A Pacifist in Time of War: Diary and Stories of Charlotte E. Nixon Payne
About this book
Charlotte Nixon Payne was a fascinating, committed, and passionate woman. Born in 1879 to a Victorian family, she strove for the things she deeply cared Pacifism, Women's rights, Children's wellbeing. She hated war propaganda which glorified death and destruction. She pleaded for wartime Truth, which she always spelled with a capital T. Without much formal education, Charlotte was innately smart, writing through wars, depression, family tragedy and financial hardship. Her love life was passionate but unrequited. She admired talented men, especially for musical and literary ability. She loved repartee and meaningful conversation. She sought to better her station in life with a good marriage. Her first meaningful affair recalled as her essay, Minor Key, described her relationship with a dying man in Switzerland. After he died, she promptly married Meyrick Whitmore Payne, with whom she soon had her first child. Her husband served as a Lieutenant Colonel in WW I and with the nominal rank of Brigadier in the Ministry of Food during WW Il. He had difficulty with her prominent pacifism and eventually left her on the day of her daughter's marriage. He was never again mentioned in her diary, even though they had lovingly written many songs and poems together before separation. Charlotte wrote a short story, Kindred Soul, about a couple of frustrated wives who go looking for European adventure. There is no proof that this story is about her, but in the spirit of Minor Key, it is likely. Charlotte lost what remained of her family wealth in the 1917 Russian revolution. From that moment on, she struggled with finances.