Alice (Thompson) Meynell

Alice (Thompson) Meynell , 1847-1922, English poet and essayist. She spent most of her youth in Italy. Converted to Roman Catholicism in 1872, she wrote much on religious subjects. In 1877 she married Wilfrid Meynell (1852-1948), the founder and editor of Merry England, a Catholic paper, to which she was a frequent contributor. The Meynells befriended and encouraged Francis Thompson , whose work also appeared in their magazine. A complete edition of Meynell's poetry was published in 1923. Her verse, characterized by control and religious emotion, includes "The Shepherdess," "A Letter from a Girl to Her Own Old Age," and the sonnet "Renouncement." The Rhythm of Life (1893) and The Second Person Singular (1921) are among her many books of essays.

Bibliography: See biography by her daughter Viola Meynell (1929).

Meynell, Alice, née Thompson (1847–1922), poet and essayist. Her first volume of poetry, Preludes (1875), attracted the attention of Wilfrid Meynell (1852–1948), author and editor, whom she married in 1877. Her several volumes of verse won her a considerable reputation; many of her most successful poems deal with the theme of religious mystery. She is perhaps now more admired for her essays, introductions, and anthologies, which manifest independence and sensitivity of critical judgement; these were collected under various titles, which include The Rhythm of Life (1893), The Colour of Life (1896), and The Spirit of Place (1899).

Oates, Alice [née Merritt] (1849–87), actress. One of the notable pioneers of the American musical stage, she was born in Nashville and studied for a career in opera in Louisville and New Orleans. However, after her marriage to James A. Oates, a prominent actor at Wood's Theatre in Cincinnati, she made her stage debut in supporting roles under his aegis then toured the Midwest and West, playing increasingly more important assignments. Following the huge success of Lydia Thompson and her English musical burlesques, Oates organized her own burlesque troupe, touring successfully for several seasons, then evolving into the Alice Oates New English Opera Company, which specialized in presenting French opéra bouffe in English. Quick to appreciate the potential of H.M.S. Pinafore, she added it to her repertory before it had even been presented to New York. Oates's appearances in the East were relatively rare, but she remained a star west of the Mississippi for many years.