Sylvia Lynd ( Dryhurst; 1888 – 21 February 1952) was an Anglo-Irish poet, essayist, short story writer and novelist.
Early life
She was born in London around 1888, like her father, British Museum official and early Fabian, Alfred Robert Dryhurst. But her mother, the suffragist writer Nannie Dryhurst ( Robinson) was a Dubliner.
From 1904 to 1906, Lynd studied at the Slade School of Fine Art, later moving on to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. Around this time, she was associated with the Inghinidhe na hÉireann, an Irish nationalist women’s organisation. In 1908, a monthly magazine was produced, Bean na hÉireann, which sought to discuss topics such as politics, the vote for women, language, and labour issues. Lynd edited the first issue before returning to England and Helena Molony took it over.
Literary career
In 1909, she married a journalist and man of letters, Robert Wilson Lynd, whom she had met at the London Gaelic League four years earlier. Born in Belfast to a Presbyterian minister, Robert Lynd wrote for The Northern Whig and later became a literary editor for the Daily News (later known as News Chronicle) and a columnist for New Statesman. They lived in Hampstead, London for many years and had two daughters, Máire (who was to marry Jack Gaster) and Sigle. The Lynds were active in Irish Nationalist circles, and spoke Irish to their daughters.
Hugh Walpole asked Lynd to join the judging panel for a new group, The Book Society, modelled on American book of the month clubs. She was the only female judge. She was paid in this position as both a reader and a reviewer for the Society. She sat on the committee of the Prix Femina Via Heureuse Anglais, President in 1929 and from 1938-to 1939. Her work was featured in The Nation, the New Statesman, the Weekly Westminster, The Bystander, and Harper’s Bazaar.