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Simon, Edith (writer and artist) (1917-2003)

 Person

Dates

  • Existence: 1917-2003 - 2003

Biography

Edith Simon was born on 18 May 1917 in Berlin, Germany, to Walter and Grete Simon. Educated at the Fürstin-Bismarck Gymnasium, she showed a talent for art and history, and enjoyed early success with the publication of her drawings whilst still only 10 years old. Her father Walter, a decorated Great War veteran and successful businessman, moved with his young family to London when Edith was just 15, as the political climate in Germany became increasingly threatening. Edith, alongside her younger sister Inge, arrived in the British capital in 1932.

Edith studied for a short time at both the Slade School of Fine Art and the Central School of Art and Design. She also became an early member of the Artists International Association (AIA), which formed in London in 1933.

Writing Career

Embarking on her professional writing career, Edith’s first book was a children’s adventure story which she wrote and illustrated, titled Somersaults and Strange Company, published by Lawrence & Wishart in 1937. She had also begun working at this time as a book jacket illustrator, demonstrating her signature style and draughtsmanship. In 1938, she translated Arthur Koestler’s The Gladiators into English, which was published a year later. Her first novel, The Chosen, was published in 1940 by John Lane, The Bodley Head, when Edith was still only 23.

She would go on to author 17 books, including contemporary novels, historical novels, and histories, as well as contributing to edited collections. Her published work includes:

Somersaults and Strange Company (Lawrence & Wishart 1937)

The Gladiators by Arthur Koestler, (UK Johnathan Cape 1939; US Macmillan - New York 1939) (translated by Edith Simon)

The Chosen (The Bodley Head 1940)

Biting the Blue Finger (The Bodley Head 1942)

Wings Deceive (The Bodley Head 1944)

The Other Passion (The Bodley Head 1948)

The Golden Hand (UK edition Cassell & Co. Ltd. 1952; US edition G.P. Putnam's Sons 1951)

The Past Masters (UK edition Cassell & Co. Ltd. 1953; US edition 'The House of Strangers', G.P. Putnam's Sons 1953)

The Twelve Pictures (UK edition Cassell & Co. Ltd. 1956; US edition G.P. Putnam's Sons 1955)

The Sable Coat (Cassell & Co. Ltd. 1958)

The Piebald Standard: A Biography of the Knights Templar (UK edition Cassell & Co. Ltd. 1959; US edition G.P. Putnam's Sons 1959)

The Undying Past, ed. Orville Prescott (Doubleday 1961) (contributor)

The Great Forgery (UK edition Cassell & Co. Ltd. 1962; US edition Little, Brown & Co. 1962)

The Making of Frederick the Great (UK edition Cassell & Co. Ltd. 1963; US editions Little, Brown & Co., reprint Greenan Press)

Friedrich Der Grosse, Das Weiden eines Königs (Rainer Wunderlich Verlag, Hermann Leins, Tubingen, 1963)

The Book of Books – A Treasury of Great Bible Fiction, eds. Irwin R Blacker & Ethel H Blacker (Holt, Reinhart & Winston NY, 1965) (contributor)

The Reformation (Time-Life 1966)

Die Reformation von Edith Simon und der Redaktion der Time-Life (Time-Life 1967)

The Saints (UK edition Weidenfeld & Nicolson 1968; US edition Delacorte Press 1968)

Luther Alive (UK edition Hodder & Stoughton 1968; US edition Doubleday 1968)

The Anglo-Saxon Manner (Cassell & Co. Ltd. 1972)

The Makers of Modern Thought (Horizon Books American Heritage Books – subsidiary of McGraw Hill 1972) (contributor)

‘Frederick II the Great of Prussia’ (Encyclopaedia Britannica 1974) (contributor)

In addition, Edith also wrote two plays ‘The Inimitable’ and ‘Love Me, Scum’, neither of which were ever performed, and she completed a film script entitled 'A Perfect Marriage'.

