Jean Rhys
British Creole novelist, author of Wide Sargasso Sea.
Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons
Jean Rhys (born Ella Gwendoline Rees Williams; 24 August 1890 – 14 May 1979) was a novelist from Dominica, a Caribbean island, where she spent her childhood. She was a British Creole. At sixteen, her family sent her to England for schooling, and she lived there for most of her life. Her most famous work is *Wide Sargasso Sea* (1966), which she wrote as a story that takes place before the events of Charlotte Brontë’s *Jane Eyre*.
Rhys began writing around 1914, on and off. In 1923, she met Ford Madox Ford, who became both a literary mentor and a lover. With his help, her first book, *The Left Bank and Other Stories*, came out in 1927. After that, she published four short novels that drew heavily on her own life, each following women navigating difficult situations in London and Paris: *Quartet* (1928), *After Leaving Mr. Mackenzie* (1931), *Voyage in the Dark* (1934), and *Good Morning, Midnight* (1939). None of these brought her much money or praise, and she felt her writing career had stalled. She largely disappeared from public view.
After *Wide Sargasso Sea* came out, interest in her work revived. Many of her earlier books were reprinted. She published two more collections of short stories, and an unfinished autobiography appeared after her death. In 1978, she was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for her writing, just a year before she died.
**Early life**
**Family heritage** Rhys’s father, William Rees Williams, was a Welsh doctor who worked on ships. He arrived in Dominica at age twenty-seven. In 1882, a year after settling there, he married Minna Williams, née Lockhart, a third-generation white Dominican Creole of Scottish descent. (At the time, “Creole” meant anyone born on the island, regardless of race.) Rhys’s maternal grandmother, born Jean Maxwell, may have had some Spanish ancestry. Her mother’s family had once owned large sugarcane plantations. Her great-grandfather, James Potter Lockhart, bought a 1,200-acre estate in 1824 that included 258 enslaved people. Rhys had mixed-race cousins who were descendants of children James Lockhart fathered with enslaved women. Though slavery ended in 1834, Rhys’s grandfather Edward Lockhart organized a harsh crackdown on a rebellion by exploited black laborers in 1844.
Minna Williams had six children; five lived to adulthood. The oldest were Edward and Owen. The third child was M
- born
- 24 August 1890, Dominica
- died
- 14 May 1979
- field
- Novelist, short story writer
- nationality
- British Creole
- known_for
- Wide Sargasso Sea (1966)
Lore & Background
Rhys started writing intermittently around 1914, and found a literary mentor in Ford Madox Ford in 1923. With his assistance, her first work of fiction—The Left Bank and Other Stories—was published in 1927. This was followed by four short semi-autobiographical novels about women navigating perilous circumstances across London and Paris: Quartet (1928), After Leaving Mr. Mackenzie (1931), Voyage in the Dark (1934), and Good Morning, Midnight (1939). After these publications failed to lead to significant financial or critical success, Rhys felt her writing career had stalled, and largely withdrew from public life.
Rhys's father, William Rees Williams, was a Welsh ship's medical doctor who arrived in Dominica at age 27. Her mother, Minna Williams, was a third-generation white Dominican Creole of Scots ancestry. Rhys's maternal family had once been wealthy sugarcane plantation owners; her great-grandfather James Potter Lockhart purchased a 1,200-acre estate that included 258 slaves. Rhys was educated in Dominica until age 16, then sent to England, where she attended the Perse School for Girls in Cambridge and two terms at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. She worked as a chorus girl and later as an artist's model, and was the mistress of wealthy stockbroker Lancelot Grey Hugh Smith. She married three times: Willem Johan Marie Lenglet, Leslie Tilden-Smith, and Max Hamer.
Reader's Guide
Following the publication of Wide Sargasso Sea in 1966, Rhys experienced a resurgence in popularity, and much of her earlier work was republished. Two further volumes of short stories followed, and her incomplete autobiography was published posthumously. In 1978, she was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for her writing, just before her death in 1979. Her work is noted for its focus on women in precarious circumstances, often drawing on her own experiences as an exile and outsider. The novel Wide Sargasso Sea, which reimagines the story of Bertha Mason from Jane Eyre, is considered her masterpiece and has secured her lasting literary reputation. Her earlier novels, though initially overlooked, have since been recognized for their modernist style and psychological depth.
Did You Know?
- Rhys's great-grandfather James Potter Lockhart purchased a 1,200-acre estate that included 258 slaves.
- She was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1978.
- Her daughter Maryvonne joined the Dutch Resistance during World War II.
- Ford Madox Ford suggested she change her name from Ella Williams to Jean Rhys.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Jean Rhys?
Jean Rhys was a British Creole novelist born in Dominica in 1890 who grew up in the Caribbean before moving to England at sixteen for her education. She lived most of her adult life in Britain and is best known for her 1966 novel Wide Sargasso Sea.
What is Wide Sargasso Sea and how does it connect to Jane Eyre?
Wide Sargasso Sea is Rhys's 1966 novel that serves as a prequel to Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre, filling in the backstory of the character readers only glimpse in the original. By giving that figure a name, a voice, and a full history, Rhys reframed a Victorian classic from a Caribbean perspective.
Who mentored Jean Rhys early in her writing career?
In 1923 Rhys met Ford Madox Ford, who became both her literary mentor and a romantic partner. Under his guidance she worked toward publishing her first novel, The Left Bank, in the late 1920s.
When and where was Jean Rhys born and raised?
She was born Ella Gwendoline Rees Williams on 24 August 1890 on the Caribbean island of Dominica, where she spent her childhood. Her family sent her to England at sixteen for schooling, and she remained in Britain for the rest of her life.
Why is Jean Rhys considered significant in European modernist literature?
Rhys occupies a unique position as a Caribbean-born writer working within the British literary tradition, blending modernist psychological intensity with postcolonial themes. Her late-career breakthrough with Wide Sargasso Sea demonstrated that a single, tightly focused novel could reshape how readers understood a canonical text.
More in European Modernists 1-19
Spotted an error? Know more?
This is a living reference — every entry is fact-audited, and reader corrections feed straight into our audit queue. Suggest an edit · See this site's audit record