Biographies and Autobiography

Naturally, almost all works on Jean Rhys deal in some way with her life, but these two biographies and one autobiography devote comprehensive attention to her personal side. Her literature is not neglected, but the focus in all three is on events in Rhys’s life: her childhood, her odd jobs, her career, her marriages, and her motherhood. Included below are two of the better biographies of Rhys and her only extant autobiography.

• Angier, Carole. Jean Rhys: Life and Work. London: A. Deutsch, 1990.
  
  A lengthier work than Angier’s first study of Jean Rhys (discussed under Frequently Mentioned Works), this 762-page volume is a biography that heavily emphasizes Rhys’s writing by comparing Rhys’s life to her works. Angier draws connections between Rhys personal life and the characters in her story, with the idea that much of Rhys’s fiction was autobiographical. Though at times meandering, this biography is full of detail for those interested in both Rhys’s life and literature.
  PR6035 .H96 Z571 1990
  Davis floor 7

• Lykiard, Alexis. Jean Rhys Revisited. Exeter, Devon: Stride Publications, 2000.
  
  Lykiard, who met Rhys personally, remembers her in this book about her life. It is not a biography, per se—rather it is a personal account of one person to another. Lykiard includes lots of pictures he took of Rhys. Because of the unique narrative perspective, this is a most useful book for anyone studying Rhys’s life.
  PR6035. H96 Z785 2000
  Davis floor 7

• Rhys, Jean. Smile Please: An Unfinished Autobiography. London: A. Deutsch, 1979.
  
  Rhys died before she could finish—or even properly start—her autobiography. This book is reconstructed from notes that she left behind, and though enjoyable and informative, its incompleteness is likely to frustrate the reader. Nonetheless, it is the only autobiography of Jean Rhys available.
  PR6035.H96 Z474
  Davis floor 7