It was in London in 1942 that Edith met the noted scientist Dr. Eric Reeve, whom she married that same year. The couple moved to Edinburgh in 1947 to facilitate Eric’s new role with Edinburgh University’s Genetics Department. They lived first at Mortonhall House, alongside a team of geneticists also working at the University. They would subsequently move to Roseberry Crescent, and Lansdowne Crescent, before settling permanently in Grosvenor Crescent. They had three children, Antonia (b.1950), Simon (b.1952), and Jessica (b. 1954).

Art Career

Edith returned to her artistic practice in the early 1970s, participating in an early exhibition at the Demarco Gallery in Edinburgh in 1970, followed by her first one-woman show at Gallerie Balans in Amsterdam in 1971 where she presented mobile sculptures and her signature papercut bas relief paintings. Edith would go on to stage and appear in over 50 exhibitions throughout her career. She experimented with and explored many mediums and forms including continuous line drawings, papercut bas relief scalpel paintings, rope sculptures, mobile and soft sculptures, sculptures in stained wood, ciment-fondue, vacuum formed perspex, cast polyester resin, cold-cast bronze, copper, aluminium, metal sheet, and carved plaster. She also utilised painted glass, as well as undertaking murals in paint and wood veneer. For over thirty years, she exhibited annually at the Edinburgh Festival, with her final show being held in 2001. [A full list of exhibitions (1970-2003) is available on the Edith Simon Gallery website cited below.]

In 1995, Edith contracted a respiratory infection which revealed an existing condition, widely known as emphysema. This necessitated the use of daily oxygen for the remainder of her life. Edith Simon died in Edinburgh on 7 January 2003.

Biographical information has been taken from ‘Moderation be Damned: Edith Simon’, published by Antonia Reeve in 2005, alongside the artist’s biographical note on the Edith Simon Gallery website, available at edith-simon.com.

Found in 450 Collections and/or Records:

Letters from Edith Simon to Inge Goodwin, 3 January - 30 December 1964

 File
Identifier: Acc.14390 Box 5 (14)
Scope and Contents

Letters accompanied by a manuscript note, possibly by Inge Goodwin, stating that the contents include references to 'planning/writing the Ballet/Autism novel'; 'dropping Manners and Morals' [later The Saints]; 'Walter's illness'; 'The Golden Wedding'; financial matters; and possibly advice on Inge's translation work on 'Emil Nolde : the forbidden pictures'.

Dates: 3 January - 30 December 1964
Found in: National Library of Scotland Archives and Manuscripts Division / Further professional and personal papers of Edith Simon and Dr Eric Reeve, including photographic and audiovisual materials. / Box containing papers and correspondence of Edith Simon and Eric Reeve

Letters from Edith Simon to Inge Goodwin, 10 January - 29 December 1965

 File
Identifier: Acc.14390 Box 5 (15)
Scope and Contents From the Collection: This collection contains additional papers relating to Edith Simon's career as an artist and writer, as well as some early juvenilia, embracing her illustration and creative writing. The collection also contains a series of papers relating to her husband, the noted geneticist, Dr. Eric Reeve, documenting his university studies at the University of Oxford, his subsequent war service, and his later career at the University of Edinburgh. The broad scope of the collection may be...
Dates: 10 January - 29 December 1965
Found in: National Library of Scotland Archives and Manuscripts Division / Further professional and personal papers of Edith Simon and Dr Eric Reeve, including photographic and audiovisual materials. / Box containing papers and correspondence of Edith Simon and Eric Reeve

Letters from Edith Simon to Inge Goodwin, 7 January - 23 November 1966

 File
Identifier: Acc.14390 Box 5 (16)
Scope and Contents

File also contains a letter from R.D. Smith, BBC, to Inge Goodwin concerning Edith Simon's two plays, The Inimitable, and Love Me, Scum! (22 August 1966)

Dates: 7 January - 23 November 1966
Found in: National Library of Scotland Archives and Manuscripts Division / Further professional and personal papers of Edith Simon and Dr Eric Reeve, including photographic and audiovisual materials. / Box containing papers and correspondence of Edith Simon and Eric Reeve

