Sir Anthony Glyn, 2nd Baronet
{{Short description|British-Guyanese author (1922–1998)}}
Sir Anthony Glyn (13 March 1922, London - 20 January 1998, France) was a British-Guyanese author of about a dozen books. His books included a number of novels and a biography of his grandmother, the novelist Elinor Glyn.{{Cite news |date=29 Jan 1998 |title=Sir Anthony Glyn, novelist and grandson of Elinor Glyn, dies |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/708037472/?match=1&terms=%22Sir%20Anthony%20Glyn%22%20 |url-access=subscription |access-date=3 July 2025 |work=The Fresno Bee |pages=D15 |agency=Associated Press}}{{Cite news |date=Jan 29, 1998 |title=Deaths Elsewhere (Sir Anthony Glyn) |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/1015352369/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=2025-07-03 |newspaper=The State Journal |location=Frankfort, Kentucky |page=2 |language=en |via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite news |date=Jan 31, 1998 |title=Obituaries (Sir Anthony Glyn) |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/801135046/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=2025-07-03 |work=The Stuart News |location=Stuart, Florida |page=8 |language=en |via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite news |date=9 Jul 1955 |title=Author of the Week |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/960657315 |url-access=subscription |access-date=3 July 2025 |work=The Daily Nonpareil |location=Council Bluffs, Iowa |pages=2}}
Early life and education
Geoffrey Leo Simon Davson was born in London on 13 March 1922.{{Cite news |title=Obituary: Sir Anthony Glyn Bt |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary-sir-anthony-glyn-bt-1143993.html |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20240905132059/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary-sir-anthony-glyn-bt-1143993.html |archive-date=2024-09-05 |access-date=2025-07-03 |work=The Independent |language=en-GB}} He was the son of the Guyanese businessman and government advisor, Sir Edward Davson and his wife, Margot Elinor Glyn OBE. His maternal grandmother was the novelist, Elinor Glyn and his paternal grandfather was the sugar merchant, Sir Henry Davson. Davson's great-grandfather, Simon Davson, had settled in Guyana after fleeing Latvia.{{cite news |date=23 February 1909 |title=Obituary: Sir Henry Katz Davson |work=The Times |page=13}}
Davson was educated at Eton College.
He served in the British army during World War II. Davson joined the Welsh Guards as an intelligence officer, then joined the family business working in numerous roles from farmhand to management. In 1937, Glyn's father died and Glyn succeeded him as the 2nd Baronet of Berbice.
Writing career
In the 1950s, he changed his name by deed poll and started writing. He adopted the surname of his maternal grandmother, a well-known author, as well as the given name, Anthony.{{Cite news |last=Glyn |first=Anthony |date=Apr 17, 1959 |title=This is it - Now I Knew Fear |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/721161615/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=2025-07-03 |newspaper=Evening Standard |location=London, England |page=14 |language=en |via=Newspapers.com}} Anthony Glyn's first novel was "Romanza" (1953) and his most critically acclaimed was "The Dragon Variation" (1969). In 1955, he also wrote a biography of his grandmother.
Death
Glyn died at his home in Villeneuve-Loubet, France on 20 January 1998; he was 75. He was buried at Pere Lachaise cemetery, Paris.
Glyn was survived by his wife, Susan, Lady Glyn. He had married Susan Rhys Williams, the daughter of Sir Rhys Rhys Williams, in 1946. The couple had two daughters. Their daughter Caroline, an author like her father, published her first book in 1963 when she was 15.{{Cite news |date=8 Aug 1963 |title=It's 'SWOT, SWOT': British Schoolgirl Publishes a Novel |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/1196147315/?match=1&terms=%22anthony%20glyn%22%20davson |url-access=subscription |access-date=3 July 2025 |work=The Houston Post |pages=B-7}}
Glyn was succeeded to the baronetcy by his brother Christopher Davson.
Works
- "Romanza" (1953)
- "Jungle of Eden" (1954)
- The Ram in the Thicket (1957){{Cite news |date=5 March 1957 |title=London Letter: The Angry Man |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/814863229/?match=1&terms=%22anthony%20glyn%22%20davson |url-access=subscription |access-date=3 July 2025 |work=Western Mail |location=Cardiff, Wales |pages=4}}
- The Terminal (1965).
- "The Dragon Variation (1969)
- Glyn, Anthony. 1970. British: A Portrait of a People. London: Hutchinson.
- Glyn, Anthony. 1986. The Companion Guide to Paris.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1174430.Anthony_Glyn Goodreads profile]
- Glyn, Anthony. 1999. [https://www.google.com.au/books/edition/The_Companion_Guide_to_Paris/0vqNxaGnp7MC?hl=fr&gbpv=1&dq=%22anthony+glyn%22&pg=PR3&printsec=frontcover The Companion Guide to Paris]. Rev. ed., revised by Susan Glyn. Woodbridge: Companion Guides.