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J. D. Beresford

May 04, 2024

John Davys Beresford (17 March 1873 – 2 February 1947) was an English writer, now remembered mainly for his early science fiction and some short stories of the horror story and ghost story genres. Beresford was a great admirer of H.G. Wells, and wrote the first critical study of Wells in 1915.[1] His Wellsian novel The Hampdenshire Wonder (1911) was a major influence for the author Olaf Stapledon.[2] His other science-fiction novels include The Riddle of the Tower, about a dystopian, hive-like society.[3]

J.D. Beresford
BornJohn Davys Beresford
(1873-03-17)17 March 1873
Died2 February 1947(1947-02-02) (aged 73)
GenreScience fiction, horror, ghost stories, mystery novel
ChildrenElisabeth Beresford
Marcus Beresford (a.k.a. Marc Brandel)

Life edit

His father, John James Beresford (1821 - 1897),[4] was a clergyman in Castor, now in Cambridgeshire near Peterborough. His mother was Adelaide Elizabeth Morgan (1837 - 1902).[5] J. D. Beresford was affected by infantile paralysis, which left him partially disabled.[6][7] He was educated at Oundle.

After training to become an architect, he became a professional writer, first as a dramatist, and journalist. During early adulthood, he rejected his father's theism and became a "determined but defensive" agnostic.[8] He combined a life in Edwardian literary London with time spent in the provinces, in particular Cornwall, where D. H. Lawrence had an extended stay in his Porthcothan cottage. Later in life Beresford abandoned his earlier agnosticism and described himself as a Theosophist and a pacifist.[6]

Beresford was also interested in psychology, and attended several meetings organised by Alfred Richard Orage to discuss psychological issues. Other attendees at these meetings included Havelock Ellis, Clifford Sharp, David Eder and Maurice Nicoll.[9]

Beresford also contributed to numerous publications; in addition to being a book reviewer for The Manchester Guardian, he also wrote for the New Statesman,[10] The Spectator, Westminster Gazette, and the Theosophist magazine The Aryan Path.[11] At one time, Beresford was offered the editorship of the pacifist magazine Peace News but refused because he claimed he "would be a bad editor".[12]

Beresford's interest with spiritualism and philosophy may be illustrated best by the publisher's notes to his novel, On A Huge Hill:

"Mr Beresford's readers have long known that that for him there are more things in heaven or earth than are dreamt of in official medical philosophy. He has used his novelist's skill to convince the sensitive reader that the age of miracles is not over, and that, in certain circumstances, the spirit may exercise what seem to us miraculous powers over the substance of the body. This he did in 'The Camberwell Miracle' and 'Peckover'; and in this absorbing novel, he returns to the theme, with the study of a man fitting himself to become a great healer."

Dorothy L. Sayers quotes from Beresford's essay "Writing Aloud" in her book on theology, Mind of the Maker.[13] She also mentions him in passing in Whose Body?.[14]

George Orwell in 1945 described him as a "natural novelist", whose strength, particularly in A Candidate For Truth, was his ability to take seriously the problems of ordinary people.[15]

Elisabeth Beresford (1926–2010), children's writer and creator of The Wombles, was his daughter. Through his son, writer Marc Brandel (Marcus Beresford),[16] he is the great-grandfather of American actors Griffin Newman and James Newman.

He was married twice, first to Florence Linda Brown (1870 - 1916) and then to Eveline "Trissy" Beatrice Auford Roskams (1880 - 1975)[17]

Works edit

  • The Early History of Jacob Stahl (1911), the first of a trilogy of novels with A Candidate For Truth and The Invisible Event
  • The Hampdenshire Wonder (1911) Novel
  • A Candidate For Truth (1912)
  • Goslings: A World of Women (1913) Novel
  • The House In Demetrius Road (1914) Novel
  • The Invisible Event (1915) Novel
  • H.G. Wells (1915) criticism
  • These Lynneskers (1916) Novel
  • William Elphinstone Ford (1917) biography, with Kenneth Richmond
  • House Mates (1917) Novel
  • Nineteen Impressions (1918) stories
  • God's Counterpoint (1918) Novel
  • The Jervaise Comedy (1919) Novel
  • The Imperfect Mother (1920) Novel
  • Signs and Wonders (1921, Golden Cockerel Press) stories
  • Revolution (1921) Novel
  • The Prisoners of Hartling (1922) Novel
  • The Imperturbable Duchess and Other Stories (1923)
  • Monkey Puzzle (1925)
  • That Kind of Man, or Almost Pagan (1926) Novel
  • The Decoy (1927) Novel
  • The Instrument of Destiny (1928) mystery novel
  • All or Nothing (1928) Novel
  • Real People (1929) Novel
  • The Meeting Place and Other Stories (1929)
  • Love's Illusion (1930)
  • The Next Generation (1932) Novel
  • The Old People (1932) Novel
  • The Camberwell Miracle (1933) novel
  • Peckover (1934) Novel
  • On A Huge Hill (1935) Novel
  • Blackthorn Winter and other stories (1936)
  • Cleo (1937) Novel
  • What Dreams May Come (1941) Novel
  • A Common Enemy (1941) Novel
  • Men in the Same Boat (1943) (with Esmé Wynne-Tyson)
  • The Riddle of the Tower (1944) (with Esmé Wynne-Tyson) (reprinted by Solar Press in 2023)
  • The Gift (1947) (with Esmé Wynne-Tyson)
  • The Prisoner
  • Love's Pilgrim
  • The Tapestry