Letters from Edith Simon to Inge Goodwin, 5 January - 23 November 1967

 File
Identifier: Acc.14390 Box 5 (17)
Scope and Contents From the Collection: This collection contains additional papers relating to Edith Simon's career as an artist and writer, as well as some early juvenilia, embracing her illustration and creative writing. The collection also contains a series of papers relating to her husband, the noted geneticist, Dr. Eric Reeve, documenting his university studies at the University of Oxford, his subsequent war service, and his later career at the University of Edinburgh. The broad scope of the collection may be...
Dates: 5 January - 23 November 1967
Found in: National Library of Scotland Archives and Manuscripts Division / Further professional and personal papers of Edith Simon and Dr Eric Reeve, including photographic and audiovisual materials. / Box containing papers and correspondence of Edith Simon and Eric Reeve

Letters from Edith Simon to Inge Goodwin, 4 January - 17 November 1968

 File
Identifier: Acc.14390 Box 5 (18)
Scope and Contents From the Collection: This collection contains additional papers relating to Edith Simon's career as an artist and writer, as well as some early juvenilia, embracing her illustration and creative writing. The collection also contains a series of papers relating to her husband, the noted geneticist, Dr. Eric Reeve, documenting his university studies at the University of Oxford, his subsequent war service, and his later career at the University of Edinburgh. The broad scope of the collection may be...
Dates: 4 January - 17 November 1968
Found in: National Library of Scotland Archives and Manuscripts Division / Further professional and personal papers of Edith Simon and Dr Eric Reeve, including photographic and audiovisual materials. / Box containing papers and correspondence of Edith Simon and Eric Reeve

Letters from Edith Simon to Inge Goodwin, 5/8 January - 3 December 1969

 File
Identifier: Acc.14390 Box 5 (19)
Scope and Contents From the Collection: This collection contains additional papers relating to Edith Simon's career as an artist and writer, as well as some early juvenilia, embracing her illustration and creative writing. The collection also contains a series of papers relating to her husband, the noted geneticist, Dr. Eric Reeve, documenting his university studies at the University of Oxford, his subsequent war service, and his later career at the University of Edinburgh. The broad scope of the collection may be...
Dates: 5/8 January - 3 December 1969
Found in: National Library of Scotland Archives and Manuscripts Division / Further professional and personal papers of Edith Simon and Dr Eric Reeve, including photographic and audiovisual materials. / Box containing papers and correspondence of Edith Simon and Eric Reeve

Letters from Edith Simon to Inge Goodwin, 11 May - 30 December 1970

 File
Identifier: Acc.14390 Box 5 (20)
Scope and Contents From the Collection: This collection contains additional papers relating to Edith Simon's career as an artist and writer, as well as some early juvenilia, embracing her illustration and creative writing. The collection also contains a series of papers relating to her husband, the noted geneticist, Dr. Eric Reeve, documenting his university studies at the University of Oxford, his subsequent war service, and his later career at the University of Edinburgh. The broad scope of the collection may be...
Dates: 11 May - 30 December 1970
Found in: National Library of Scotland Archives and Manuscripts Division / Further professional and personal papers of Edith Simon and Dr Eric Reeve, including photographic and audiovisual materials. / Box containing papers and correspondence of Edith Simon and Eric Reeve

Letters from Edith Simon to Inge Goodwin, 21 March - 13 December 1971

 File
Identifier: Acc.14390 Box 5 (21)
Scope and Contents

Headed paper used by Edith Simon shows a change in address to Grosvenor Crescent, Edinburgh, at this time.

