Jump to content

Walter Herries Pollock: Difference between revisions

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous edit
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
m cleanup extra text in page/pages/at/edition/ref parameters; convert some cite journal to cite magazine or news; using AWB
No edit summary
 
(18 intermediate revisions by 15 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2023}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2013}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2013}}
{{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox writer/doc]] -->
{{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox writer/doc]] -->
|name = Walter Herries Pollock
| name = Walter Herries Pollock
|image = Walter Herries Pollock.jpg
| image = Walter Herries Pollock.jpg
|caption = Caricature by "[[Leslie Ward|Spy]]"<ref>1892 [[Vanity Fair (British magazine 1868-1914)|Vanity Fair]] - 1892-12-31 by [[Leslie Ward]]</ref>
| caption = Caricature by "[[Leslie Ward|Spy]]"<ref>1892 [[Vanity Fair (British magazine 1868-1914)|Vanity Fair]] – 1892-12-31 by [[Leslie Ward]]</ref>
|birth_name =
| birth_name =
|pseudonym =
| pseudonym =
|birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1850|2|21}}
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1850|2|21}}
|birth_place = London, England, U.K.
| birth_place = London, England
|death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1926|2|21|1850|2|21}}
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1926|2|21|1850|2|21}}
|death_place =
| death_place =
|occupation = Writer, [[lecture]]r, poet, journalist
| occupation = Writer, [[lecture]]r, poet, journalist
|nationality = British
| nationality = British
|genre = [[Fiction]], [[poetry]], [[non-fiction]], [[essay]], [[literary criticism]]
| genre = [[Fiction]], [[poetry]], [[non-fiction]], [[essay]], [[literary criticism]]
|influences =
| influences =
|influenced =
| influenced =
|signature =
| signature =
|notableworks =
| notableworks =
|spouse=Emma Jane Pipon (1876–1922)
| spouse = {{marriage|Emma Jane Pipon|1876|1922|reason=her death}}
|children=Guy Cameron Pollock
| children = Guy Cameron Pollock
}}
}}
'''Walter Herries Pollock''' (21 February 1850 – 21 February 1926) was an English writer, poet, lecturer and journalist. He is best known as editor of the ''[[Saturday Review (London)|Saturday Review]]'', a position he held from 1884 to 1894, but also had published various miscellaneous writings that included novels, short stories, plays, poetry and translated works between 1877 and 1920. He was also, at one time, considered one of the best amateur fencers in Great Britain.<ref>Thimm, Carl Albert.''A Complete Bibliography of Fencing and Duelling'', London, 1896 [http://books.google.hu/books?id=VntzdRfNnQ4C&pg=PA227#v=onepage&q&f=false Fencing]</ref>
'''Walter Herries Pollock''' (21 February 1850 – 21 February 1926) was an English writer, poet, lecturer and journalist. He is best known as editor of the ''[[Saturday Review (London)|Saturday Review]]'', a position he held from 1884 to 1894, but also had published various miscellaneous writings that included novels, short stories, plays, poetry and translated works between 1877 and 1920. He was also, at one time, considered one of the best amateur fencers in Great Britain.<ref>Thimm, Carl Albert.''A Complete Bibliography of Fencing and Duelling'', London, 1896 [https://books.google.com/books?id=VntzdRfNnQ4C&pg=PA227 Fencing]</ref>


Pollock was well known in Britain's literary circles during the [[Victorian era]] and was close friends with a number of writers, including [[Robert Louis Stevenson]], [[Rudyard Kipling]], [[Oscar Wilde]], [[Egerton Castle]], [[W. E. Henley]] and [[Henry Irving]]. He was also involved in collaborations with [[Alexander Duffield]], Sir [[Walter Besant]], [[Andrew Lang]], [[F. C. Grove]] and [[Camille Prévost]] and [[Lilian Moubrey]].
Pollock was well known in Britain's literary circles during the [[Victorian era]] and was close friends with a number of writers, including [[Robert Louis Stevenson]], [[Rudyard Kipling]], [[Oscar Wilde]], [[Egerton Castle]], [[W. E. Henley]] and [[Henry Irving]]. He was also involved in collaborations with [[Alexander Duffield]], Sir [[Walter Besant]], [[Andrew Lang]], [[F. C. Grove]] and [[Camille Prévost]] and [[Lilian Moubrey]].


