Hilda Mary Hooke

Hilda Mary Hooke (after marriage, Smith; 3 October 1898 – 1978) was an English-born Canadian writer of dramas, poetry, and prose. Her 1938 play, Here Will I Nest was adapted into Canada's first colour feature-length motion picture, Talbot of Canada,^[1] for which she wrote the screenplay.^[2] Hooke died in 1978.

Hilda Hooke Smith
Born	Hilda Mary Hooke 3 October 1898 Odcombe, Somerset, England
Died	1978 Comox, British Columbia, Canada
Occupation	writer
Language	English
Nationality	American
Genre	dramas poetry
Spouse	Richard Tapscott Smith ​ ​ (m. 1925)​
Signature

Biography

Hilda Mary Hooke was born at Odcombe, Somerset, England, 3 October 1898. Her parents were Oswald Edgar Smith and Louisa Elizth (Tapscott) Smith.^[3] She came to Canada in 1902.^[4]

For some years after her arrival, she was engaged in musical and dramatic work.^[4] Hooke was affiliated with the Little Theatre in London, Ontario, since the 1920s as producer, director, and playwright. Here Will I Nest, first performed in 1938, became the first Canadian play to be adapted into a motion picture.^[5] She wrote three plays around the central figure of Lord Talbot and another three centered on Dr. John Troyer.^[6]

Later in her writing career, she became a poet.^[4] She also wrote a book about folklore (Thunder in the Mountains: Legends of Canada).^[7]

While serving as secretary to the Chief Inspector of Public Schools, London, Ontario, she published less.^[4] In 1946, she also served as secretary to Canon Quintin Warner.^[8]

On 26 September 1925, she married Richard Tapscott Smith.^[3] She died in Comox, British Columbia, 1978.^[9]

Selected works

Plays

• Here Will I Nest, 1938^[9]
• A Time of Grace: A Play in Three Acts, 1941^[9]
• One-Act Plays from Canadian History, 1942^[9][6]
• The Streamlined Madonna, 1946^[9]
• Legend, 1949^[10]

Screenplays

• Here Will I Nest (alt. Talbot of Canada), 1942^[2]

Prose

• Thunder in the Mountains: Legends of Canada, 1947^[9]

Song lyrics

• "The challenger. A part song for mixed voices.", 1919 (music by Peter C. Lutkin)

References

1. Loiselle, André (16 October 2003). Stage-Bound: Feature Film Adaptations of Canadian and Québécois Drama. McGill-Queen's Press – MQUP. ISBN 978-0-7735-7146-4. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
2. Canadian Film Project (1996). Canada and Canadians in Feature Films: A Filmography, 1928–1990. Canadian Film Project, University of Guelph. p. 27. ISBN 978-0-88955-415-3. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
3. "Canada, Ontario Marriages, 1869-1927," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKMR-SW7W : 8 March 2021), Richard Tapscott Smith and Hilda Mary Hooke, 26 Sep 1925; citing registration, London, Middlesex, Ontario, Canada, Archives of Ontario, Toronto; FHL microfilm 2,413,315.
4. Caswell, Edward Samuel (1925). Canadian Singers and Their Songs: A Collection of Portraits, Autograph Poems and Brief Biographies. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart. p. 238. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
5. "Here Will I Nest – Canada's first feature colour movie". dotydocs.theatreinlondon.ca. Archived from the original on 2010-08-27. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
6. "HISTORICAL PLAYS". The Gazette. Montreal. 24 July 1942. p. 6. Retrieved 14 February 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "ONTARIO WOMAN RELATED CANADIAN LEGENDS". The Windsor Star. Windsor. 29 November 1947. p. 32. Retrieved 14 February 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "FOLKLORE TONIC FOR A JADED GENERATION". The Vancouver Sun. Vancouver. 31 January 1948. p. 50. Retrieved 14 February 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Hilda Mary Hooke". dhil.lib.sfu.ca. Database of Canadian Early Women Writers. Archived from the original on 2022-03-14. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
10. "MRT STUDIO PRESENTS". The Gazette. Montreal. 18 April 1949. p. 10. Retrieved 14 February 2022 – via Newspapers.com.