Dates: 21 March - 13 December 1971
Found in: National Library of Scotland Archives and Manuscripts Division / Further professional and personal papers of Edith Simon and Dr Eric Reeve, including photographic and audiovisual materials. / Box containing papers and correspondence of Edith Simon and Eric Reeve

Letters from Edith Simon to Inge Goodwin, 2 January - 10 September 1972

 File
Identifier: Acc.14390 Box 5 (22)
Scope and Contents From the Collection: This collection contains additional papers relating to Edith Simon's career as an artist and writer, as well as some early juvenilia, embracing her illustration and creative writing. The collection also contains a series of papers relating to her husband, the noted geneticist, Dr. Eric Reeve, documenting his university studies at the University of Oxford, his subsequent war service, and his later career at the University of Edinburgh. The broad scope of the collection may be...
Dates: 2 January - 10 September 1972
Found in: National Library of Scotland Archives and Manuscripts Division / Further professional and personal papers of Edith Simon and Dr Eric Reeve, including photographic and audiovisual materials. / Box containing papers and correspondence of Edith Simon and Eric Reeve

Letters from Edith Simon to Inge Goodwin, ?8 January - 30 December 1973

 File
Identifier: Acc.14390 Box 5 (23)
Scope and Contents From the Collection: This collection contains additional papers relating to Edith Simon's career as an artist and writer, as well as some early juvenilia, embracing her illustration and creative writing. The collection also contains a series of papers relating to her husband, the noted geneticist, Dr. Eric Reeve, documenting his university studies at the University of Oxford, his subsequent war service, and his later career at the University of Edinburgh. The broad scope of the collection may be...
Dates: ?8 January - 30 December 1973
Found in: National Library of Scotland Archives and Manuscripts Division / Further professional and personal papers of Edith Simon and Dr Eric Reeve, including photographic and audiovisual materials. / Box containing papers and correspondence of Edith Simon and Eric Reeve

Letters from Edith Simon to Inge Goodwin, 6 May - 15 November 1974

 File
Identifier: Acc.14390 Box 5 (24)
Scope and Contents

File also includes an exhibition programme for 'Edith Simon's Open House', 9-27 July 1974.

Dates: 6 May - 15 November 1974
Found in: National Library of Scotland Archives and Manuscripts Division / Further professional and personal papers of Edith Simon and Dr Eric Reeve, including photographic and audiovisual materials. / Box containing papers and correspondence of Edith Simon and Eric Reeve

Letters from Edith Simon to Inge Goodwin, 2 January - 10 December 1975

 File
Identifier: Acc.14390 Box 5 (25)
Scope and Contents From the Collection: This collection contains additional papers relating to Edith Simon's career as an artist and writer, as well as some early juvenilia, embracing her illustration and creative writing. The collection also contains a series of papers relating to her husband, the noted geneticist, Dr. Eric Reeve, documenting his university studies at the University of Oxford, his subsequent war service, and his later career at the University of Edinburgh. The broad scope of the collection may be...
Dates: 2 January - 10 December 1975
Found in: National Library of Scotland Archives and Manuscripts Division / Further professional and personal papers of Edith Simon and Dr Eric Reeve, including photographic and audiovisual materials. / Box containing papers and correspondence of Edith Simon and Eric Reeve

Letters from Edith Simon to Inge Goodwin, 29 August - 27 December 1947

 File
Identifier: Acc.14390 Box 5 (1)
Scope and Contents

Letters are accompanied by a manuscript note, possibly by Inge Goodwin, in which she notes the contents as referring to 'Mortonhall; Hospital with miscarriage; Writing/Planning The Past Masters.'

Dates: 29 August - 27 December 1947
Found in: National Library of Scotland Archives and Manuscripts Division / Further professional and personal papers of Edith Simon and Dr Eric Reeve, including photographic and audiovisual materials. / Box containing papers and correspondence of Edith Simon and Eric Reeve

Letters from Edith Simon to Inge Goodwin, 25 January - 27 December 1948

 File
Identifier: Acc.14390 Box 5 (2)
Scope and Contents From the Collection: This collection contains additional papers relating to Edith Simon's career as an artist and writer, as well as some early juvenilia, embracing her illustration and creative writing. The collection also contains a series of papers relating to her husband, the noted geneticist, Dr. Eric Reeve, documenting his university studies at the University of Oxford, his subsequent war service, and his later career at the University of Edinburgh. The broad scope of the collection may be...
Dates: 25 January - 27 December 1948
Found in: National Library of Scotland Archives and Manuscripts Division / Further professional and personal papers of Edith Simon and Dr Eric Reeve, including photographic and audiovisual materials. / Box containing papers and correspondence of Edith Simon and Eric Reeve

