ELINOR Glyn, 1864 – 1943

Elinor Glyn, born Elinor Sutherland on the English Channel island of Jersey. Following the death of her father, her mother returned to the parental home in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. Here Elinor was schooled by her grandmother (a minor French aristocrat) in the ways of upper-class society. This training not only gave her an entrée into aristocratic circles on her return to Europe, but it led her to be considered an authority on style and breeding when she worked in Hollywood in the 1920s. Glyn was also the younger sister of Lucy, Lady Duff-Gordon, famous as the fashion designer "Lucile".  Elinor was the celebrated author of such early 20th century bestsellers as It, Three Weeks, Beyond the Rocks, and other novels which were then considered quite racy, as tame as they might seem now.

Although her writing would not be considered scandalous by modern standards, she pioneered mass-market women's erotic fiction. She coined the use of It as a euphemism for sexuality, or sex appeal. she had a long lasting affair with George Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston.

On the strength of the popularity and notoriety of her books, Glyn moved to Hollywood where she promoted the concept of the vamp, helping to make a star of actress Clara Bow (hence the sobriquet, the It girl). She is credited with the re-styling of Gloria Swanson from giggly starlet to elegant star. A scriptwriter for the silent movie industry, she also had a brief career as one of the earliest female directors.

A scene in Glyn's most sensational work, Three Weeks, inspired the doggerel:

Would you like to sin

With Elinor Glyn

On a tiger skin?

Or would you prefer

To err with her

On some other fur?

 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia