RTÉ Radio 1
Documentary on One Investigates Rumours that Cork Novelist Elizabeth Bowen was a British Spy
Elizabeth Bowen was a famous novelist and a much-loved landlord of her ancestral estate, Bowenscourt in North Cork.
But was she more – was she a British spy? This week’s Documentary on One: The Brits, The Blitz and The Bedwarmer (Saturday 7 November, 2pm) takes documentary-maker Leeanne O’ Donnell on journey to find out.
A lucky find at a country market sparked Leeanne O’Donnell’s curiosity. The market trader handed over an antique bed warmer from Bowenscourt as he uttered the words, “They used to love Elizabeth Bowen in North Cork but when they discovered she had been a spy for the English, they’d have shot her as soon as looked at her.”
She was categorised as an Anglo-Irish novelist but Elizabeth Bowen described herself as being most at home “in the middle of the Irish Sea”.
When World War II broke out she was living in London; part of a high-octane world of writers and thinkers. Ireland remained neutral as the war escalated and Churchill was determined to force the use of the Southern Irish sea ports to defend against Germany. Tensions were high and loyalties were divided all over Europe.
As the bombs fell on London, Elizabeth Bowen was writing The Heat of The Day, her best-selling, critically-acclaimed novel about a spy, his lover and the intense atmosphere of London during The Blitz – where the normal rules of living were suspended and everything was felt more acutely.
Bowen’s novel captures the way the threat of death and invasion caused many people to step outside the normal rules of life.
Though married, Bowen herself fell passionately in love with a Canadian diplomat and their love affair unfolded against the backdrop of falling bombs and a sense that every night could be their last.
Divided between the hay fields of Bowenscourt, in North Cork and the edgy, exhilarating danger of London, Bowen’s Irish loyalties were tested to the hilt when De Valera insisted that Ireland remain neutral, saying of Britain and Germany, “whoever invades first is the enemy.”
Documentary on One: The Brits, The Blitz and The Bedwarmer takes listeners from London to North Cork and back again, in an attempt to discover the truth about Elizabeth Bowen’s life, loves and activities during the war.
Listen online now: http://www.rte.ie/radio1/doconone/2015/1030/738444-the-brits-the-blitz-and-the-bedwarmer/
Produced by Leeanne O’Donnell with Ronan Kelly
First broadcast on RTÉ Radio 1 on Saturday November 7th 2015 at 2pm
ENDS
For more information:
Sheena Madden
RTÉ Radio Press Office
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