Goodbye, Stranger

Stella Benson was born on the 6th January 1892 in Easthope, Shropshire to parents who were landed gentry.

Her early years involved frequent household moves which was difficult for the child as she suffered from ill-health. Some of her early education was spent at schools in Germany and Switzerland and by 10 she had developed a lifelong habit of keeping a diary.

In the following years her parents separated, and she rarely saw her father. When she did, he encouraged to pause her writing until she had further experience and could better make sense of the world. When he died, she learned he had been an alcoholic.

A winter spent in the West Indies provided material for her first novel ‘I Pose’ published the following year in 1915.

During the War years she became involved in the women's suffrage movement and dedicated time outside of writing to support the troops and help the poor.

In 1918 she decided to travel spending much time in California, where she also tutored at the University of California, and continued to write. In China she met her future husband and after marrying in London, journeyed with him to his various Custom postings through Nanning, Beihai, and Hong Kong and the Far East.

The works continued to flow novels, short stories, travel essays all helped to build a deserved and burgeoning reputation.

Although her works are now in the forgotten and neglected department her writing style, characters, and narratives more than capably demonstrate her obvious talents.

Stella Benson died of pneumonia on the 7th December 1933, at Hạ Long in the Vietnamese province of Tonkin. She was 40.