Jean Rhys
Jean Rhys was a British novelist known for her novel Wide Sargasso Sea.
Ella Gwendolen Rees Williams
Novelist
August 24, 1890
Virgo
May 14, 1979
88
Roseau, Dominica
Jean Rhys, a Dominican-born British author, was renowned for her modernist literary style and her focus on female characters in society. She gained fame for her work “Wide Sargasso Sea,” a prequel to “Jane Eyre” that delved into the life of Bertha Mason. Rhys also penned “Good Morning, Midnight,” “Voyage in the Dark,” and “After Leaving Mr. Mackenzie.” In 1966, she received the W.H. Smith Literary Award, and in 1978, she was made a CBE. Before concentrating on writing, Rhys briefly worked as a chorus girl in London’s West End.