References edit

  1. ^ Michael R. Page, The Literary Imagination from Erasmus Darwin to H.G. Wells:Science, Evolution, and Ecology Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2012 (p. 191) ISBN 1409438694.
  2. ^ Brian Stableford, The Hampdenshire Wonder in Frank N. Magill, ed. Survey of Science Fiction Literature, Vol. 2. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Salem Press, 1979. pp. 945–949. ISBN 0-89356-194-0
  3. ^ Brian Stableford, The Riddle of the Tower in Frank N. Magill, ed. Survey of Science Fiction Literature, Vol. 4. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Salem Press, 1979. pp. 1780–1783. ISBN 0-89356-194-0
  4. ^ "John Davys Beresford 1873-1947 - Ancestry®".
  5. ^ "John Davys Beresford 1873-1947 - Ancestry®".
  6. ^ a b Stanley J. Kunitz and Howard Haycraft, Twentieth Century Authors, A Biographical Dictionary of Modern Literature, (Third Edition). New York, The H.W. Wilson Company, 1950, (p.p. 130-1)
  7. ^ George M. Johnson, J. D. Beresford. Twayne Publishers, 1998 ISBN 0805770399. (p.2)
  8. ^ SF Encyclopedia article
  9. ^ Mathew Thompson, Psychological Subjects: Identity, Culture, and Health in Twentieth-Century Britain. Oxford University Press, 2006. ISBN 0199287805 (p. 78-80).
  10. ^ Bashir Abu-Manneh, Fiction of the New Statesman: 1913 – 1939, Lexington Books, 2011 ISBN 1611493528. (p. 37)
  11. ^ Johnson, ( p.177)
  12. ^ Johnson, p. 30.
  13. ^ Dorothy L. Sayers, Mind of the Maker, Continuum, 2005 ISBN 0826476783 (p. 25). Reprint of 1941 edition.
  14. ^ Dorothy L. Sayers, Whose Body?, Gollancz, 1947 (p. 141). Reprint of 1928 first edition.
  15. ^ "Good Bad Books" Tribune 2 November 1945
  16. ^ Joseph F. Clarke (1977). Pseudonyms. BCA. p. 26.
  17. ^ "John Davys Beresford 1873-1947 - Ancestry®".
  • Bleiler, Everett (1948). The Checklist of Fantastic Literature. Chicago: Shasta Publishers. p. 49.

Further reading edit

  • Frank Swinnerton, "Oliver Onions and J.D. Beresford", in The Georgian literary scene, 1910–1935. London, : London, Heinemann (1935).
  • George M. Johnson, “J.D. Beresford.” Dictionary of Literary Biography. British Short-Fiction Writers 1915–1945. Ed. John H. Rogers. Detroit: Gale Research (1996).
  • Richard Bleiler, "John Davys Beresford" in Darren Harris-Fain, ed. British Fantasy and Science Fiction Writers Before World War I. Detroit, MI: Gale Research, (1997).
  • George M. Johnson, J.D. Beresford New York : Twayne Publishers. (1998)
  • George M. Johnson, “J.D. Beresford.” Dictionary of Literary Biography. Late-Victorian and Edwardian British Novelists, Second Series. Ed. George M. Johnson. Detroit: Gale Research, (1999).
  • George M. Johnson, Dynamic Psychology in Modernist British Fiction. Palgrave Macmillan, U.K., 2006.
  • George M. Johnson, “The Other Side of Edwardian Fiction: Two Forgotten Fantasy Novels of 1911.” Wormwood: Literature of the fantastic, supernatural and decadent. U.K., No. 16 (Spring 2011) 3–15.
  • George M. Johnson, “Evil is in the Eye of the Beholder: Threatening Children in Two Edwardian Speculative Satires.” Science Fiction Studies. Vol. 41, No.1 (March 2014): 26–44.

