Arthur Christopher Benson

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Arthus Christopher Benson

Arthur Christopher Benson ( April 24, 1862 - June 17, 1925 ) was an English essayist , poet and writer , and the 28th director of Magdalene College , Cambridge.

Life

Arthur Christopher Benson was one of six children of Edward White Benson , who became Archbishop of Canterbury in 1883 . One of the family's uncle was the philosopher Henry Sidgwick . The Benson family were exceptionally educated and capable, but their story was also tragic: a son and daughter died young; the daughter Margaret Benson suffered - like Arthur himself - severely from a mental illness. They were probably manic-depressed , which they had inherited from their father. None of the children ever married.

Despite his illness, Arthur was an excellent teacher and a very prolific writer. He was taught at Eton and King's College (Cambridge) . From 1885 to 1903 he taught himself at Eton and then returned to Cambridge to give lectures in English literature at Magdalene College. From 1915 to 1925 he headed the college. From 1906 he was a director of Gresham's School .

His poems and essays, such as From a College Window, were famous in his day. He left behind one of the largest diaries ever written, with about four million words. He is best remembered today as the author of the lyrics of the patriotic anthem, Land of Hope and Glory , and as the brother of novelist EF Benson .

He is buried at Ascension Parish Burial Ground in Cambridge.

Works (in selection)

Poetry

  • Poems on pieces by Edward Elgar : "In the Dawn" , "Speak, Music!" , "Speak, my Heart!" , and the "Coronation Ode" including "Land of Hope and Glory" (1901–1902)

prose

  • The Hill of Trouble and Other Stories (1903)
  • The Isles of Sunset (1904)
  • Paul the Minstrel and Other Stories (1911)
  • The Child of the Dawn (1911)
  • Basil Netherby (1926)

Essays

  • Essays by Arthur Christopher Benson of Eton College . W. Heinemann, London 1896.
  • The Upton Letters . Smith, Elder & Co., London 1905.
  • From a college window . Smith, Elder & Co., London 1906.
  • Escape and Other Essays . Smith, Elder & Co., London 1915.

biography

  • The life of Edward White Benson sometime Archbishop of Canterbury. By his son Arthur Christopher Benson of Eton College , 2 volumes. Macmillan, London 1900.
  • The Leaves of the Tree. Studies in Biography . Smith, Elder & Co., London 1911.
  • Ruskin . A study in personality . Smith, Elder & Co., London 1911.

More fonts

  • The schoolmaster. A study on the knowledge of the English education system and a contribution to the teaching of breeding , translated by Käthe Rein. Hermann Beyer & Sons, Langensalza 1904.
  • The Beauty of Life. Being Selections from the Writings of Arthur Christopher Benson . Hodder & Stoughton, London 1912.
  • The Reed of Pa. English renderings of Greek epigrams and lyrics . Murray, London 1922.

literature

  • Arthur Christopher Benson as seen by some friends . George Bell & Sons, London 1925.
  • Keith Wilson: AC Benson . In: Robert Beum (ed.): Dictionary of Literary Biography. British Essayists, 1880-1960 . Gale, Detroit 1990, pp. 192-204.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Selected poetry of Arthur Christopher Benson, 1862–1925 . In: Representative Poetry Online . University of Toronto . Retrieved January 14, 2014.
  2. ↑ The Times , October 22, 1906, p. 6, col. C.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Benson, Arthur Christopher
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English essayist, poet and writer
DATE OF BIRTH April 24, 1862
DATE OF DEATH June 17, 1925