Katherine Mansfield
was born in Wellington, New Zealand, in 1888 and died in Fontainebleau
in 1923. She came to London for the latter part of her education, and
could not settle down back in Wellington society; in 1908 she again
left for Europe, never to return. By 1917 she had contracted
tuberculosis, and from that time led a wandering life in search of
health. Katherine Mansfield was a compulsive
writer. Three volumes of her stories appeared in her lifetime. Her work
has been translated into 26 languages, and in 1988, the centennial of
her birth, five international conferences focused on her life and work.
