Dates

• Existence: 1884 - 1963

Biography

Helena Jane Henderson, born in 1884 was a writer largely of small articles and short stories, much of which was published by a number of the many literary journals of the 1920’s and 1930’s which flourished in New Zealand and overseas, such as The New Zealand magazine and Tomorrow.

Helena Henderson did write at least five novels or novelettes, three plays and a number of poems some of which were published. None of her novels or plays were successfully presented for publishing, yet these works, and her short stories, do show a particular talent for characterizations and setting of atmosphere. They are particularly good in presenting a feel of the later 1920’s and early 1930’s in a provincial colonial setting that was Christchurch of this time.

Helena Henderson was prodigious in attempting to put her work before various literary channels. Unsuccessful by and large herself, she did spawn a successful author in her daughter, Ruth France, in the following decades.

Found in 1 Collection or Record: