Julia Frankau
| Julia Frankau | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born | Julia Davis 30 July 1859 Dublin |
| Died | 17 March 1916 London |
| Pen name | Frank Danby |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Nationality | British |
| Genre | Novels |
| Subject | Jewish life in London |
| Spouse | Arthur Frankau |
| Children | Gilbert Frankau, Ronald Frankau, Jack Frankau, Joan Frankau |
| Relatives | Owen Hall, Eliza Davis, Harrie Davis |
Julia Frankau, née Julia Davis (30 July 1859-17 March 1916) was a successful novelist who wrote under the name Frank Danby. Her first novel was published in 1887: Dr. Phillips: A Maida Vale Idyll. Its portrayal of London Jews and Jewish life, and its discussion of euthanasia by a doctor were controversial. This was followed by more Frank Danby novels and by books on other subjects, including engraving, which were sometimes written under her own name. Frankau continued to write until the time of her death.
Frankau's father was Hyman Davis (1824–1875), a London portrait photographer, though she and her older siblings were born in Dublin, where Davis practised as a dentist during the 1850s. On returning to London in the early 1860s, the Davis family lived first in Bruton Street before moving to Maida Vale.
She was a sister of the librettist Owen Hall (1853–1907) and the gossip columnist and fashion writer Mrs Aria (1861–1931). For a brief period during her early teens, she was home-tutored by Laura Lafargue, a daughter of Karl Marx. Another of her brothers, Harrie Davis, emigrated to New York, where he was employed as manager of the Gettysburg Cyclorama and also went on to pursue a journalistic career.
She married the London cigar importer Arthur Frankau (1849–1904) in 1883. They lived first at 103 Gloucester Terrace (London W), moving to 32a Weymouth Street in the later 1880s. Two of their three sons were author Gilbert Frankau (1884–1952) and actor Ronald Frankau (1894–1951) (thus Julia Frankau is grandmother of novelist Pamela Frankau and actress Rosemary Frankau, and great-grandmother of bibliographer Timothy d'Arch Smith and scriptwriter Sam Bain), and their daughter was the Cambridge don Joan Bennett (1896–1986), one of the "constellation of critics" called by the defence in the Lady Chatterley Trial. In this connection, it is interesting to note that Julia herself was credited by Mrs Belloc Lowndes with having been "one of the very few to recognise the genius of D. H. Lawrence".
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