Famous British writer Herbert George “H. G.” Wells — author of sci-fi classics such as The War of the Worlds and The Time Machine — carried on a decade-long extramarital affair with fellow British writer Rebecca West from 1913 to 1923.
[B]y the autumn of 1913 the lovers were addressing each other as “Jaguar” (Wells) and “Panther” (West). By December, West was pregnant. Rusticated to the Norfolk coast, she gave birth to their son on Aug. 4, 1914.
What did they name him? Anthony Panther West — his middle name an allusion to his mother’s “feline prowess in bed.”
I wonder how Anthony (who went on to become a writer, like his parents) felt about his middle name upon learning of its origin.
P.S. Rebecca West’s birth name was Cicely Isabel Fairfield. She took the pen name “Rebecca West” from a character in Henrik Ibsen’s play Rosmersholm (1886).
Sources:
- Kendrick, Walter. “The Key to Rebecca” [Review of Rebecca West: A Life by Carl Rollyson]. New York Times 27 Oct. 1996.
- Rebecca West – Wikipedia
Image: Adapted from Loro Parque 08 by Jerzy Strzelecki under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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