Jan Struther

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jan Struther was the pen name of Joyce Anstruther, later Joyce Maxtone Graham and finally Joyce Placzek (June 6, 1901 – July 20, 1953), an English writer remembered for her character Mrs. Miniver and a number of hymns, including Lord of All Hopefulness and When a knight won his spurs.

She spent her childhood in Whitchurch in Buckinghamshire, England, and her ashes are buried in the family grave in the village churchyard.

In the 1940s Struther was a frequent guest panelist on the popular American radio quiz show Information Please, where she provided a warm and witty presence. She was one of the few women panelists to appear repeatedly on the program. In a possibly apocryphal story by fellow panelist Oscar Levant, Struther's appearances on the show stopped abruptly after she answered a question by referring to Agatha Christie's book Ten Little Niggers, which was the original British title of the book "Ten Little Indians" (later retitled "And Then There Were None"). Struther was supposedly so hurt and surprised by the backlash to her reference that she refused to appear on the show again.

She is the subject of a biography, The Real Mrs. Miniver, written by her granddaughter, Ysenda Maxtone Graham. ISBN 0-7195-5541-8

She is the great-aunt of Ian Maxtone-Graham, former co-executive producer of The Simpsons.