A member of the esteemed [[Clan Pollock|Pollock family]], he was the second son<ref>{{cite magazine|title=POLLOCK, Walter Herries|magazine=Who's Who|year=1907|volume= 59|page=1412|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=yEcuAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA1412}}</ref> of [[Sir William Frederick Pollock, 2nd Baronet]] and brother to lawyer [[Sir Frederick Pollock, 3rd Baronet]] and George Frederick Pollock. He in turn was the father of newspaperman Guy Cameron Pollock, a longtime journalist for the ''[[Evening Standard]]'' and ''[[Daily Express]]'', and managing editor of the ''[[Morning Post]]''.<ref name="Pinney">Pinney, Thomas, ed. ''The Letters of Rudyard Kipling: 1920-30''. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1990. (pg. 284) ISBN 0-87745-898-7</ref> Walter and Guy Pollock wrote a novel together in 1905.
A member of the esteemed [[Clan Pollock|Pollock family]], he was the second son<ref>{{cite magazine|title=POLLOCK, Walter Herries|magazine=Who's Who|year=1907|volume= 59|page=1412|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yEcuAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA1412}}</ref> of [[Sir William Frederick Pollock, 2nd Baronet]] and brother to lawyer [[Sir Frederick Pollock, 3rd Baronet]] and George Frederick Pollock. He in turn was the father of newspaperman Guy Cameron Pollock, a longtime journalist for the ''[[Evening Standard]]'' and ''[[Daily Express]]'', and managing editor of the ''[[Morning Post]]''.<ref name="Pinney">Pinney, Thomas, ed. ''The Letters of Rudyard Kipling: 1920-30''. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1990. (pg. 284) {{ISBN|0-87745-898-7}}</ref> Walter and Guy Pollock wrote a novel together in 1905.


==Biography==
==Biography==
Walter Pollock was born in London on 21 February 1850, the second son of [[Sir William Frederick Pollock, 2nd Baronet]].<ref name="Moon">Moon, G. Washington. ''Men and Women of the Time: A Dictionary of Contemporaries''. 13th ed. London: George Routledge & Sons, 1891. (pg. 726)</ref><ref name="Plarr">Plarr, Victor G. ''Men and Women of the Time: A Dictionary of Contemporaries''. 15th ed. London: George Routledge & Sons, 1899. (pg. 870)</ref><ref name="Patrick">Patrick, David, ed. ''Chambers's Encyclopaedia: A Dictionary of Universal Knowledge''. London and Edinburgh: W. & R. Chambers Ltd., 1926. (pg. 278)</ref><ref name="Burke">Burke, Edmund, ed. ''The Annual Register of World Events: A Review of the Year 1926''. Vol. 168. London: Longmans, Green and Co., 1927. (pg. 123)</ref> His great-grandfather, Mr. David Pollock, was a member of the [[British Royal Family|British]] [[royal court]] and [[saddle]]r to King [[George III]]. One of his grand-uncles, Sir David Pollock, was the [[chief justice]] of [[Bombay]], while another, [[Sir George Pollock, 1st Baronet|Sir George Pollock]], became a [[field marshal]]. His own father was an author and [[Queen's Remembrancer]] under [[Queen Victoria]] from 1874 to 1886, when the post was passed on to his brother George Frederick Pollock who continued to hold the title until the turn of the 20th century. His eldest brother, [[Sir Frederick Pollock, 3rd Baronet]], was a noted lawyer and frequently worked with him during his career.
Walter Pollock was born in London on 21 February 1850, the second son of [[Sir William Frederick Pollock, 2nd Baronet]].<ref name="Moon">Moon, G. Washington. ''Men and Women of the Time: A Dictionary of Contemporaries''. 13th ed. London: George Routledge & Sons, 1891. (pg. 726)</ref><ref name="Plarr">Plarr, Victor G. ''Men and Women of the Time: A Dictionary of Contemporaries''. 15th ed. London: George Routledge & Sons, 1899. (pg. 870)</ref><ref name="Patrick">Patrick, David, ed. ''Chambers's Encyclopaedia: A Dictionary of Universal Knowledge''. London and Edinburgh: W. & R. Chambers Ltd., 1926. (pg. 278)</ref><ref name="Burke">Burke, Edmund, ed. ''The Annual Register of World Events: A Review of the Year 1926''. Vol. 168. London: Longmans, Green and Co., 1927. (pg. 123)</ref> His great-grandfather, Mr. David Pollock, was a member of the [[British Royal Family|British]] [[royal court]] and [[saddle]]r to King [[George III]]. His grandfather was [[Sir Frederick Pollock, 1st Baronet]], Lord [[Chief Baron of the Exchequer]], a high judicial appointment of which he was the penultimate holder. One of his grand-uncles, Sir David Pollock, was the [[chief justice]] of [[Bombay]], while another, [[Sir George Pollock, 1st Baronet|Sir George Pollock]], became a [[field marshal]]. His own father was an author and [[Queen's Remembrancer]] under [[Queen Victoria]] from 1874 to 1886, when the post was passed on to his brother George Frederick Pollock who continued to hold the title until the turn of the 20th century. His eldest brother, [[Sir Frederick Pollock, 3rd Baronet]], was a noted lawyer and frequently worked with him during his career.


