1. Overview
Jenifer Hart (née Jenifer Margaret Fischer Williams; 31 January 1914 - 19 March 2005) was a prominent English civil servant, historian, and academic. Her career spanned significant roles in the British Civil Service and at Oxford University, where she was a research fellow and college fellow. In her later life, Hart faced allegations of having been a spy for the Soviet Union during her early career, a claim she consistently denied. These accusations, which became public in the 1980s, brought considerable media attention and personal stress to her and her husband, the renowned legal philosopher H. L. A. Hart. Her life was marked by intellectual pursuits, public service, and the enduring controversy surrounding her alleged communist associations.
2. Early Life and Education
Jenifer Hart's early life was shaped by her family's background and her education in both France and England, which laid the foundation for her later academic and professional achievements.
2.1. Birth and Family
Jenifer Margaret Fischer Williams was born on 31 January 1914, the third of five daughters. Her father, John Fischer Williams, was a barrister, while her mother, (Eleanor) Marjorie Hay (née Murray, 1880-1961), was a painter and a descendant of John Murray, 3rd Duke of Atholl. Her sister, Judith Hubback, became a notable analytical psychologist and sociologist. Jenifer also had a younger sister named Mariella.
2.2. Early Education
Due to her father's work in France, Hart received her early education in Paris, attending the Lycée Molière and Cours Fénelon. She later continued her schooling in England at Downe House School in Newbury.
2.3. Oxford University
In 1932, Hart was admitted to Somerville College, Oxford, where she pursued studies in history. She distinguished herself academically, graduating with a first-class degree in 1935.
3. Career
Jenifer Hart's professional life was characterized by significant contributions to both public service and academia, navigating a societal landscape where women's professional aspirations were often met with skepticism.
3.1. Civil Service Career
In 1936, Hart embarked on a career in the British Civil Service. Her entry was particularly notable as she achieved higher marks in the civil service examinations than any woman before her. At the time, it was considered unusual for women to even aspire to a career in the Civil Service, making her achievement a significant milestone. She served as a private secretary to Sir Alexander Maxwell, who was the Permanent Under-Secretary at the Home Office. She resigned from the Civil Service in 1945.
3.2. Academic Career
After leaving the Civil Service, Hart transitioned into academia. She became a research fellow at Nuffield College, Oxford and later a Fellow of St Anne's College, Oxford, where she remained until 1981. During her time at St Anne's, she openly expressed her disappointment at not having been appointed Principal of the college. Among her notable pupils was Rose Dugdale, who later became a member of the IRA. Hart also served as a university representative on the Oxford City Council for a period.
4. Political Affiliation
Jenifer Hart's early political engagement was marked by her membership in the Communist Party of Great Britain, a decision that would later become a central point of controversy in her life.
4.1. Joining the Communist Party of Great Britain
In 1933, while still a student at Oxford University, Jenifer Hart made the decision to join the Communist Party of Great Britain. This affiliation occurred during a period of significant political and social upheaval, and her involvement with the party would be a subject of scrutiny decades later.
5. Marriage and Personal Life
Jenifer Hart's personal life was deeply intertwined with her marriage to H. L. A. Hart and her relationships with her children, including the challenges and complexities they faced.
5.1. Marriage to H. L. A. Hart
In 1941, Jenifer married H. L. A. Hart, a distinguished legal philosopher. Their marriage was a partnership of two intellectuals, though it also had its complexities. In 1945, Jenifer resigned from the Civil Service when her husband became a Fellow of New College, Oxford. Later in his career, H. L. A. Hart became the Principal of Brasenose College, Oxford in 1973. Herbert Hart openly admitted to having little interest in sex and considered himself a "suppressed homosexual." At times, he suspected his wife of having affairs with other men, including the philosopher Isaiah Berlin. Their daughter quoted Herbert as saying, "The awkward thing about this marriage is that one of us doesn't like sex and the other doesn't like eating," highlighting the unique dynamics of their relationship. Herbert Hart died in 1992.
5.2. Children and Family
Jenifer and Herbert Hart had four children: one daughter and three sons. Their youngest son, Jacob, suffered brain damage at birth, and Jenifer formed a particularly strong and close relationship with him. The family home, Lamledra, located in Cornwall, was inherited by Jenifer and her younger sister Mariella, as it had been their parents' retirement residence. In 2011, Jenifer Hart's granddaughter, Mojo Mathers, made history by becoming New Zealand's first deaf Member of Parliament.
6. Spying Allegations
Jenifer Hart's later life was significantly impacted by accusations of espionage, which led to public scrutiny and personal distress, despite her consistent denials.
6.1. Allegations and Denial
Early in her career, Jenifer Hart admitted to having a meeting with Arnold Deutsch, a Soviet spymaster. However, she consistently denied that she was ever recruited as a spy or that she passed any confidential information to Deutsch or other members of the Communist Party. In 1983, a BBC program titled 'Timewatch' revealed that Hart had been interviewed in the 1960s by Peter Wright and other MI5 officers concerning her political activities. This revelation sparked controversy, particularly because her husband, H. L. A. Hart, had himself been a former intelligence officer.
6.2. Media and Legal Repercussions
The BBC revelations about her communist associations led to an article in The Sunday Times that explicitly referred to her as "a Russian spy." In response, Jenifer and Herbert Hart threatened to sue the newspaper, which subsequently printed an apology. The intense stress caused by these allegations and the ensuing media attention was attributed as the cause of Herbert Hart's nervous breakdown shortly thereafter.
7. Works
Jenifer Hart was the author of several published works, including her autobiography. Her contributions covered topics related to British institutions and political systems.
- The British Police (1951)
- Proportional Representation: critics of the British electoral system 1820-1945 (1992)
- Ask Me No More: An Autobiography (1998)
8. Death
Jenifer Hart died on 19 March 2005, at the age of 91, from heart failure at Radcliffe Infirmary in Oxford.
9. Legacy and Assessment
Jenifer Hart's life was a blend of significant intellectual and public service achievements, alongside the enduring shadow of espionage allegations. As a senior civil servant, she broke barriers for women in a male-dominated field, demonstrating exceptional capability. Her academic career at Oxford further solidified her reputation as a historian and scholar. However, the controversy surrounding her early membership in the Communist Party and the later accusations of spying became a defining aspect of her public image. Despite her consistent denials of ever having been a spy, the media scrutiny and the personal toll it took on her family, particularly her husband, highlight the complex interplay between individual political beliefs, public service, and national security concerns during the Cold War era. Her autobiography, Ask Me No More, offered her own account of these events, contributing to a nuanced understanding of her life and the historical period she lived through.