External links edit

May 04, 2024
beresford, john, davys, beresford, march, 1873, february, 1947, english, writer, remembered, mainly, early, science, fiction, some, short, stories, horror, story, ghost, story, genres, beresford, great, admirer, wells, wrote, first, critical, study, wells, 191. John Davys Beresford 17 March 1873 2 February 1947 was an English writer now remembered mainly for his early science fiction and some short stories of the horror story and ghost story genres Beresford was a great admirer of H G Wells and wrote the first critical study of Wells in 1915 1 His Wellsian novel The Hampdenshire Wonder 1911 was a major influence for the author Olaf Stapledon 2 His other science fiction novels include The Riddle of the Tower about a dystopian hive like society 3 J D BeresfordBornJohn Davys Beresford 1873 03 17 17 March 1873Died2 February 1947 1947 02 02 aged 73 GenreScience fiction horror ghost stories mystery novelChildrenElisabeth BeresfordMarcus Beresford a k a Marc Brandel Contents 1 Life 2 Works 3 References 4 Further reading 5 External linksLife editHis father John James Beresford 1821 1897 4 was a clergyman in Castor now in Cambridgeshire near Peterborough His mother was Adelaide Elizabeth Morgan 1837 1902 5 J D Beresford was affected by infantile paralysis which left him partially disabled 6 7 He was educated at Oundle After training to become an architect he became a professional writer first as a dramatist and journalist During early adulthood he rejected his father s theism and became a determined but defensive agnostic 8 He combined a life in Edwardian literary London with time spent in the provinces in particular Cornwall where D H Lawrence had an extended stay in his Porthcothan cottage Later in life Beresford abandoned his earlier agnosticism and described himself as a Theosophist and a pacifist 6 Beresford was also interested in psychology and attended several meetings organised by Alfred Richard Orage to discuss psychological issues Other attendees at these meetings included Havelock Ellis Clifford Sharp David Eder and Maurice Nicoll 9 Beresford also contributed to numerous publications in addition to being a book reviewer for The Manchester Guardian he also wrote for the New Statesman 10 The Spectator Westminster Gazette and the Theosophist magazine The Aryan Path 11 At one time Beresford was offered the editorship of the pacifist magazine Peace News but refused because he claimed he would be a bad editor 12 Beresford s interest with spiritualism and philosophy may be illustrated best by the publisher s notes to his novel On A Huge Hill Mr Beresford s readers have long known that that for him there are more things in heaven or earth than are dreamt of in official medical philosophy He has used his novelist s skill to convince the sensitive reader that the age of miracles is not over and that in certain circumstances the spirit may exercise what seem to us miraculous powers over the substance of the body This he did in The Camberwell Miracle and Peckover and in this absorbing novel he returns to the theme with the study of a man fitting himself to become a great healer Dorothy L Sayers quotes from Beresford s essay Writing Aloud in her book on theology Mind of the Maker 13 She also mentions him in passing in Whose Body 14 George Orwell in 1945 described him as a natural novelist whose strength particularly in A Candidate For Truth was his ability to take seriously the problems of ordinary people 15 Elisabeth Beresford 1926 2010 children s writer and creator of The Wombles was his daughter Through his son writer Marc Brandel Marcus Beresford 16 he is the great grandfather of American actors Griffin Newman and James Newman He was married twice first to Florence Linda Brown 1870 1916 and then to Eveline Trissy Beatrice Auford Roskams 1880 1975 17 Works editThe Early History of Jacob Stahl 1911 the first of a trilogy of novels with A Candidate For Truth and The Invisible Event The Hampdenshire Wonder 1911 Novel A Candidate For Truth 1912 Goslings A World of Women 1913 Novel The House In Demetrius Road 1914 Novel The Invisible Event 1915 Novel H G Wells 1915 criticism These Lynneskers 1916 Novel William Elphinstone Ford 1917 biography with Kenneth Richmond House Mates 1917 Novel Nineteen Impressions 1918 