Educated at [[Eton College|Eton]] and [[Trinity College, Cambridge]],<ref>{{acad|id= PLK867WH|name=Pollock, Walter Herries}}</ref> he graduated with a [[Classical Tripos|classical degree]] in 1871 and was called to the bar at the [[Inner Temple]] three years later.<ref name="Patrick"/><ref name="Burke"/><ref name="Tyson">Tyson, Brian, ed. ''Bernard Shaw's Book Reviews: Originally Published in the Pall Mall Gazette from 1885 to 1888.'' University Park: Pennsylvania State Press, 1991. (pg. 345) ISBN 0-271-00721-4</ref> He developed an interest in literature and history and began lecturing at the [[Royal Institution|Royal Institution, London]]. Among the subjects he discussed included the works of [[Cardinal Richelieu|Richelieu]], [[Jean-Baptiste Colbert|Colbert]], [[Victor Hugo]], Sir [[Francis Drake]] and [[Théophile Gautier]]. In 1875, he joined the staff of the ''[[Saturday Review (London)|Saturday Review]]'' and became an assistant editor.<ref name="Moon"/> It was around this time that he began courting Emma Jane Pipon, daughter of Colonel Pipon, Seigneur de Noirmont of Jersey, and the two were married in [[Chester]] on 11 January 1876.<ref name="Plarr"/> Their first and only son, Guy Cameron Pollock, was born that same year.<ref name="Burke"/>
Educated at [[Eton College|Eton]] and [[Trinity College, Cambridge]],<ref>{{acad|id= PLK867WH|name=Pollock, Walter Herries}}</ref> he graduated with a [[Classical Tripos|classical degree]] in 1871 and was called to the bar at the [[Inner Temple]] three years later.<ref name="Patrick"/><ref name="Burke"/><ref name="Tyson">Tyson, Brian, ed. ''Bernard Shaw's Book Reviews: Originally Published in the Pall Mall Gazette from 1885 to 1888.'' University Park: Pennsylvania State Press, 1991. (pg. 345) {{ISBN|0-271-00721-4}}</ref> He developed an interest in literature and history and began lecturing at the [[Royal Institution|Royal Institution, London]]. Among the subjects he discussed included the works of [[Cardinal Richelieu|Richelieu]], [[Jean-Baptiste Colbert|Colbert]], [[Victor Hugo]], Sir [[Francis Drake]] and [[Théophile Gautier]]. In 1875, he joined the staff of the ''[[Saturday Review (London)|Saturday Review]]'' and became an assistant editor.<ref name="Moon"/> It was around this time that he began courting Emma Jane Pipon, daughter of Colonel Pipon, Seigneur de Noirmont of Jersey, and the two were married in [[Chester]] on 11 January 1876.<ref name="Plarr"/> Their first and only son, Guy Cameron Pollock, was born that same year.<ref name="Burke"/>


It was while working for the publication that he first began writing professionally and co-wrote ''Marston: A Story of these Modern Times'' with Alexander J. Duffield in 1877. He also published literary critical works such as ''The Modern French Theatre'' (1878)<ref name="Tyson"/> and ''Lectures on French Poets'' (1879), English-language translations of works by [[Alfred de Musset]]'s and [[Denis Diderot]], and a collection of poetic verses entitled ''Songs and Rhymes: English and French'' (1882) and ''Verses of Two Tongues'' (1884).<ref name="Moon"/><ref name="Plarr"/><ref name="Patrick"/>
It was while working for the publication that he first began writing professionally and co-wrote ''Marston: A Story of these Modern Times'' with Alexander J. Duffield in 1877. He also published literary critical works such as ''The Modern French Theatre'' (1878)<ref name="Tyson"/> and ''Lectures on French Poets'' (1879), English-language translations of works by [[Alfred de Musset]]'s and [[Denis Diderot]], and a collection of poetic verses entitled ''Songs and Rhymes: English and French'' (1882) and ''Verses of Two Tongues'' (1884).<ref name="Moon"/><ref name="Plarr"/><ref name="Patrick"/>


