Morley Charles Roberts (29 December 1857 – 8 June 1942)[1] was an English novelist and short story writer, best known for The Private Life of Henry Maitland.
Roberts was born in London, the son of William Henry Roberts (1831-1908), a superintending inspector of income tax, and Catherine, née Pullen.[2][3][1] He was educated at Bedford Grammar School, and Owens College, Manchester, England.[4]
Near the end of 1876 Roberts took a steerage passage to Australia and landed at Melbourne in January 1877. The next three years were spent in obtaining colonial experience, mostly on sheep stations in New South Wales, and Roberts then returned to London. For a time he worked in the war office and other government departments, but again went on his travels and had varied occupations in the United States and Canada between 1884 and 1886. He later travelled in Oceania, Australia, South Africa, amongst other parts of the world.
Roberts used his experiences freely in his books, the first being The Western Avernus (1887), a travelogue taking place in North America. While it was his most successful publication, his portrayals of Indigenous and Chinese people were marred by racism.[5] Roberts began his long series of novels and short stories in 1890. Of his novels, Rachel Marr (1903) was highly praised by William Henry Hudson. His novel Prey of the Strongest (1906), was the first accurate depiction of British Columbia mills, woods, and gambling halls.[6]The Private Life of Henry Maitland (1912), based on the life of George Gissing the novelist, was one of his most important works. Roberts also wrote essays, biography, drama and verse, and did some competent work in biology. He married Alice, daughter of the playwright Angiolo Robson Slous,[7][8] and died in London aged 84 on 8 June 1942.[9]
He was only a few years in Australia, but there are many Australian references both in his novels and his short stories. Storm Jameson, who wrote a short biography of Roberts in 1961, considered Time and Thomas Waring to be his best novel.[4] An exhaustive bibliography by Markus Neacey of his novels and other writings and writings about him can be found in the July 2012 number of English Literature in Transition.[10] Roberts has featured in several articles in The Gissing Journal.[11][12][13] Victorian Secrets have published a scholarly edition of the Selected Stories of Morley Roberts (Brighton: Victorian Secrets, 2015), edited with an introduction by Markus Neacey.
Bibliographyedit
Morley Roberts as cattleman. c. 1885
The Western Avernus, or, Toil and Travel in further North America (1887)
Land-travel and Sea-Faring (1891)
Songs of Energy (1891)
The Mate of the Vancouver (1892)
The Degradation of Geoffrey Alwith (1895)
The Adventures of a Ship's Doctor (1897)
Maurice Quain (1897)
The Adventure of the Broad Arrow; an Australian Romance (1897)
^"Roberts, Morley". Who's Who. Vol. 59. 1907. pp. 1495–1496.
^Selected Stories of Morley Roberts, ed. Markus Neacey, 2015, p. 17
^ abJameson, Storm (1961). Morley Roberts: The Last Eminent Victorian. London: The Unicorn Press.
^Mouat, Jeremy (Winter 2001–2002). "Morley Roberts in the Western Avernus". The Pacific Northwest Quarterly. 93 (1): 27, 31 – via JSTOR.
^Lillard, Charles (Spring 1988). "Morley Roberts in British Columbia". BC Bookworld.
^. 8 July 2011. Archived from the original on 9 November 2004.
^Slous, Angiolo Robson (1866). True to the Core: A Story of the Armada. London: Tinsley Brothers.
^"Mr. Morley Roberts". The Guardian. London. 9 June 1942. p. 3. from the original on 8 December 2019. Retrieved 7 December 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
^Neacey, Markus (2012). "A Bibliography of Morley Roberts's Writings". English Literature in Transition. 55 (3): 361–393.
^Neacey, Markus (October 2009). "Arthur C. Clarke Looking Backward 1967-1898 and Morley Roberts Anticipating: A Literary Oddity". The Gissing Journal. XLV: 24–38.
^Neacey, Markus (April 2012). "Morley Roberts' Literary Career in the 1880s and 1890s, Part One". The Gissing Journal. XLVIII: 1–29.
