Eliot, Vivienne (1889–1947)

views updated

Eliot, Vivienne (1889–1947)

English editor and literary inspiration. Born Vivienne Haigh-Wood in 1889; died in 1946; sister of Maurice Haigh-Wood; m. T.S. Eliot (the poet), 1915 (div. 1933).

The inspiration for much of her husband's poetry, was a gifted writer and editor in her own right and the subject of Michael Hasting's play Tom and Viv; was committed to an asylum by her brother (1938).

See also Carole Seymour-Jones, Painted Shadow: The Life of Vivienne Eliot, First Wife of T.S. Eliot, and the Long-Suppressed Truth About Her Influence on His Genius (Doubleday, 2002).