Editing Ngaio Marsh (section)

==Youth==
[[File:Ngaio Marsh, ca 1905.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Ngaio Marsh with her two dolls {{circa}} 1905]]
[[File:Ngaio Marsh, between 1910 and 1914.jpg|thumb|upright|Ngaio Marsh (school prefect) in her [[St Margaret's College, Christchurch|St. Margaret's College]] school uniform, between 1910 and 1914]]

Marsh was born in the city of [[Christchurch]], New Zealand, where she also died. In the Introduction to ''The Collected Short Fiction of Ngaio Marsh'', Douglas G. Greene writes:  "Marsh explained to an interviewer... that in New Zealand European children often receive native names, and Ngaio... can mean either 'light on the water' or '[[Anagotus stephenensis|little tree bug]]' in the Māori language.  Other sources say that it is the [[Myoporum laetum|name of a native flowering tree]]."<ref name="ReferenceB">''The Collected Short Fiction of Ngaio Marsh'' ed. by Douglas G. Green, International Polygonnics, Ltd., 1989</ref> Her father neglected to register her birth until 1900 and there is some uncertainty about the date.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia | title=Ngaio Marsh (New Zealand author) | encyclopedia=Britannica Online Encyclopedia | url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/366493/Ngaio-Marsh  | access-date=2 January 2012}}</ref> She was the only child of Rose and bank clerk Henry Marsh, described by Marsh as "have-nots".<ref name="nzherald1">{{cite news |url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=10528865 |title=The mystery of the crime writer – Entertainment – NZ Herald News |publisher=Nzherald.co.nz |access-date=3 June 2015}}</ref> Her mother's sister Ruth married the geologist, lecturer, and curator [[Robert Speight]].<ref>{{DNZB|last=Gage|first=Maxwell|id=3s30|title=Robert Speight|access-date=23 April 2017}}</ref>

Ngaio Marsh was educated at [[St Margaret's College, Christchurch|St Margaret's College]] in Christchurch, where she was one of the first pupils when the school was founded. She studied [[painting]] at the [[University of Canterbury|Canterbury College]] (NZ) School of Art before joining the [[Allan Wilkie]] company as an actress in 1916 and touring New Zealand.<ref name="CR"/> For a short time in 1921 she was a member of the Rosemary Rees English Comedy Company, a touring company formed by actor-manager [[Rosemary Frances Rees|Rosemary Rees]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/theatre-companies-and-producers/page-2|title=Theatre Companies and Producers. Ngaio Marsh|last=Derby|first=Mark|date=22 October 2014|website=Te Ara – The Encyclopedia of New Zealand|access-date=25 October 2019}}</ref>

In 1928 Marsh went to London with friends (on whom she would base the Lamprey family [''[[Surfeit of Lampreys]]'']).<ref name="ReferenceB"/>  From then on she divided her time between living in New Zealand and the United Kingdom.<ref name="DNZB Marsh">{{DNZB|last=Stafford|first=Jane|id=4M42|title=Marsh, Edith Ngaio|access-date=10 July 2011}}</ref> In London she began writing syndicated articles, which were published in New Zealand.<ref name="ReferenceB"/> In addition she and one of the friends with whom she had come to London opened Touch and Go, a handicraft shop that sold items such as decorated trays, bowls and lampshades.<ref name="ReferenceB"/> From 1928 to 1932 she ran the shop in Knightsbridge, London.<ref name="ReferenceA">Book and Magazine Collector No.263 2005 Ngaio Marsh biography and bibliography pp.90–92</ref> During that time she wrote her first book, ''[[A Man Lay Dead]]''.  She wrote about the process of writing her first book in an essay, "Roderick Alleyn".<ref>''The Collected Short Fiction of Ngaio Marsh'' ed. by Douglas G. Green, International Polygonnics, Ltd, 1989</ref>

Marsh was a member of [[The Group (New Zealand art)|The Group]], an art association based in [[Christchurch]], New Zealand. She exhibited with them in 1927, 1928, 1935, 1936, 1938, 1940 and 1947.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://christchurchcitylibraries.com/heritage/publications/art/thegroup/bibliography/|title=The Group 1927 – 1977: an annotated bibliography – Heritage – Christchurch City Libraries|website=christchurchcitylibraries.com|language=en|access-date=6 October 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://christchurchartgallery.org.nz/about/library/the-group|title=Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu|website=christchurchartgallery.org.nz|access-date=6 October 2017}}</ref>