^Neacey, Markus (July 2012). "Morley Roberts' Literary Career in the 1880s and 1890s, Part Two". The Gissing Journal. XLVIII: 23–40.
^"Untitled". The Independent. Vol. 60, no. 2992–3004. 1906. p. 1043. Thus Morley Roberts's new story of The Idlers' in London society has more of what he calls "rotters" in it than any other book which has appeared this year. But he does not harrow the reader nor even the consciences of the "rotters" themselves.
^R. B. Russell (ed.). . A Guide to Supernatural Fiction. Archived from the original on 12 December 2007.
^Neacey, Markus (2015). Selected Stories of Morley Roberts. Brighton: Victorian Secrets.
Read Chapter 1 of The Adventure of the Broad Arrow from the Lost Worlds Australia Anthology.
Works by Morley Roberts at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)
Bibliography of works by Morley Roberts at Freeread
Morley Roberts Papers, Ms. coll. 726. University of Pennsylvania: Rare Book & Manuscript Library.
Archival Material at Leeds University Library
May 04, 2024
morley, roberts, morley, charles, roberts, december, 1857, june, 1942, english, novelist, short, story, writer, best, known, private, life, henry, maitland, 1907born, 1857, december, 1857london, united, kingdomdied8, june, 1942, 1942, aged, london, united, kin. Morley Charles Roberts 29 December 1857 8 June 1942 1 was an English novelist and short story writer best known for The Private Life of Henry Maitland Morley RobertsMorley Roberts in 1907BornMorley Roberts 1857 12 29 29 December 1857London United KingdomDied8 June 1942 1942 06 08 aged 84 London United KingdomKnown forWriter Contents 1 Life and work 2 Bibliography 3 References 4 External linksLife and work editRoberts was born in London the son of William Henry Roberts 1831 1908 a superintending inspector of income tax and Catherine nee Pullen 2 3 1 He was educated at Bedford Grammar School and Owens College Manchester England 4 Near the end of 1876 Roberts took a steerage passage to Australia and landed at Melbourne in January 1877 The next three years were spent in obtaining colonial experience mostly on sheep stations in New South Wales and Roberts then returned to London For a time he worked in the war office and other government departments but again went on his travels and had varied occupations in the United States and Canada between 1884 and 1886 He later travelled in Oceania Australia South Africa amongst other parts of the world Roberts used his experiences freely in his books the first being The Western Avernus 1887 a travelogue taking place in North America While it was his most successful publication his portrayals of Indigenous and Chinese people were marred by racism 5 Roberts began his long series of novels and short stories in 1890 Of his novels Rachel Marr 1903 was highly praised by William Henry Hudson His novel Prey of the Strongest 1906 was the first accurate depiction of British Columbia mills woods and gambling halls 6 The Private Life of Henry Maitland 1912 based on the life of George Gissing the novelist was one of his most important works Roberts also wrote essays biography drama and verse and did some competent work in biology He married Alice daughter of the playwright Angiolo Robson Slous 7 8 and died in London aged 84 on 8 June 1942 9 He was only a few years in Australia but there are many Australian references both in his novels and his short stories Storm Jameson who wrote a short biography of Roberts in 1961 considered Time and Thomas Waring to be his best novel 4 An exhaustive bibliography by Markus Neacey of his novels and other writings and writings about him can be found in the July 2012 number of English Literature in Transition 10 Roberts has featured in several articles in The Gissing Journal 11 12 13 Victorian Secrets have published a scholarly edition of the Selected Stories of Morley Roberts Brighton Victorian Secrets 2015 edited with an introduction by Markus Neacey Bibliography edit nbsp Morley Roberts as cattleman c 1885 The Western Avernus or Toil and Travel in further North America 1887 Land travel and Sea Faring 1891 Songs of Energy 