BornMadeleine Mathilde Gal
(1906-08-13)August 13, 1906
Clichy, Île-de-France, France
Died25 April 2004(2004-04-25) (aged 97)
Villers-sur-Mer, Normandy, France
Pen nameMrs Robert Henrey
OccupationAuthor
LanguageEnglish, French
GenreAutobiography
Notable worksA Farm in Normandy, The Little Madeleine
SpouseRobert Henrey
Children1 son.[1]

Madeleine Mathilde Henrey[2] (1906–2004, née Gal, pseud. Mrs Robert Henrey) was a French-born writer. She wrote over 30 books, mainly of an autobiographical nature, that enjoyed considerable fame in post-war Britain.[1]

Life

Henrey was born Madeleine Gal, the daughter of a miner and seamstress, and moved as a child to Soho, in London, following her father's death. She met her future husband, Robert Henrey, at the Savoy Hotel; they were married in 1928 and their romance would prove to be a lifelong attachment lasting until his death in 1982.[3] Her son Bobby Henrey was a child actor, notably in the film The Fallen Idol, the making of which was described in her book A film star in Belgrave Square.

Her writing career stretched from 1941 to 1979 and during this time she brought many of the events of her childhood and career to public attention. She enjoyed a long relationship with publishers, J. M. Dent & Sons, and most of her works, particularly her early ones, were a commercial success.

Bibliography

Publisher is London: J. M. Dent & Sons, unless stated.

Fiction

A series of stories
The story of a girl reporter

Non-fiction

The birth of her child
The author's experiences during the air raids on London
C. de B. was a political informant to the head of the London house of Rothschild
The author's experiences during the London Blitz
Part of her London trilogy
Three London families
London social life and customs
Part of her London trilogy, an account of life in London from February 1944 to May 1945
On the life of Thomas Selby Henrey
Life on their Normandy farm during the Second World War
The making of the film The Fallen Idol, starring her son, Bobby.
with watercolours by Phyllis Ginger
Her small son becomes briefly a film star
The farm in Normandy just after the war
The story of a friend, a story of friendship
Her girlhood
Her adolescence
Her love story and marriage
War and peace on her farm in Normandy
She revisits the city of her birth
She goes in search of her father's Midi
London during coronation year, her contemporary journal
Paris dressmakers
Rebuilding of the City
A golden summer by the sea, a summer on her farm
The world of women's magazines
The death of her mother
An afternoon in London and a journey to Moscow, one year in her life
Clouds on the horizon
Background to a near 'revolution'


References

  1. ^ a b John Whale (30 April 2004). "Madeleine Henrey, French writer who endeared herself to Britain". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  2. ^ Cotton, Celia. "Brentford High Street: Henrey family research".
  3. ^ "Books: French Without Tears". 9 February 1953. Archived from the original on December 22, 2008 – via www.time.com.
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