such universities as Cambridge, Harvard and Yale.
[1] The Times 6 June, 1986
[2]
Gardner, Helen, The Art of T.S.Eliot, London, Cresset Press, 1949
[3]
Ibid
[4]
Gardner, Helen, John Donne: the Divine Poems, Oxford, Clarendon press, 1952
[5] Gardner, Helen, The Faber Book of Religious Verse, Faber & Faber, 1972
[6] Gardner, Helen, The New Oxford Book of English Verse, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1972