Benjamin Farjeon

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Benjamin Leopold Farjeon (born May 12, 1838 in London , † July 23, 1903 in Hampstead ) was an English journalist and writer.

Live and act

Benjamin Farjeon was a son (he had four siblings) of the used clothes dealer Jacon Farjeon († 1865) and his wife Dina Levy. His family were Orthodox Jews , and he grew up in Whitechapel ( East End on).

At the age of 14, Farjeon came to the print shop of the Christian-oriented magazine "Nonconformist" in 1852 as an apprentice to complete an apprenticeship as a printer. Two years later, Farjeon broke up with his family and immigrated to Australia . During his voyage he wrote several articles for the on-board newspaper "Ocean Record" and was able to earn his own cabin in this way; for financial reasons he could only afford a bed in the intermediate deck.

Farjeon worked in Victoria for some time as a gold prospector (→ Australian gold rush ) and also founded his own newspaper. After a short time he had to close his editorial office and in 1861 he went to New Zealand . He settled in Dunedin and worked there as a journalist for Julius Vogel and his " Otago Daily Times ". He later became editor-in-chief and deputy editor there. During this time Farjeon began to publish his own literary works in addition to his journalistic work.

In 1868 Farjeon returned to England and settled near the Adelphi Theater ( West End ). He lived there until the end of his life and wrote two novels almost a year. Most of his works were illustrated by the Australian artist Nicolas Chevalier (1828–1902). On June 6, 1877, Farjeon married Margaret Jane, the daughter of the American actor Joseph Jefferson (1829-1905) and had five children with her; including Harry (1878–1948), Eleanor (1881–1965), Joseph Jefferson (1883–1955) and Herbert (1887–1945).

Works (selection)

  • The nine of hearts . London 1885.
    • German: Die Herz-Neune . Engelhorn, Stuttgart 1888.
  • The nightwalker. Criminal novella . Roman publishing house, Leipzig 1901.
  • Great Porter Square . London 1883.
    • German: Too finely spun . Engelhorn, Stuttgart 1885 (2 vol.)
  • The duchess of Rosemary Lane . London 1876.
  • The house of white shadows . London 1884.
  • The tragedy of Featherstone . London 1887.
  • Devlin the barber . London 1888.
  • The mystery of Mr. Felix . London 1890.
  • Aaron the jew . London 1894.

literature

  • Cheyette Bryan: From apology to revolt. Benjamin Farjeon, Amy Levy and the post-emancipation Anglo-Jewish novel 1880–1900 . In: Jewish Historical Studies , Vol. 29 (1982), pp. 253-265, ISSN  0962-9696
  • Eleanor Farjeon: A nursery in the nineties. Reminiscences with an account of the author's parenrts . University Press, London 1935.
  • M. Persell: Capitalism, charity, and Judaism. The triumvirate of Benjamin Farjeon . In: Victorian Literature and Culture , Vol. 27 (1999), Issue 1, pp. 203-218, ISSN  1060-1503

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ For the US domestic market, the title was changed to A fair jewess .

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Farjeon, Benjamin
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Farjeon, Benjamin Leopold (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English journalist and writer
DATE OF BIRTH May 12, 1838
PLACE OF BIRTH London
DATE OF DEATH July 23, 1903
Place of death Hampstead