J. M. S. Tompkins
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{{Infobox writer
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| name = Joyce M. S. Tompkins
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| image = Joyce_M._S._Tompkins_1957.png
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| birth_date = {{Birth date|1897|11|03|df=y}}
| birth_place = London, England
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1986|12|27|1897|11|03|df=y}}
| death_place = London, England
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| citizenship = British
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| alma_mater = Bedford College, London
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| subject = English literature
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| notable_works = The Art of Rudyard Kipling
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| awards = Rose Mary Crawshay Prize (1923)
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Joyce Marjorie Sanxter Tompkins (3 November 1897, London – 27 December 1986, London) was a British scholar of English literature, a specialist in Kipling. She was a winner of the Rose Mary Crawshay Prize (1923).
Life
Joyce Marjorie Sanxter Tompkins was born in London in 1897. Her father, Albert James Tompkins, was a classics teacher.{{sfn|Varma|1987|p=38}}
She attended the German Day School and read English at Bedford College, London. She won the George Smith studentship in 1918,{{sfn|London University|1926}} allowing her to obtain a master's degree from the University of London. She then worked as a teaching assistant in the English department at Bedford College.{{sfn|The Times|1987}}
She won the Rose Mary Crawshay Prize for 1923 with her Study of the Work of Mrs Radcliffe.{{sfn|The Times|1924}} In 1933, she was awarded a D.Litt. and the following year, she started as an assistant lecturer at the Royal Holloway College. In 1948 she was made reader; twice she served as vice-principal of the college. She retired in 1965.{{sfn|The Times|1987}}
Tompkins was a visiting professor at Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia, between 1967 and 1969, where she promoted its Stewart Collection of Kipling documents among Canadian scholars.{{sfn|Varma|1987|p=38}}
Tompkins' The Polite Marriage and Other Eighteenth Century Essays (1938) was a well-received treatise on minor novelists of the late eighteenth century.{{sfn|Varma|1987|p=39}} Her works on Kipling (The Art of Rudyard Kipling, 1959), Elizabeth Barrett Browning (Fawcett Lecture on 'Aurora Leigh', 1961) and William Morris (1987) were lauded for their innovation, keen interpretations, close analysis, and social perspective.{{sfn|The Times|1987}}
In later life, she suffered from loss of eyesight. She died in 1986.{{sfn|The Times|1987}}
Selected works
- {{cite book|title=The Popular Novel in England, 1770–1800|year=1932}}
- {{cite book|title=The Polite Marriage: Eighteenth Century Essays|year=1938}}
- {{cite book|title=The Art of Rudyard Kipling|year=1959}}
- {{cite book|title=Ann Radcliffe and Her Influence on Later Writers|year=1980|isbn= 9780405126819|last1=Tompkins|first1=Joyce Marjorie Sanxter}}
- {{cite book|title=An Approach to the Poetry of William Morris|year=1987}}
References
{{Reflist}}
Bibliography
- {{cite journal|journal=University of London: The Historical Record (1836–1926)|title=George Smith Studentship|url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/no-series/london-university-graduates/273-288#h2-0038|access-date=28 March 2021|ref={{harvid|London University|1926}}}}
- {{cite news|newspaper=The Times|date= February 2, 1924|title=British Academy Awards|ref={{harvid|The Times|1924}}}}
- {{cite news|newspaper=The Times|date= January 16, 1987|title=Dr J. M. S. Tompkins|ref={{harvid|The Times|1987}}}}
- {{cite journal|journal=The Kipling Journal|url=https://www.kiplingsociety.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/pdf/KJ241.pdff|title=Joyce Tompkins: A Tribute|access-date=28 March 2021|first=D. P.|last=Varma|year=1987|volume=61|number=241}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tompkins, Marjorie M. S.}}
Category:Academics of Royal Holloway, University of London
Category:Alumni of Bedford College, London