E Arnot Robertson

Eileen Robertson was born in 1903, in Surrey. Her father was a doctor and her family life was not very happy. She went to a good school and then went abroad to study for a couple of years in France. At the age of 19, she became a magazine journalist. She wanted to write, and in 1927, she married Henry Turner, who was secretary of the Empire Press Union. They adopted a son. She wrote several novels, including one set in Malaysia, which she had never visited. Another successful novel was Ordinary Families, which was set in the countryside, with a heroine Lalage, who comes from a family that loves boating. Her later novels did not do so well. She went on writing journalism, and enjoyed boating with her husband. However when he died in a boating accident, she committed suicide. I've just picked up a copy of Ordinary Familes, which has rather disappointed me. The book does not seem to have much of a plot, and the characters are snobbish and sailing obsessed. Not sure if I will finish it. Usually when I re read books I used to like, I still enjoy them, but this is an exception.