stories God s Counterpoint 1918 Novel The Jervaise Comedy 1919 Novel The Imperfect Mother 1920 Novel Signs and Wonders 1921 Golden Cockerel Press stories Revolution 1921 Novel The Prisoners of Hartling 1922 Novel The Imperturbable Duchess and Other Stories 1923 Monkey Puzzle 1925 That Kind of Man or Almost Pagan 1926 Novel The Decoy 1927 Novel The Instrument of Destiny 1928 mystery novel All or Nothing 1928 Novel Real People 1929 Novel The Meeting Place and Other Stories 1929 Love s Illusion 1930 The Next Generation 1932 Novel The Old People 1932 Novel The Camberwell Miracle 1933 novel Peckover 1934 Novel On A Huge Hill 1935 Novel Blackthorn Winter and other stories 1936 Cleo 1937 Novel What Dreams May Come 1941 Novel A Common Enemy 1941 Novel Men in the Same Boat 1943 with Esme Wynne Tyson The Riddle of the Tower 1944 with Esme Wynne Tyson reprinted by Solar Press in 2023 The Gift 1947 with Esme Wynne Tyson The Prisoner Love s Pilgrim The TapestryReferences edit Michael R Page The Literary Imagination from Erasmus Darwin to H G Wells Science Evolution and Ecology Ashgate Publishing Ltd 2012 p 191 ISBN 1409438694 Brian Stableford The Hampdenshire Wonder in Frank N Magill ed Survey of Science Fiction Literature Vol 2 Englewood Cliffs NJ Salem Press 1979 pp 945 949 ISBN 0 89356 194 0 Brian Stableford The Riddle of the Tower in Frank N Magill ed Survey of Science Fiction Literature Vol 4 Englewood Cliffs NJ Salem Press 1979 pp 1780 1783 ISBN 0 89356 194 0 John Davys Beresford 1873 1947 Ancestry John Davys Beresford 1873 1947 Ancestry a b Stanley J Kunitz and Howard Haycraft Twentieth Century Authors A Biographical Dictionary of Modern Literature Third Edition New York The H W Wilson Company 1950 p p 130 1 George M Johnson J D Beresford Twayne Publishers 1998 ISBN 0805770399 p 2 SF Encyclopedia article Mathew Thompson Psychological Subjects Identity Culture and Health in Twentieth Century Britain Oxford University Press 2006 ISBN 0199287805 p 78 80 Bashir Abu Manneh Fiction of the New Statesman 1913 1939 Lexington Books 2011 ISBN 1611493528 p 37 Johnson p 177 Johnson p 30 Dorothy L Sayers Mind of the Maker Continuum 2005 ISBN 0826476783 p 25 Reprint of 1941 edition Dorothy L Sayers Whose Body Gollancz 1947 p 141 Reprint of 1928 first edition Good Bad Books Tribune 2 November 1945 Joseph F Clarke 1977 Pseudonyms BCA p 26 John Davys Beresford 1873 1947 Ancestry Bleiler Everett 1948 The Checklist of Fantastic Literature Chicago Shasta Publishers p 49 Further reading editFrank Swinnerton Oliver Onions and J D Beresford in The Georgian literary scene 1910 1935 London London Heinemann 1935 George M Johnson J D Beresford Dictionary of Literary Biography British Short Fiction Writers 1915 1945 Ed John H Rogers Detroit Gale Research 1996 Richard Bleiler John Davys Beresford in Darren Harris Fain ed British Fantasy and Science Fiction Writers Before World War I Detroit MI Gale Research 1997 George M Johnson J D Beresford New York Twayne Publishers 1998 George M Johnson J D Beresford Dictionary of Literary Biography Late Victorian and Edwardian British Novelists Second Series Ed George M Johnson Detroit Gale Research 1999 George M Johnson Dynamic Psychology in Modernist British Fiction Palgrave Macmillan U K 2006 George M Johnson The Other Side of Edwardian Fiction Two Forgotten Fantasy Novels of 1911 Wormwood Literature of the fantastic supernatural and decadent U K No 16 Spring 2011 3 15 George M Johnson Evil is in the Eye of the Beholder Threatening Children in Two Edwardian Speculative Satires Science Fiction Studies Vol 41 No 1 March 2014 26 44 External links editWorks by J D Beresford at Project Gutenberg Works by or about J D Beresford at Internet Archive Works by J D Beresford at LibriVox public domain audiobooks nbsp J D Beresford The Online Books Page University of Pennsylvania J D Beresford at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database J D Beresford at Library of Congress with 78 library catalogue records Digitized works by J D Beresford at Toronto Public Library Play by J D Beresford and Kenneth Richmond on Great War Theatre Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title J D Beresford amp oldid 1192809917, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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