6 April: Leonora Carrington

Leonora Carrington, surrealist painter and novelist was born on 6 April 1917. 10 facts about her.

1. She was born in Lancashire, on her family's large estate, Crookhey Hall. Her father was self-made textiles magnate. Her mother was Maurie Moorhead Carrington, who was born in Ireland.
2. As a child, she was surrounded by animals on the estate, Horses in particular, and had an Irish nanny who would tell her stories from Celtic folklore, which would later influence her art.
3. She was a rebel at school. She went to convent schools, and was expelled for eccentric behaviour. She wanted to be an artist - her father strongly disapproved, wanting her to be presented at court as a debutante. Her mother was rather more encouraging and gave her a book on surrealism. She was eventually allowed to attend art school, both in Florence and in Britain.
4. The book her mother gave her had a reproduction of a Max Ernst work on the cover. When she was 20, Leonora met him and they fell in love. Ernst left his wife to be with her and called her his “Bride of the Wind”.
5. The affair ended when, during the second world war, Ernst, being German, was imprisoned in France as an “undesirable foreigner”, and after the German occupation, the Gestapo arrested him. Leonora, meanwhile, fled to Spain, where she had a nervous breakdown. Her family stepped in and had her hospitalised and given Cardiazol, a drug that caused convulsions similar to shock therapy. These experiences would later become inspiration for her art and also for a novel, Down Below.
6. On leaving hospital, Leonora was placed in the care of a nurse in Lisbon, but ran away and sought refuge in Mexican Embassy.
7. Her first marriage was a marriage of convenience. Mexican Ambassador Renato Leduc, a friend of Pablo Picasso, agreed to marry her so she could cross the Maginot line. They divorced in 1943. Her second marriage was to Cziki Weiss, a photographer in Mexico City, where she lived most of the rest of her life.
8. Her art features magical animals, Celtic mythology and and occult symbolism. She studied Buddhism, the Kabbalah, Mexican folklore and the works of Carl Jung.
9. She Was a Founding Member of the Women’s Liberation Movement in Mexico, and spoke of the “legendary powers” of women and that they must take back their rights.
10. She died May 25 2011 at the age of 94 from pneumonia.

New!

Closing the Circle

A stable wormhole has been established between Earth and Infinitus. Power Blaster and his friends can finally go home.

Desi Troyes is still at large on Earth - Power Blaster has vowed to bring him to justice. His wedding to Shanna is under threat as the Desperadoes launch an attempt to rescue their leader. 

Someone from Power Blaster's past plays an unexpected and significant role in capturing Troyes.

The return home brings its own challenges. Not everyone can return to the life they left behind, and for some, there is unfinished business to be dealt with before they can start anew.

Ben Cole in particular cannot resume his old life as a surgeon because technology no longer works around him. He plans a new life in Classica, away from technology. Shanna hears there could be a way to reverse his condition and sets out to find it, putting herself in great danger. She doesn't know she is about to uncover the secret of Power Blaster's mysterious past.

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Completes The Raiders Trilogy. 

Other books in the series:

Book One

Book Two