An Angel at My Table

Janet Frame is born in New Zealand’s South Island, where her early life is deeply influenced by her love for literature. As a child, she engages with the works of Grimms’ Fairy Tales and writes her own poetry. After finishing primary school, she seeks out further literary inspiration at her local athenaeum. Janet enjoys a close bond with her sisters, Myrtle and Isabel, along with friendships with Poppy and Marguerite. One fateful afternoon, while Myrtle goes swimming, she tragically drowns, leaving Janet to grapple with the immense sorrow of losing her sister. This event leads Janet into a profound state of depression, prompting her to destroy her childhood poetry.

As she grows into adulthood, Janet becomes increasingly introverted and struggles with her mental health. While attending university and living with her Aunt Isy and Uncle George, she pursues a career as a teacher. However, after a disheartening visit from an inspector in 1945, she abandons teaching and instead works as a nurse. Eventually, the weight of her emotional distress overwhelms her, and she attempts suicide by taking a bottle of aspirin. Following this incident, she is placed on medical leave and admitted to a psychiatric ward, where she is diagnosed with schizophrenia.

Life brings further heartache when Janet faces the loss of her sister Isabel, who drowns in Picton Harbour. To cope with this tragedy, she immerses herself in writing and is admitted to Sunnyside Hospital, where she undergoes electroshock therapy. In 1951, while still hospitalized, she achieves her first literary success with the publication of The Lagoon and Other Stories, which goes on to win the Hubert Church Memorial Award. Once released from the hospital, she stays briefly with the author Frank Sargeson, where her first novel, Owls Do Cry, is also published.

In 1956, Janet leaves New Zealand behind, heading to London on a literary grant. She enjoys a brief stay in Ibiza, where she shares a room with an American student named Bernhard. Their budding romance takes a turn when Bernhard leaves at the end of the academic semester, and Janet finds herself pregnant, ultimately suffering a miscarriage. In 1958, seeking help once more, she re-enters a psychiatric ward under the care of Dr. Cawley, who later determines that Janet’s previous diagnosis was incorrect; she had merely suffered from the effects of extended hospitalization. Encouraged by Dr. Cawley to articulate her experiences, Janet writes another novel, Faces in the Water, which garners her further acclaim.

Once her success catches the eye of her publisher Mark Goulden, she is encouraged to pen a bestselling book. Mark arranges for Janet to move to Knightsbridge, where she mingles with fellow authors Alan and Ruth Sillitoe. However, Janet receives the heartbreaking news of her father’s passing, leading her back to New Zealand. There, she faces the media, engages with a local journalist, and dives back into her writing, not just as a means of coping, but as an essential part of her identity.

Last Updated: May 12, 2025 at 07:03