In 1884, Pollock succeeded [[Philip Harwood]] as editor of the ''Saturday Review'' and remained with the publication for the next 10 years.<ref name="Plarr"/><ref name="Patrick"/><ref name="UT">[[University of Texas]]. ''The University of Texas Studies in English''. Vol. 34. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1955. (pg. 166)</ref> He became close friends with many members of Victorian Britain's literary circle including [[Robert Louis Stevenson]], [[Rudyard Kipling]],<ref name="Pinney"/> [[Oscar Wilde]], [[Egerton Castle]],<ref name="Burke"/> [[W. E. Henley]] and [[Henry Irving]]. It is also alleged that he had an [[extramarital affair]] with English hostess [[Violet Hunt]].<ref>Hardwick, Joan. ''An Immodest Violet: The Life of Violet Hunt''. London: Andre Deutsch, 1990. (pg. 35) ISBN 0-233-98639-1</ref>
In 1884, Pollock succeeded [[Philip Harwood]] as editor of the ''Saturday Review'' and remained with the publication for the next 10 years.<ref name="Plarr"/><ref name="Patrick"/><ref name="UT">[[University of Texas]]. ''The University of Texas Studies in English''. Vol. 34. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1955. (pg. 166)</ref> He became close friends with many members of Victorian Britain's literary circle including [[Robert Louis Stevenson]], [[Rudyard Kipling]],<ref name="Pinney"/> [[Oscar Wilde]], [[Egerton Castle]],<ref name="Burke"/> [[W. E. Henley]] and [[Henry Irving]]. It is also alleged that he had an [[extramarital affair]] with English hostess [[Violet Hunt]].<ref>Hardwick, Joan. ''An Immodest Violet: The Life of Violet Hunt''. London: Andre Deutsch, 1990. (pg. 35) {{ISBN|0-233-98639-1}}</ref>


Another close friend and collaborator, [[Andrew Lang]], worked with Pollock on the ''Saturday Review''<ref>Green, Roger Lancelyn, ed. ''Rudyard Kipling''. London and New York: Routledge, 2000. (pg. 14) ISBN 0-415-15909-1</ref> and published many of Lang's anonymous reviews and "middle" articles.<ref name="UT"/> Pollock continued writing, mostly fiction and poetry, and co-authored ''Uncle Jack'' (1885) with Sir Walter Besant and ''He'' (1887) with Andrew Lang. By himself, he wrote ''A Nine Men's Morrice'' (1889), ''Old and New'' (1890), ''The Seal of Fate'' (1891) and ''King Zub, and Other Stories'' (1893). In addition, Pollock contributed 26 poems of "magazine verse" to ''Longman's'' from 1890 to 1905.<ref name="UT"/> He and Besant also wrote ''The Ballad-Monger'', a stage adaptation of [[Théodore Faullain de Banville]]'s ''Gringoire'', which was produced by [[Herbert Beerbohm Tree]] at the [[Haymarket Theatre]].<ref name="Moon"/><ref name="Plarr"/>
Another close friend and collaborator, [[Andrew Lang]], worked with Pollock on the ''Saturday Review''<ref>Green, Roger Lancelyn, ed. ''Rudyard Kipling''. London and New York: Routledge, 2000. (pg. 14) {{ISBN|0-415-15909-1}}</ref> and published many of Lang's anonymous reviews and "middle" articles.<ref name="UT"/> Pollock continued writing, mostly fiction and poetry, and co-authored ''Uncle Jack'' (1885) with Sir Walter Besant and ''He'' (1887) with Andrew Lang. By himself, he wrote ''A Nine Men's Morrice'' (1889), ''Old and New'' (1890), ''The Seal of Fate'' (1891) and ''King Zub, and Other Stories'' (1893). In addition, Pollock contributed 26 poems of "magazine verse" to ''Longman's'' from 1890 to 1905.<ref name="UT"/> He and Besant also wrote ''The Ballad-Monger'', a stage adaptation of [[Théodore Faullain de Banville]]'s ''Gringoire'', which was produced by [[Herbert Beerbohm Tree]] at the [[Haymarket Theatre]].<ref name="Moon"/><ref name="Plarr"/>


