Richard James Arthur Pope-Hennessy was born in London on 20 November 1916, the younger son of Ladislaus Herbert Richard Pope-Hennessy, a soldier from County Cork, Ireland, and his wife, Una, the daughter of Arthur Birch, Lieutenant-Governor of Ceylon. He was the younger of two sons; his elder brother, John Pope-Hennessy, was an English art historian, museum director and writer of note.[1] James, as he was generally known, came from a close-knit Catholic family and was educated at Downside School and at Balliol College, Oxford, but generally showed a lack of interest in formal education and did not enjoy his time at either Downside or Oxford.[2][3]
Writing career
Largely owing to his mother's influence, he decided to become a writer and left Oxford in 1937 without taking a degree. He went to work for the Catholic publishers Sheed and Ward as an editorial assistant. While working at the company's offices, in Paternoster Row in London, he worked on his first book, London Fabric (1939), for which he was awarded the Hawthornden Prize.[4] During this period, he was involved in a circle of notable literary figures including Harold Nicolson, Raymond Mortimer and James Lees-Milne.[5]
He left the publishers in 1938 when his mother found him a job as private secretary to Hubert Young, the Governor of Trinidad. Although his time abroad provided the material for his later West Indian Summer (1943), he disliked both the West Indies and the atmosphere of Government House.[6] The outbreak of the Second World War gave him an excuse to return to Britain, where he enlisted as a private in an anti-aircraft battery under the command of Sir Victor Cazalet. Rising through the ranks, he was transferred to military intelligence, given a commission and spent the latter part of the war as a member of the British army staff at Washington.
Pope-Hennessy enjoyed his time in the United States and made many friends there.[6] After the end of the war he wrote an account of his experiences in America. On his return to London in 1945 he shared a flat with the British intelligence officer Guy Burgess, who later defected to the Soviet Union. He had a brief spell as the literary editor of The Spectator between 1947 and 1949, before he decided to travel to France and write Aspects of Provence, which was published in 1952.
He would eventually establish himself as one of the leading biographers of his time; his first effort in this direction being a two-volume biography of Monckton Milnes that appeared in 1949 under the titles The Years of Promise and The Flight of Youth. This was followed by further biographies of the Earl of Crewe and of Queen Mary, for which he was created Commander of the Royal Victorian Order in 1960. He also wrote a life of his grandfather, the colonial governor John Pope Hennessy, under the title Verandah (adapted as a documentary for BBC Television under the title "Strange Excellency", 1964), followed by an account of the Atlantic slave traffickers, Sins of the Fathers (1967).
In 1970, he took out Irish citizenship and went to live at Banagher in County Offaly,[7] where he took rooms at the Shannon Hotel, and during the next few years produced authoritative biographies of both Anthony Trollope and Robert Louis Stevenson. Trollope himself had chosen James' grandfather, John Pope Hennessy, as the basis for the character Phineas Finn in his novel of the same name.[8]Robert Louis Stevenson was published posthumously and without revision in 1974.[9] He became a popular figure in Banagher, evidenced by the fact that he was asked to adjudicate at a local beauty pageant and the horse fair, the oldest in Ireland.[10][11] On being given a large advance he returned to London in 1974 to begin work on his next subject, Noël Coward.
Death and commemoration
Despite being a successful professional writer, Pope-Hennessy was careless with money. He suffered a series of financial crises and often relied on the goodwill of friends to get him by.[10] He was a heavy drinker and frequented back-street bars and shady pubs where he mixed with a rough crowd, associations that eventually contributed to his death when he was brutally murdered on 25 January 1974 in his London flat, at 9 Ladbroke Grove, by three young men. He had been acquainted with one of them.[12][13][14] He is buried at Kensal Green Cemetery in London.[15]
Bibliography
London Fabric (Dustjacket by Eric Ravilious; 1939, revised 1941)
History Under Fire – 52 Photographs of Air Raid Damage to London Buildings, 1940–41 (With Cecil Beaton; 1941)
West Indian Summer (1943)
The Houses of Parliament. Photographed by Hans Wild. (Introduction; 1946)
America is an Atmosphere (1947)
The Years of Promise (1949)
Beautiful London. 103 photographs by Helmut Gernsheim. (Foreword; 1950)
The Flight of Youth (1951)
Aspects of Provence (1952)
The Baths of Absalom (1954)
Lord Crewe, the Likeness of a Liberal (1955)
Queen Mary (1959)
Queen Victoria at Windsor and Balmoral (1959)
Verandah (1964)
Sins of the Fathers (1967)
Half-Crown Colony: A Hong Kong Notebook (1969)
Anthony Trollope (1971)
Robert Louis Stevenson (1974)
A Lonely Business – A Self Portrait of James Pope-Hennessy (1981). Edited by Peter Quennell.
