A pic of Constance Little!
The Little Sisters:
- Constance B: September 18, 1899 Australia D: 1980
- Gwenyth B: May 19, 1903 Australia D: 1985
- Iris M. B: November 18, 1910 England D: 2003
Lives:
Okay, so here’s the dealio: Whilst doing research for this piece, I fell into a deep genealogical rabbit hole which, in a weird way, fired up my competitive streak…Since I, apparently, took the lack of information on the sisters Little as a personal challenge, which I had a very, very difficult time letting go of once I started! Moreover, I still feel a vague sense of frustration at my inability to locate their graves, obituaries, or, in fact, much of any info beyond 1950.
Be that as it may, here’s what I’ve been able to piece together.
One line I kept reading over and over again when researching the sisters Little was: “How little is known about their lives.” Two huge factors contributed to this informational vacuum: A. All three sisters wrote under pseudo-pseudonyms. & B. Their father’s (and later their own) predilection for globe-trotting.
First of all, researching any female early on in the twentieth century is challenging because when women married back then, they lost their names. In this case, Gwenyth Little became Mrs. Bernard Hemming-Jones after her marriage in August 1930, and Constance Little became Mrs. Lawrence Baker sometime after August 1938. (We know this because, in her father’s obituary published in the same month and year, Constance is referred to as Miss Constance Little whilst her sisters were listed by their ‘Mrs.’ names. A fine yet important distinction.)
Taking the name game to another level…Not only did the duo publish their mysteries under their “maiden” name Little — they swapped their given names for their middle ones! Legally, they were Jessie Constance and Norma Gwenyth. Now, in all likelihood, Constance probably went by her middle name for the majority of her life since she and her mother shared the same first name (Jessie). As for Gwenyth, your guess is as good as mine as to which name she favored outside her role as author.
(BTW: For the sake of clarity in this post, I’m going to stick to the names printed on their books — Constance & Gwenyth.)
We’ll get to Iris next week.
Armed with this info, I started verifying the facts in Carol Hetherington’s 2007 paper (Little Australians? Some Questions about national identity and the national literature) and the info included in the Rue Morgue Press’s reprints of the Constance & Gwenyth’s books. Scouring several vintage newspaper sites and genealogical sites, I started building a picture.
Their claim to have circumnavigated the globe three times does not appear to be an idle boast.
A postcard from back in the day!
Born in Sydney, Australia, to James F. Little and Jessie Gilchrist. Constance and Gwenyth also had two brothers, James A. and Robert. Sometime between 1906 and 1909, their dad announced he’d “…grown tired of Australia…” packed up his family and sailed for London, where he found work as a consulting actuary, and his last child, Iris, was born in 1910. From London, James F. took a job with the Mexican government and moved everyone to Mexico City. By the time 1911 rolled around, he’d accepted a position with Prudential in New York City and set sail once again.
Finally, by 1915, the Little family settled in Maplewood, New Jersey. (Though in 1924 James F., Jessie, Constance, Gwenyth, and Iris returned to Australia for a visit — and whilst on the way back and forth they visited Wellington (NZ), Rarotonga, Pago-Pago, Honolulu, and Los Angeles.)
Then, sometime prior to 1926 (as that’s when they returned home), both Constance and Gwenyth were sent to England for an education. This is where Gwenyth undoubtedly met her husband, Captain Bernard Hemming-Jones — and in 1930, both sisters would again hop onto a steamer and set sail for London, with one returning as a Mrs. Bernard Hemming-Jones.
In January 1930, Constance petitioned for her naturalization papers (which is where I found her photo) and became a US citizen in 1932. Norma would petition for her papers in 1938 (though there’s no photo with her application).
At this point, I lost track of Constance and Gwenyth in the genealogical records. However, this is when they started writing their ‘Black’ series.
Writing:
Unlike many mysteries, these do not share the same detective. Instead, these stand-alone books share similar features:
- All fall within the screwball genre of detective fiction.
- All the sleuths are female, with tangential male figures involved.
- All minor and major plot points are wrapped up in a neat bow at the end of the book.
- All have a great sense of humor to counterbalance the somewhat bloody murders happening off-stage.
- All, other than The Grey Mist Murders, use the color ‘black’ in the title and have a corresponding ‘black’ clue.
According to one interview, all the books Constance and Gwenyth wrote were written in bed as “Chairs give one backaches.” Their writing partnership, whilst constantly evolving as things do, started with Constance giving Gwenyth detailed plot outlines and Gwenyth fleshing out the final drafts.
Books:
These reprinted dust jackets are available for purchase here.
Published under the Pseudonyms: Constance & Gwenyth Little and Conyth Little (in some UK versions)
- 1st Books: Grey Mist Murders &The Black-Head Pins (1938)
- Last: The Black Iris (1953)
- No. of Books In Series: 21 novels & at least 1 short story Setting: U.S. & Australia
Iris Published Under the Pseudonym: Robert James (An amalgamation of her two brothers’ first names.)
- Board Stiff (1951) & Death Wears Pink Shoes (1952)
My 52 Weeks With Christie: A.Miner©2024
My 52 Weeks With Christie 