Nerina Shute

Nerina Shute was an English writer and journalist. In 1928, she began her career at the Times Book Club and later joined Film Weekly, where she gained recognition for her witty and audacious film reviews.

During her career, Shute befriended notable figures such as Alfred Hitchcock, Anna Neagle, and Herbert Wilcox. She wrote for various publications and worked as a film critic, enjoying a glamorous lifestyle filled with morning shows, cocktail lunches, and encounters with influential personalities. Shute’s personal relationships were also complex. She had a female lover named Josephine and engaged in flirtations with men throughout the 1930s. Eventually, she married journalist James Wentworth Day in 1936 but left him after two years of a dull marriage.

With the outbreak of World War II, Shute joined the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) but soon resigned to become an ambulance driver. It was during this time that she met Helen Mayo and Andy Sharpe, two women who would play significant roles in her life. Shute had an affair with Mayo and eventually moved in with her and Sharpe. However, her relationship with Mayo ended when she met Howard Marshall, a prominent broadcaster, with whom she conducted a passionate affair. Shute and Marshall married but faced difficulties, leading to their separation and eventual divorce.

In her later years, Shute turned to writing books, exploring the lives of historical figures such as Fanny Burney, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and the Victorian art critic John Ruskin. She also wrote memoirs, including We Mixed Our Drinks (1945), Come into The Sunlight (1957), and Passionate Friendships (1992), in which she openly discussed her bisexuality.

While there may be limited information about Shute, her writings and the glimpses they offer shed light on her unique journey. She believed that bisexuality was not solely for the young, dispelling the misconception that it was a phase or a temporary exploration. As she aged, she proudly identified as bisexual, defying stereotypes and expressing her attraction to both men and women.

She passed away in 2004, leaving behind a legacy as a colorful and openly bisexual writer who fearlessly explored her own life and relationships through her works.