Letters from Edith Simon to Inge Goodwin, 1 January - 25 December 1949

 File
Identifier: Acc.14390 Box 5 (3)
Scope and Contents From the Collection: This collection contains additional papers relating to Edith Simon's career as an artist and writer, as well as some early juvenilia, embracing her illustration and creative writing. The collection also contains a series of papers relating to her husband, the noted geneticist, Dr. Eric Reeve, documenting his university studies at the University of Oxford, his subsequent war service, and his later career at the University of Edinburgh. The broad scope of the collection may be...
Dates: 1 January - 25 December 1949
Found in: National Library of Scotland Archives and Manuscripts Division / Further professional and personal papers of Edith Simon and Dr Eric Reeve, including photographic and audiovisual materials. / Box containing papers and correspondence of Edith Simon and Eric Reeve

Letters from Edith Simon to Inge Goodwin, 5 January - 8 December 1950

 File
Identifier: Acc.14390 Box 5 (4)
Scope and Contents

Letters include illustrations by Edith Simon and note the birth of her daughter, Antonia in June 1950.

Dates: 5 January - 8 December 1950
Found in: National Library of Scotland Archives and Manuscripts Division / Further professional and personal papers of Edith Simon and Dr Eric Reeve, including photographic and audiovisual materials. / Box containing papers and correspondence of Edith Simon and Eric Reeve

Letters from Edith Simon to Inge Goodwin, 21 January - 26 December 1951

 File
Identifier: Acc.14390 Box 5 (5)
Scope and Contents

Letters accompanied by a manuscript note, possibly by Inge Goodwin, stating that 'E writing The Past Masters.'

Dates: 21 January - 26 December 1951
Found in: National Library of Scotland Archives and Manuscripts Division / Further professional and personal papers of Edith Simon and Dr Eric Reeve, including photographic and audiovisual materials. / Box containing papers and correspondence of Edith Simon and Eric Reeve

Letters from Edith Simon to Inge Goodwin, 7 January - 13 December 1952

 File
Identifier: Acc.14390 Box 5 (6)
Scope and Contents From the Collection: This collection contains additional papers relating to Edith Simon's career as an artist and writer, as well as some early juvenilia, embracing her illustration and creative writing. The collection also contains a series of papers relating to her husband, the noted geneticist, Dr. Eric Reeve, documenting his university studies at the University of Oxford, his subsequent war service, and his later career at the University of Edinburgh. The broad scope of the collection may be...
Dates: 7 January - 13 December 1952
Found in: National Library of Scotland Archives and Manuscripts Division / Further professional and personal papers of Edith Simon and Dr Eric Reeve, including photographic and audiovisual materials. / Box containing papers and correspondence of Edith Simon and Eric Reeve

Letters from Edith Simon to Inge Goodwin, 1970-1981

 File
Identifier: Acc.13772/38
Scope and Contents

File also contains letters to 'Mutti', a family name for Edith's mother Grete Simon, who is addressed singularly but also alongside Inge on occasion. File also contains brief handwritten notes on letter content, possibly by Inge Goodwin.