In 1894, Pollock left the ''Saturday Review''<ref name="Tyson"/><ref name="Orel">Orel, Harold. ''Kipling, Interviews and Recollections''. Vol. 1. Totowa, New Jersey: Barnes & Noble, 1983. (pg. 117) ISBN 0-389-20275-4</ref> and went to live at [[Chawton]] in [[Hampshire]] to devote himself to writing full-time. He wrote novels on German student life, at least one book in French, ''Monsieur le Marquis de -- (1780-1793), Memoires Inédits Recueillis'' (1894), various plays, and also made several excursions into [[belles-lettres]].<ref name="Burke"/> A second collaboration with Sir Walter Besant produced ''The Charm and Other Drawing-Room Plays'' (1896).<ref name="Tyson"/> The next year, he co-wrote ''Fencing'' (1897) as part of the Badminton series with F. C. Grove and Camille Prévost (Pollock then being considered the finest amateur [[fencing|fencer]] in Britain)<ref name="Moon"/> as well as ''King and Artist: A Romantic Play in Five Acts'' (1897) with Lilian Moubrey.<ref name="Plarr"/>
In 1894, Pollock left the ''Saturday Review''<ref name="Tyson"/><ref name="Orel">Orel, Harold. ''Kipling, Interviews and Recollections''. Vol. 1. Totowa, New Jersey: Barnes & Noble, 1983. (pg. 117) {{ISBN|0-389-20275-4}}</ref> and went to live at [[Chawton]] in [[Hampshire]] to devote himself to writing full-time. He wrote novels on German student life, at least one book in French, ''Monsieur le Marquis de -- (1780–1793), Memoires Inédits Recueillis'' (1894), various plays, and also made several excursions into [[belles-lettres]].<ref name="Burke"/> A second collaboration with Sir Walter Besant produced ''The Charm and Other Drawing-Room Plays'' (1896).<ref name="Tyson"/> The next year, he co-wrote ''Fencing'' (1897) as part of the Badminton series with F. C. Grove and Camille Prévost (Pollock then being considered the finest amateur [[fencing|fencer]] in Britain)<ref name="Moon"/> as well as ''King and Artist: A Romantic Play in Five Acts'' (1897) with Lilian Moubrey.<ref name="Plarr"/>


Two years later, he wrote ''Jane Austen: Her Contemporaries and Herself'' (1899),<ref name="Tyson"/> considered one of the most important works of literary criticism on the female author,<ref name="Orel"/> and published a revised edition of Watts Phillips' ''The Dead Heart: A Story of the French Revolution'' (1900). He and his son Guy Cameron Pollock wrote a novel together, ''Hay Fever'' (1905),<ref name="Tyson"/> and wrote biographies of two of his friends titled ''Impressions of Henry Irving'' (1908) and ''The Art of the Hon. John Collier'' (1914). His final book was ''Icarian Flights'' (1920). His wife died in 1922; afterwards she was said to have been the inspiration for his poetry.<ref name="Burke"/> Pollock lived in retirement until his own death on 21 February 1926.<ref name="Patrick"/>
Two years later, he wrote ''Jane Austen: Her Contemporaries and Herself'' (1899),<ref name="Tyson"/> considered one of the most important works of literary criticism on the female author,<ref name="Orel"/> and published a revised edition of Watts Phillips' ''The Dead Heart: A Story of the French Revolution'' (1900). He and his son Guy Cameron Pollock wrote a novel together, ''Hay Fever'' (1905),<ref name="Tyson"/> and wrote biographies of two of his friends titled ''Impressions of Henry Irving'' (1908) and ''The Art of the Hon. John Collier'' (1914). His final book was ''Icarian Flights'' (1920). His wife died in 1922; afterwards she was said to have been the inspiration for his poetry.<ref name="Burke"/> Pollock lived in retirement until his own death on 21 February 1926.<ref name="Patrick"/>


== Fencing ==
== Fencing ==
Together with his elder brother [[Sir Frederick Pollock, 3rd Baronet|Sir Frederick]], he participated in the first English revival of [[historical fencing]], originated by [[Alfred Hutton]] and his colleagues [[Egerton Castle]], Captain Carl Thimm, Colonel Cyril Matthey, Captain Percy Rolt, Captain Ernest George Stenson Cooke, Captain Frank Herbert Whittow.<ref>Thimm, Carl Albert. ''A Complete Bibliography of Fencing and Duelling'', London, 1896 [http://books.google.hu/books?id=VntzdRfNnQ4C&pg=PR9#v=onepage&f=false Preface]</ref>
Together with his elder brother [[Sir Frederick Pollock, 3rd Baronet|Sir Frederick]], he participated in the first English revival of [[historical fencing]], originated by [[Alfred Hutton]] and his colleagues [[Egerton Castle]], Captain Carl Thimm, Colonel Cyril Matthey, Captain Percy Rolt, Captain Ernest George Stenson Cooke, Captain Frank Herbert Whittow.<ref>Thimm, Carl Albert. ''A Complete Bibliography of Fencing and Duelling'', London, 1896 [https://books.google.com/books?id=VntzdRfNnQ4C&pg=PR9 Preface]</ref>