The Quest for Queen Mary (2018). Edited by Hugo Vickers.
References
^"EDUCATION OF A CONNOISSEUR". The Washington Post. 31 March 1991. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
^Quennell, P., Introduction to A Lonely Business – A Self-Portrait of James Pope-Hennessy, 1981, p. xv.
^Lees-Milne, James, Fourteen Friends, 1996, John Murray Publishers, London, p. 201.
^Clarke, P.F., Review of The Dictionary of National Biography, 1971–1980 by Lord Blake; C. S. Nicholls, The English Historical Review, Vol. 103, No. 406, p.156, January 1988.
^Hoggart, Simon (24 February 2007). "Simon Hoggart: Memories of a strong Sherry". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
^"Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
^Notable personalities at Kensal Green Cemetery. 16 July 2012 at the Wayback Machine
February 25, 2023
james, pope, hennessy, james, pope, hennessy, november, 1916, january, 1974, british, biographer, travel, writer, born20, november, 1916london, englanddied25, january, 1974, aged, london, englandresting, placekensal, green, cemetery, londonother, namesrichard,. James Pope Hennessy CVO 20 November 1916 25 January 1974 was a British biographer and travel writer James Pope HennessyBorn20 November 1916London EnglandDied25 January 1974 aged 57 London EnglandResting placeKensal Green Cemetery in LondonOther namesRichard James Arthur Pope HennessyOccupationWriterKnown forQueen Mary Sins of the Fathers Anthony Trollope Contents 1 Early life 2 Writing career 3 Death and commemoration 4 Bibliography 5 ReferencesEarly life EditRichard James Arthur Pope Hennessy was born in London on 20 November 1916 the younger son of Ladislaus Herbert Richard Pope Hennessy a soldier from County Cork Ireland and his wife Una the daughter of Arthur Birch Lieutenant Governor of Ceylon He was the younger of two sons his elder brother John Pope Hennessy was an English art historian museum director and writer of note 1 James as he was generally known came from a close knit Catholic family and was educated at Downside School and at Balliol College Oxford but generally showed a lack of interest in formal education and did not enjoy his time at either Downside or Oxford 2 3 Writing career EditLargely owing to his mother s influence he decided to become a writer and left Oxford in 1937 without taking a degree He went to work for the Catholic publishers Sheed and Ward as an editorial assistant While working at the company s offices in Paternoster Row in London he worked on his first book London Fabric 1939 for which he was awarded the Hawthornden Prize 4 During this period he was involved in a circle of notable literary figures including Harold Nicolson Raymond Mortimer and James Lees Milne 5 He left the publishers in 1938 when his mother found him a job as private secretary to Hubert Young the Governor of Trinidad Although his time abroad provided the material for his later West Indian Summer 1943 he disliked both the West Indies and the atmosphere of Government House 6 The outbreak of the Second World War gave him an excuse to return to Britain where he enlisted as a private in an anti aircraft battery under the command of Sir Victor Cazalet Rising through the ranks he was transferred to military intelligence given a commission and spent the latter part of the war as a member of the British army staff at Washington Pope Hennessy enjoyed his time in the United States and made many friends there 6 After the end of the war he wrote an account of his experiences in America On his return to London in 1945 he shared a flat with the British intelligence officer Guy Burgess who later defected to the Soviet Union He had a brief spell as the literary editor of The Spectator between 1947 and 1949 before he decided to travel to France and write Aspects of Provence which was published in 1952 He would eventually establish himself as one of the leading biographers of