1891 The Mate of the Vancouver 1892 The Degradation of Geoffrey Alwith 1895 The Adventures of a Ship s Doctor 1897 Maurice Quain 1897 The Adventure of the Broad Arrow an Australian Romance 1897 Lord Linlithgow a Novel 1900 The Plunderers a Romance 1900 The Way of Man a Romance 1902 Rachel Marr 1903 A Tramp s Note book 1904 The Wingless Psyche 1904 Lady Penelope 1905 The Idlers 1906 14 The Prey of the Strongest 1906 Flying Cloud 1907 David Bran 1908 The Private Life of Henry Maitland 1912 Time and Thomas Waring 1914 Hearts of Women a Study of a Group 1920 W H Hudson a Portrait 1924 Short Stories include The Reputation of George Saxon and other Stories 1891 King Billy of Ballarat and Other Stories Lawrence amp Bullen London 1892 including Father and Son Red Earth Lawrence amp Bullen London 1894 including Wide Bay Bar The Keeper of the Waters Skeffington amp Son London 1898 including The Anticipator The Promotion Of The Admiral And Other Sea Comedies J Eveleigh Nash London 1903 including The Scuttling Of The Pandora Midsummer Madness Eveleigh Nash London 1909 including The Blood Fetish 15 16 Nonfiction Warfare in the Human Body Essays on Method Malignity Repair and Allied Subjects 1920 Malignancy and Evolution a Biological Enquiry into the Nature and Causes of Cancer 1926 1934 Bio Politics An Essay in the Physiology Pathology and Politics of the Social and Somatic Organism 1938 Behaviour of Nations An Essay in the Conduct of National Organisms in the Nutritional Field 1941 References edit a b The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Oxford Dictionary of National Biography online ed Oxford University Press 2004 doi 10 1093 ref odnb 38875 ISBN 978 0 19 861412 8 Subscription or UK public library membership required Roberts Morley Who s Who Vol 59 1907 pp 1495 1496 Selected Stories of Morley Roberts ed Markus Neacey 2015 p 17 a b Jameson Storm 1961 Morley Roberts The Last Eminent Victorian London The Unicorn Press Mouat Jeremy Winter 2001 2002 Morley Roberts in the Western Avernus The Pacific Northwest Quarterly 93 1 27 31 via JSTOR Lillard Charles Spring 1988 Morley Roberts in British Columbia BC Bookworld Nicola Barton s family pages 8 July 2011 Archived from the original on 9 November 2004 Slous Angiolo Robson 1866 True to the Core A Story of the Armada London Tinsley Brothers Mr Morley Roberts The Guardian London 9 June 1942 p 3 Archived from the original on 8 December 2019 Retrieved 7 December 2019 via Newspapers com Neacey Markus 2012 A Bibliography of Morley Roberts s Writings English Literature in Transition 55 3 361 393 Neacey Markus October 2009 Arthur C Clarke Looking Backward 1967 1898 and Morley Roberts Anticipating A Literary Oddity The Gissing Journal XLV 24 38 Neacey Markus April 2012 Morley Roberts Literary Career in the 1880s and 1890s Part One The Gissing Journal XLVIII 1 29 Neacey Markus July 2012 Morley Roberts Literary Career in the 1880s and 1890s Part Two The Gissing Journal XLVIII 23 40 Untitled The Independent Vol 60 no 2992 3004 1906 p 1043 Thus Morley Roberts s new story of The Idlers in London society has more of what he calls rotters in it than any other book which has appeared this year But he does not harrow the reader nor even the consciences of the rotters themselves R B Russell ed Morley Roberts A Guide to Supernatural Fiction Archived from the original on 12 December 2007 Neacey Markus 2015 Selected Stories of Morley Roberts Brighton Victorian Secrets External links edit nbsp Works by or about Morley Roberts at Wikisource Works by Morley Roberts at Project Gutenberg Works by or about Morley Roberts at Internet Archive Read Chapter 1 of The Adventure of the Broad Arrow from the Lost Worlds Australia Anthology Works by Morley Roberts at LibriVox public domain audiobooks nbsp Bibliography of works by Morley Roberts at Freeread Morley Roberts Papers Ms coll 726 University of Pennsylvania Rare Book amp Manuscript Library Archival Material at Leeds University Library Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Morley Roberts amp oldid 1176646350, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