==Bibliography==
==Bibliography==
Line 73: Line 73:
*''The Art of the Hon. John Collier'' (1914)
*''The Art of the Hon. John Collier'' (1914)
*''Icarian Flights'' (1920)
*''Icarian Flights'' (1920)

*''Fencing'', co-written with F.C. Grove and [[Camille Prévost]] (1889)<ref>The Badminton library of sports and pastimes. With a complete bibliography of the art by Egerton Castle, Boxing by E.B. Michell, Wrestling by Walter Armstrong. With illustrations from instantaneous photograph.</ref>
*''Fencing'', co-written with F.C. Grove and [[Camille Prévost]] (1889)<ref>The Badminton library of sports and pastimes. With a complete bibliography of the art by Egerton Castle, Boxing by E.B. Michell, Wrestling by Walter Armstrong. With illustrations from instantaneous photograph.</ref>


Line 82: Line 81:
==External links==
==External links==
{{Wikisource author}}
{{Wikisource author}}
* {{cite EB1911|wstitle= Pollock |volume= 22 | page = 06 |short= 1}}
* {{Gutenberg author | id=Pollock,+Walter+Herries }}
* {{Gutenberg author | id=31440}}
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Walter Herries Pollock}}
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Walter Herries Pollock}}
* {{Librivox author |id=804}}
* {{Librivox author |id=804}}
* {{NPG name}}

{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}


Line 93: Line 93:
[[Category:Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge]]
[[Category:Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge]]
[[Category:English male journalists]]
[[Category:English male journalists]]
[[Category:English poets]]
[[Category:English male poets]]
[[Category:20th-century English novelists]]
[[Category:20th-century English novelists]]
[[Category:English science fiction writers]]
[[Category:English science fiction writers]]
Line 100: Line 100:
[[Category:Writers from London]]
[[Category:Writers from London]]
[[Category:People educated at Eton College]]
[[Category:People educated at Eton College]]
⚫
[[Category:British male poets]]
[[Category:English male short story writers]]
[[Category:English male short story writers]]
[[Category:English male novelists]]
[[Category:English male novelists]]
[[Category:Younger sons of baronets]]
⚫
[[Category:People from Chawton]]

Latest revision as of 23:13, 29 March 2024

Walter Herries Pollock
Caricature by "Spy"[1]
Caricature by "Spy"[1]
Born(1850-02-21)21 February 1850
London, England
Died21 February 1926(1926-02-21) (aged 76)
OccupationWriter, lecturer, poet, journalist
NationalityBritish
GenreFiction, poetry, non-fiction, essay, literary criticism
Spouse
Emma Jane Pipon
​
​
(m. 1876; died 1922)​
ChildrenGuy Cameron Pollock

Walter Herries Pollock (21 February 1850 – 21 February 1926) was an English writer, poet, lecturer and journalist. He is best known as editor of the Saturday Review, a position he held from 1884 to 1894, but also had published various miscellaneous writings that included novels, short stories, plays, poetry and translated works between 1877 and 1920. He was also, at one time, considered one of the best amateur fencers in Great Britain.[2]

Pollock was well known in Britain's literary circles during the Victorian era and was close friends with a number of writers, including Robert Louis Stevenson, Rudyard Kipling, Oscar Wilde, Egerton Castle, W. E. Henley and Henry Irving. He was also involved in collaborations with Alexander Duffield, Sir Walter Besant, Andrew Lang, F. C. Grove and Camille Prévost and Lilian Moubrey.

A member of the esteemed Pollock family, he was the second son[3] of Sir William Frederick Pollock, 2nd Baronet and brother to lawyer Sir Frederick Pollock, 3rd Baronet and George Frederick Pollock. He in turn was the father of newspaperman Guy Cameron Pollock, a longtime journalist for the Evening Standard and Daily Express, and managing editor of the Morning Post.[4] Walter and Guy Pollock wrote a novel together in 1905.