Dates: 1970-1981
Found in: National Library of Scotland Archives and Manuscripts Division / Personal and professional papers of Edith Simon / Personal and professional correspondence of Edith Simon / Family and personal correspondence / Correspondence of Edith Simon to, and from, named individuals

Letters from Edith Simon to Joan Feisenberger, 1945-1959

 File
Identifier: Acc.13772/34
Scope and Contents

File contains illustrated letters and cards, and includes letters from the Reeve children, Antonia, Simon, and Jessica. File also contains three photographs of unidentified children [possibly Antonia and Simon Reeve]. [Joan was the widow of writer and critic John Mair (d.1942), and later married Dr H.A. Feisenberger]

Dates: 1945-1959
Found in: National Library of Scotland Archives and Manuscripts Division / Personal and professional papers of Edith Simon / Personal and professional correspondence of Edith Simon / Family and personal correspondence / Correspondence of Edith Simon to, and from, named individuals

Letters from Edith Simon to Joan Feisenberger, 1979-1989

 File
Identifier: Acc.13772/35
Scope and Contents

File also contains one letter from Antonia Reeve to Joan (1 December 1979); and an incomplete, undated, printed list of Edith Simon artworks, possibly paintings. [Joan was the widow of writer and critic John Mair (d.1942), and later married Dr H.A. Feisenberger]

Dates: 1979-1989
Found in: National Library of Scotland Archives and Manuscripts Division / Personal and professional papers of Edith Simon / Personal and professional correspondence of Edith Simon / Family and personal correspondence / Correspondence of Edith Simon to, and from, named individuals

Letters from the Reeve Family to Grete Simon, 1967-1979

 File
Identifier: Acc.13772/33
Scope and Contents

Grete Simon is also known as 'Mutti' in family letters. Correspondents include Edith Simon and Eric Reeve and their children Antonia, Jessica, and Simon. File also contains illustrated letters; a newspaper clipping of an unspecified subject matter; a text reinterpretation of the Ten Commandments by Arthur Hugh Clough; and an exhibition flyer for 'Edith Simon Works: Pictures, Sculptures', undated.

Dates: 1967-1979
Found in: National Library of Scotland Archives and Manuscripts Division / Personal and professional papers of Edith Simon / Personal and professional correspondence of Edith Simon / Family and personal correspondence / Correspondence of Reeve and Goodwin families to the Walter and Grete Simon

Letters, notes, and typescript drafts concerning an unpublished novel, 1965-1966

 File
Identifier: Acc.13772/215
Scope and Contents

May possibly refer to an abandoned novel, provisionally entitled elsewhere in the collection as 'An Affair of Love'.

Dates: 1965-1966
Found in: National Library of Scotland Archives and Manuscripts Division / Personal and professional papers of Edith Simon / Papers concerning Edith Simon's writing career / Papers concerning unrealised works / Papers concerning a possible book on autism

Letters of, and relating to, the Reeve Family, 1972-1976

 File
Identifier: Acc.13772/25
Scope and Contents

File contains a letter from Antonia Reeve to her aunt Inge Goodwin; a letter from Jessica Reeve to her father Eric Reeve; a letter from Eric Reeve to Edith Simon; and a letter from Edith Simon to Dr. Downs of the British Steel Corporation concerning a sculpture project.

Dates: 1972-1976
Found in: National Library of Scotland Archives and Manuscripts Division / Personal and professional papers of Edith Simon / Personal and professional correspondence of Edith Simon / Family and personal correspondence

Letters of, and to, Edith Simon and Eric Reeve, 1943, 1952, 1972, 1991, 2000-2005

 File
Identifier: Acc.14390 Box 5 (34)
Scope and Contents Identified correspondents to Edith and Eric Reeve include Jim Haynes; 'Ros'; possibly 'Edward'; 'Margaret and Peter'; Frances Howard; Inge and Dennis Goodwin; Antonia Reeve; and an incomplete letter from 'Tina'. Copy letters from Edith and Eric were sent to Inge Goodwin; 'Hilary'; and Helen C. Orr. File also includes personal references from Sir Robin Philipson, Edward Gage, and L.P. Elwell-Sutton on behalf of Edith Simon; a typescript draft of a story entitled 'Suburban Blues', possibly by...
Dates: Majority of material found within 1943, 1952, 1972, 1991, 2000-2005
Found in: National Library of Scotland Archives and Manuscripts Division / Further professional and personal papers of Edith Simon and Dr Eric Reeve, including photographic and audiovisual materials. / Box containing papers and correspondence of Edith Simon and Eric Reeve

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