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Series:   Elements in Beckett Studies

Suzanne Dumesnil, Suzanne Beckett

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 July 2025

Emilie Morin
Emilie Morin
Affiliation:
University of York

Summary

Little has been written about Suzanne Beckett, née Déchevaux-Dumesnil (1900–1989). As Samuel Beckett's lifelong companion, she found herself in a peculiar quandary, owing to the amounts of support required by Beckett's unease with success and with the business of writing, and owing to her deep awareness of the damage that fame can cause to everyday life, friendships, and freedom. This Element offers the first full portrait of this elusive figure. It contextualises the texts she wrote under the name Suzanne Dumesnil, emphasises the significance of her artistic and literary accomplishments, and discusses her steady labour, her uncompromising discretion, and her profound reluctance to ever become a public figure as Beckett's wife.
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Keywords

Suzanne Beckettnée Déchevaux-Dumesnil (1900–89)Samuel Beckettmodernist wivesfamebiography

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Type
Element
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Series: Elements in Beckett Studies
Online ISBN: 9781009585545
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication: 24 July 2025

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Suzanne Dumesnil, Suzanne Beckett
  • Emilie Morin, University of York
  • Online ISBN: 9781009585545
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Suzanne Dumesnil, Suzanne Beckett
  • Emilie Morin, University of York
  • Online ISBN: 9781009585545
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Suzanne Dumesnil, Suzanne Beckett
  • Emilie Morin, University of York
  • Online ISBN: 9781009585545
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