Biography

[edit]

Walter Pollock was born in London on 21 February 1850, the second son of Sir William Frederick Pollock, 2nd Baronet.[5][6][7][8] His great-grandfather, Mr. David Pollock, was a member of the British royal court and saddler to King George III. His grandfather was Sir Frederick Pollock, 1st Baronet, Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer, a high judicial appointment of which he was the penultimate holder. One of his grand-uncles, Sir David Pollock, was the chief justice of Bombay, while another, Sir George Pollock, became a field marshal. His own father was an author and Queen's Remembrancer under Queen Victoria from 1874 to 1886, when the post was passed on to his brother George Frederick Pollock who continued to hold the title until the turn of the 20th century. His eldest brother, Sir Frederick Pollock, 3rd Baronet, was a noted lawyer and frequently worked with him during his career.

Educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge,[9] he graduated with a classical degree in 1871 and was called to the bar at the Inner Temple three years later.[7][8][10] He developed an interest in literature and history and began lecturing at the Royal Institution, London. Among the subjects he discussed included the works of Richelieu, Colbert, Victor Hugo, Sir Francis Drake and Théophile Gautier. In 1875, he joined the staff of the Saturday Review and became an assistant editor.[5] It was around this time that he began courting Emma Jane Pipon, daughter of Colonel Pipon, Seigneur de Noirmont of Jersey, and the two were married in Chester on 11 January 1876.[6] Their first and only son, Guy Cameron Pollock, was born that same year.[8]

It was while working for the publication that he first began writing professionally and co-wrote Marston: A Story of these Modern Times with Alexander J. Duffield in 1877. He also published literary critical works such as The Modern French Theatre (1878)[10] and Lectures on French Poets (1879), English-language translations of works by Alfred de Musset's and Denis Diderot, and a collection of poetic verses entitled Songs and Rhymes: English and French (1882) and Verses of Two Tongues (1884).[5][6][7]

In 1884, Pollock succeeded Philip Harwood as editor of the Saturday Review and remained with the publication for the next 10 years.[6][7][11] He became close friends with many members of Victorian Britain's literary circle including Robert Louis Stevenson, Rudyard Kipling,[4] Oscar Wilde, Egerton Castle,[8] W. E. Henley and Henry Irving. It is also alleged that he had an extramarital affair with English hostess Violet Hunt.[12]

Another close friend and collaborator, Andrew Lang, worked with Pollock on the Saturday Review[13] and published many of Lang's anonymous reviews and "middle" articles.[11] Pollock continued writing, mostly fiction and poetry, and co-authored Uncle Jack (1885) with Sir Walter Besant and He (1887) with Andrew Lang. By himself, he wrote A Nine Men's Morrice (1889), Old and New (1890), The Seal of Fate (1891) and King Zub, and Other Stories (1893). In addition, Pollock contributed 26 poems of "magazine verse" to Longman's from 1890 to 1905.[11] He and Besant also wrote The Ballad-Monger, a stage adaptation of Théodore Faullain de Banville's Gringoire, which was produced by Herbert Beerbohm Tree at the Haymarket Theatre.[5][6]

In 1894, Pollock left the Saturday Review[10][14] and went to live at Chawton in Hampshire to devote himself to writing full-time. He wrote novels on German student life, at least one book in French, Monsieur le Marquis de -- (1780–1793), Memoires Inédits Recueillis (1894), various plays, and also made several excursions into belles-lettres.[8] A second collaboration with Sir Walter Besant produced The Charm and Other Drawing-Room Plays (1896).[10] The next year, he co-wrote Fencing (1897) as part of the Badminton series with F. C. Grove and Camille Prévost (Pollock then being considered the finest amateur fencer in Britain)[5] as well as King and Artist: A Romantic Play in Five Acts (1897) with Lilian Moubrey.[6]

Two years later, he wrote Jane Austen: Her Contemporaries and Herself (1899),[10] considered one of the most important works of literary criticism on the female author,[14] and published a revised edition of Watts Phillips' The Dead Heart: A Story of the French Revolution (1900). He and his son Guy Cameron Pollock wrote a novel together, Hay Fever (1905),[10] and wrote biographies of two of his friends titled Impressions of Henry Irving (1908) and The Art of the Hon. John Collier (1914). His final book was Icarian Flights (1920). His wife died in 1922; afterwards she was said to have been the inspiration for his poetry.[8] Pollock lived in retirement until his own death on 21 February 1926.[7]

Fencing

[edit]

Together with his elder brother Sir Frederick, he participated in the first English revival of historical fencing, originated by Alfred Hutton and his colleagues Egerton Castle, Captain Carl Thimm, Colonel Cyril Matthey, Captain Percy Rolt, Captain Ernest George Stenson Cooke, Captain Frank Herbert Whittow.[15]

