Olivia Wyndham
Olivia Madeline Grace Mary Wyndham[1] (30 November 1897 – 1967[2]) was a British society photographer and a member of the 1920s socialite group known as the bright young things.
The daughter of Colonel
Having married the American
Her niece was the writer Joan Wyndham, and her half-brother was the journalist, editor and writer Francis Wyndham, literary executor to Jean Rhys.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/17/Hugh_Armigel_Wade.jpg/220px-Hugh_Armigel_Wade.jpg)
The Bright Young Things
While living in London, Olivia's involvement in the world of the bright young things was largely related to parties. Olivia's most famous party, which took place in 1929, has retrospectively become known as the 'sailor party'.[10] A photograph from this event was published in the newspaper The Bystander on the 30th October 1929, capturing a number of attendees including Barbara Ker-Seymer, Mrs Dennis Pelly (née Elizabeth Ponsonby) and Hugh Wade. This party exemplified the trend for sailor style that fascinated queer and bohemian circles in 1920s and 1930s Europe.[11]
Relationship with Edna Thomas
In around 1930, Olivia moved to New York City. She was introduced to Black society by heiress A'lelia Walker and met the actress Edna Thomas, with whom she was promptly infatuated.[12] It took 6 months for Olivia to win Edna over - initially Edna had "avoided her because white women are unfaithful".[12] Upon the realisation that Olivia was serious about her, Edna recalled: "[Olivia] finally came to my house and I had the most exciting sex experience of my life. It has gone on for five years because it's so satisfactory."[12] They lived together for decades after this, with Edna's husband Lloyd as a friend and housemate. In 1940, The New York Amsterdam News reported that Olivia was "one of Harlem's most colourful personalities whose future is all wrapped up in her adopted community."[13]
References
- ^ Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 107th edition, ed. Charles Mosley, Burke's Peerage Ltd, 2003, pg. 1290
- ^ "Olivia Wyndham". npg.org.uk.
- ^ "Conqueror 31". william1.co.uk.
- ^ "Queers in the Mirror: A Brief History of Old-Fashioned Gay Marriage in New York, Part II". The Huffington Post. 8 July 2009.
- ^ ISBN 9780203319307.
- ISBN 9780415660365.
- ^ Williams, Val (18 September 2011). "Obituary: Barbara Ker-Seymer". The Independent.
- ^ "- Person Page 8274". thepeerage.com.
- ISBN 9781572336766.
- .
- ^ Medhurst, Eleanor (2021). "Sailor Outfits and Lesbian Culture, 1920s-1930s". Dressing Dykes.
- ^ a b c Katz, Jonathan Ned (2015). "Edna Thomas ("Mary Jones"): "a tenderness I have never known"".
- ^ Cooke, Marvel (1940). "From the Brilliance of Mayfair To -- she renounced British tradition for her negro friends". The New York Amsterdam News.