his time his first effort in this direction being a two volume biography of Monckton Milnes that appeared in 1949 under the titles The Years of Promise and The Flight of Youth This was followed by further biographies of the Earl of Crewe and of Queen Mary for which he was created Commander of the Royal Victorian Order in 1960 He also wrote a life of his grandfather the colonial governor John Pope Hennessy under the title Verandah adapted as a documentary for BBC Television under the title Strange Excellency 1964 followed by an account of the Atlantic slave traffickers Sins of the Fathers 1967 In 1970 he took out Irish citizenship and went to live at Banagher in County Offaly 7 where he took rooms at the Shannon Hotel and during the next few years produced authoritative biographies of both Anthony Trollope and Robert Louis Stevenson Trollope himself had chosen James grandfather John Pope Hennessy as the basis for the character Phineas Finn in his novel of the same name 8 Robert Louis Stevenson was published posthumously and without revision in 1974 9 He became a popular figure in Banagher evidenced by the fact that he was asked to adjudicate at a local beauty pageant and the horse fair the oldest in Ireland 10 11 On being given a large advance he returned to London in 1974 to begin work on his next subject Noel Coward Death and commemoration EditDespite being a successful professional writer Pope Hennessy was careless with money He suffered a series of financial crises and often relied on the goodwill of friends to get him by 10 He was a heavy drinker and frequented back street bars and shady pubs where he mixed with a rough crowd associations that eventually contributed to his death when he was brutally murdered on 25 January 1974 in his London flat at 9 Ladbroke Grove by three young men He had been acquainted with one of them 12 13 14 He is buried at Kensal Green Cemetery in London 15 Bibliography EditLondon Fabric Dustjacket by Eric Ravilious 1939 revised 1941 History Under Fire 52 Photographs of Air Raid Damage to London Buildings 1940 41 With Cecil Beaton 1941 West Indian Summer 1943 The Houses of Parliament Photographed by Hans Wild Introduction 1946 America is an Atmosphere 1947 The Years of Promise 1949 Beautiful London 103 photographs by Helmut Gernsheim Foreword 1950 The Flight of Youth 1951 Aspects of Provence 1952 The Baths of Absalom 1954 Lord Crewe the Likeness of a Liberal 1955 Queen Mary 1959 Queen Victoria at Windsor and Balmoral 1959 Verandah 1964 Sins of the Fathers 1967 Half Crown Colony A Hong Kong Notebook 1969 Anthony Trollope 1971 Robert Louis Stevenson 1974 A Lonely Business A Self Portrait of James Pope Hennessy 1981 Edited by Peter Quennell The Quest for Queen Mary 2018 Edited by Hugo Vickers References Edit EDUCATION OF A CONNOISSEUR The Washington Post 31 March 1991 ISSN 0190 8286 Retrieved 5 January 2019 Quennell P Introduction to A Lonely Business A Self Portrait of James Pope Hennessy 1981 p xv Lees Milne James Fourteen Friends 1996 John Murray Publishers London p 201 Hawthornden Prize Winners The Life of James Lees Milne The Official James Lees Milne Website Retrieved 24 March 2011 a b Quennell p xv Introducing Offaly Archived 17 November 2007 at the Wayback Machine Lees Milne p 207 Quennell p xiv a b Quennell p xviii Banagher Clarke P F Review of The Dictionary of National Biography 1971 1980 by Lord Blake C S Nicholls The English Historical Review Vol 103 No 406 p 156 January 1988 Hoggart Simon 24 February 2007 Simon Hoggart Memories of a strong Sherry The Guardian ISSN 0261 3077 Retrieved 5 January 2019 Pittsburgh Post Gazette Google News Archive Search news google com Retrieved 5 January 2019 Notable personalities at Kensal Green Cemetery Archived 16 July 2012 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title James Pope Hennessy amp oldid 1114508181, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
