Madeleine Mathilde Henrey (1906–2004, née Gal, pseud. Mrs Robert Henrey) was a French-born writer. She wrote over 30 books, mainly of an autobiographical nature, that enjoyed considerable fame in post-war Britain.
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Life
Madeleine Mathilde Gal, the daughter of a miner and seamstress, moved as a child to Soho, London, following her father's death. She met her future husband, Robert Selby Henrey, at the Savoy Hotel; they were married in 1928 and their romance would prove to be a lifelong attachment lasting until his death in 1982.
Her son, Bobby Henrey, was a child actor, notably in the film The Fallen Idol, the making of which was described in her book A film star in Belgrave Square. Her writing career stretched from 1941 to 1979 and during this time she brought many of the events of her childhood and career to public attention. She enjoyed a long relationship with publishers, J. M. Dent & Sons, and most of her works, particularly her early ones, were a commercial success.
Works
Publisher is London: J. M. Dent & Sons, unless stated.
Fiction
Delphine (1947), writing as Robert Henrey, London: Peter Davies
A series of stories
An Attic in Jermyn Street (1948), writing as Robert Henrey
The story of a girl reporter
Philippa (1949), writing as Mrs Robert Henrey
Non-fiction
A Farm in Normandy (1941), writing as Mrs Robert Henrey
The birth of her child
A Village in Picadilly (1942), writing as Mrs Robert Henrey
The author's experiences during the air raids on London
Letters from Paris, 1870-1875 ([1942]) by C. de B., trans. and ed. by M.H. writing as Mrs Robert Henrey
C. de B. was a political informant to the head of the London house of Rothschild
A Journey to Gibraltar (1943), writing as Mrs Robert Henrey
The author's experiences during the London Blitz
The Incredible City (1944), writing as Mrs Robert Henrey
Part of her London trilogy
Bloomsbury Fair (1944), writing as Mrs Robert Henrey
Three London families
The Foolish Decade (1945), writing as Mrs Robert Henrey
London social life and customs
The Siege of London (1946), writing as Mrs Robert Henrey
Part of her London trilogy, an account of life in London from February 1944 to May 1945
The King of Brentford (1946), writing as Mrs Robert Henrey, London : Peter Davies