Regiment of Women: Mint Editions

Winifred Ashton (1888-1965) was an English novelist and playwright. Born in Blackheath, Ashton published her first novel, Regiment of Women (1917), under the pseudonym Clemence Dane, launching a long and successful career as a professional writer. Her 1921 play A Bill of Divorcement, a major hit, was adapted for a 1932 film starring Katharine Hepburn and John Barrymore as well as a 1940 remake starring Maureen O¿Hara and Adolphe Menjou. Encouraged by the success of the burgeoning film industry, Ashton began working as a screenwriter on such projects as Anna Karenina (1935) and Perfect Strangers (1945), the latter of which earned her an Academy Award. A member of the legendary Detection Club, one of her novels¿cowritten with Helen Simpson¿was adapted for Alfred Hitchcock¿s 1930 film Murder!