Bibliography

[edit]
  • Marston: A Story of these Modern Times (1877, co-written with Alexander J. Duffield)
  • The Modern French Theatre (1878)
  • Lectures on French Poets (1879)
  • The Poet and the Muse (1880)
  • Songs and Rhymes: English and French (1882)
  • The Picture's Secret (1883)
  • Paradox of Acting (1883)
  • Verses of Two Tongues (1884)
  • Uncle Jack (1885, co-written with Sir Walter Besant)
  • He (1887, co-written with Andrew Lang)
  • A Nine Men's Morrice (1889)
  • Old and New (1890)
  • The Seal of Fate (1891)
  • King Zub, and Other Stories (1893)
  • Monsieur le Marquis de -- (1780–1793), Memoires Inédits Recueillis (1894)
  • The Charm, and Other Drawing-Room Plays (1896)
  • Fencing (1897, co-written with F. C. Grove and Camille Prévost)
  • King and Artist: A Romantic Play in Five Acts (1897, co-written with Lilian Moubrey)
  • The Were-Wolf: A Romantic Play in One Act (1898)
  • Jane Austen, her Contemporaries and Herself (1899)
  • The Dead Heart: A Story of the French Revolution (1900, co-written with Watts Phillips)
  • Animals That Have Owned Us (1904)
  • Hay Fever (1905, co-written with Guy C. Pollock)
  • Sealed Orders and Other Poems (1907)
  • Impressions of Henry Irving (1908)
  • The Art of the Hon. John Collier (1914)
  • Icarian Flights (1920)
  • Fencing, co-written with F.C. Grove and Camille Prévost (1889)[16]

References

[edit]
Wikisource reference This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Cousin, John William (1910). A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature. London: J. M. Dent & Sons – via Wikisource.
  1. ^ 1892 Vanity Fair – 1892-12-31 by Leslie Ward
  2. ^ Thimm, Carl Albert.A Complete Bibliography of Fencing and Duelling, London, 1896 Fencing
  3. ^ "POLLOCK, Walter Herries". Who's Who. Vol. 59. 1907. p. 1412.
  4. ^ a b Pinney, Thomas, ed. The Letters of Rudyard Kipling: 1920-30. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1990. (pg. 284) ISBN 0-87745-898-7
  5. ^ a b c d e Moon, G. Washington. Men and Women of the Time: A Dictionary of Contemporaries. 13th ed. London: George Routledge & Sons, 1891. (pg. 726)
  6. ^ a b c d e f Plarr, Victor G. Men and Women of the Time: A Dictionary of Contemporaries. 15th ed. London: George Routledge & Sons, 1899. (pg. 870)
  7. ^ a b c d e Patrick, David, ed. Chambers's Encyclopaedia: A Dictionary of Universal Knowledge. London and Edinburgh: W. & R. Chambers Ltd., 1926. (pg. 278)
  8. ^ a b c d e f Burke, Edmund, ed. The Annual Register of World Events: A Review of the Year 1926. Vol. 168. London: Longmans, Green and Co., 1927. (pg. 123)
  9. ^ "Pollock, Walter Herries (PLK867WH)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  10. ^ a b c d e f Tyson, Brian, ed. Bernard Shaw's Book Reviews: Originally Published in the Pall Mall Gazette from 1885 to 1888. University Park: Pennsylvania State Press, 1991. (pg. 345) ISBN 0-271-00721-4
  11. ^ a b c University of Texas. The University of Texas Studies in English. Vol. 34. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1955. (pg. 166)
  12. ^ Hardwick, Joan. An Immodest Violet: The Life of Violet Hunt. London: Andre Deutsch, 1990. (pg. 35) ISBN 0-233-98639-1
  13. ^ Green, Roger Lancelyn, ed. Rudyard Kipling. London and New York: Routledge, 2000. (pg. 14) ISBN 0-415-15909-1
  14. ^ a b Orel, Harold. Kipling, Interviews and Recollections. Vol. 1. Totowa, New Jersey: Barnes & Noble, 1983. (pg. 117) ISBN 0-389-20275-4
  15. ^ Thimm, Carl Albert. A Complete Bibliography of Fencing and Duelling, London, 1896 Preface
  16. ^ The Badminton library of sports and pastimes. With a complete bibliography of the art by Egerton Castle, Boxing by E.B. Michell, Wrestling by Walter Armstrong. With illustrations from instantaneous photograph.
[edit]
Wikisource has original works by or about:
Walter Herries Pollock
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Walter_Herries_Pollock&oldid=1216247556"