Ernest Bramah

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Ernest Bramah

Ernest Bramah as Ernest Brammah Smith (born March 20, 1868 in Manchester ; died June 23, 1942 in Weston-super-Mare , Somerset ) was an English writer who published 21 books and numerous short stories and other works over the course of his life .

His humorous works are compared to those of Jerome K. Jeromes and William Wymark Jacobs , as are his detective stories to those of Conan Doyles , his political science fiction stories to HG Wells, and his tale of the supernatural to those of Algernon Blackwood . George Orwell himself noted that Bramah's book What Might Have Been influenced his own novel in 1984 . He also created the literary figures Kai Lung and Max Carrados, popular at the time .

Life

Ernest Bramah was born in Manchester on March 20, 1868, the son of a wealthy businessman who had worked his way up in no time. Bramah left Manchester Grammar School at the age of 16, although he had always been one of the best in all subjects. He then turned to agriculture, first as a simple farm laborer, later as the owner of his own farm, where his father supported him with considerable financial means, the equivalent of £ 100,000 in today's currency. During this time Bramah was already writing shorter regional sketches for the Birmingham News. He then wrote a book about his farm life adventures, which found few buyers and was pulped. After this agricultural debacle, his father agreed to continue providing financial support as he made his way into journalism and writing.

Bramah reached the position of secretary to Jerome K. Jerome and was promoted to editor of his magazine The Minister . After he left Jerome, he published other journals for a publishing company that later went bankrupt .

Bramah achieved commercial and literary success with his creation of the Chinese Kai Lung , a traveling storyteller. This first appeared in the story The Wallet of Kai Lung , which was rejected by eight publishers before Grant Richards accepted it and published it in 1900. These humorous stories or fairy tales, in which fantasy elements such as dragons and gods appear and Bramah constructed a proper Mandarin English, are still in print today. As a young man Bramah probably got to know several wealthy Chinese who were still familiar with the highly ritualized, extremely polite way of speaking of the pre-revolutionary Middle Kingdom, in which, for example, the "I" was replaced by "this person", exuberant compliments in the direction of the addressee, unsafe Accusations against oneself and extremely many paraphrases were used. From a narrative point of view, Bramah thus, to a certain extent, developed the West Asian variety of Orientalism .

Bramah also wrote political science fiction. His book What Might Have Been (1907), later published as The Secret of the League (1909), is an anti-socialist dystopia that reflects Bramah's own conservative worldview. George Orwell identified this book as one of his sources for 1984 . Orwell himself praised Bramah's little-known novella, also titled The Secret of the League (1907), which made a remarkable prediction of the rise of fascism . In this book, a socialist government raised taxes for the middle class significantly, expanded the affluent state and bureaucracy extremely, and caused a pension crisis before being shaken by a general stock market crash.

At a time when the English Channel was barely crossed by a plane through Louis Blériot , Bramah foresaw express airline routes within 10,000 feet, a national telegraph network, the fax machine and a code typewriter much like the Enigma .

In 1914, Bramah created the literary figure of the blind detective Max Carrados. Having already had the remote idea that a blind person could be a detective, in the introduction to Carrados' second novel The Eyes of Max Carrados , he compared his hero's commitment to the lives of real blind people from his nation such as Nicholas Saunderson , professor of mathematics at Cambridge , road builder John Metcalf aka Blind Jack of Knaresborough , London judge and magistrate John Fielding , who was said to be able to identify 3,000 thieves by their voices alone, and Helen Keller . However, it must be added that Bramah exaggerated when describing Carrados' other excessive sensitive abilities: Carrados, who was otherwise assisted by his butler Parkinson's, is said to be able to read a normal daily newspaper due to the sensitivity of his fingertips .

The Max Carrados stories appeared parallel to those of Sherlock Holmes in The Strand Magazine , achieved high sales figures and even temporarily outperformed today's more famous competitor.

Bramah lived a secluded life and revealed little about his private life. At the age of 74 he died on June 27, 1942 as a successful author who had acquired a great deal of general knowledge throughout his life and was considered an expert in numismatics .

bibliography

Kai Lung

Collective issues:

  • 1 The Wallet of Kai Lung (1900)
  • 2 Kai Lung's Golden Hours (1922)
  • 3 Kai Lung Unrolls His Mat (1928)
  • 4 The Moon of Much Gladness, Related by Kai Lung (1932; also: The Return of Kai Lung , 1937)
  • 5 Kai Lung Beneath the Mulberry Tree (1940; also: Kai Lung Beneath the Mulberry-Tree , 2013)
  • 6 Kai Lung: Six (1974)
  • The Kai Lung Omnibus (collective edition from 1–3; 1936)
  • Kai Lung Raises His Voice (2010)

Short stories:

  • The Career of the Charitable Quen-Ki-Tong (1900, in: Ernest Bramah: The Wallet of Kai Lung )
  • The Confession of Kai Lung (1900, in: Ernest Bramah: The Wallet of Kai Lung )
  • The Experiment of the Mandarin Chan Hung (1900, in: Ernest Bramah: The Wallet of Kai Lung )
  • The Probation of Sen Heng (1900, in: Ernest Bramah: The Wallet of Kai Lung )
  • The Story of Yung Chang (1900, in: Ernest Bramah: The Wallet of Kai Lung )
  • The Transmutation of Ling (1900, in: Ernest Bramah: The Wallet of Kai Lung )
  • The Vengeance of Tung Fel (1900, in: Ernest Bramah: The Wallet of Kai Lung )
  • The Vision of Yin, the Son of Yat Huang (1900, in: Ernest Bramah: The Wallet of Kai Lung ; also: The Vision of Yin , 1972)
  • The Story of Chang Tao, Melodious Vision and the Dragon (1922, in: Ernest Bramah: Kai Lung's Golden Hours ; also: The Dragon of Chang Tao , 1972)
  • The Story of Hien and the Chief Examiner (1922, in: Ernest Bramah: Kai Lung's Golden Hours )
  • The Story of Lao Ting and the Luminous Insect (1922, in: Ernest Bramah: Kai Lung's Golden Hours )
  • The Story of Ning, the Captive God, and the Dreams That Mark His Race (1922, in: Ernest Bramah: Kai Lung's Golden Hours )
  • The Story of the Loyalty of Ten-teh, the Fisherman (1922, in: Ernest Bramah: Kai Lung's Golden Hours )
  • The Story of Wang Ho and the Burial Robe (1922, in: Ernest Bramah: Kai Lung's Golden Hours )
  • The Story of Weng Cho; or, The One Devoid of Name (1922, in: Ernest Bramah: Kai Lung's Golden Hours )
  • The Story of Wong Pao and the Minstrel (1922, in: Ernest Bramah: Kai Lung's Golden Hours )
  • The Story of Wong Ts'in and the Willow Plate Embellishment (1922, in: Ernest Bramah: Kai Lung's Golden Hours )
  • The Story of Yuen Yan, of the Barber Chou-hu, and of His Wife Tsae-che (1922, in: Ernest Bramah: Kai Lung's Golden Hours )
  • The Degraded Persistence of the Effete Ming-shu (1923, in: Ernest Bramah: Kai Lung's Golden Hours ; also: The Malignity of the Depraved Ming Shu , 1963)
  • The Encountering of Six Within a Wood (1923, in: Ernest Bramah: Kai Lung's Golden Hours )
  • The High-Minded Strategy of the Amiable Hwa-mei (1923, in: Ernest Bramah: Kai Lung's Golden Hours )
  • The Incredible Obtuseness of Those Who Had Opposed the Virtuous Kai Lung (1923, in: Ernest Bramah: Kai Lung's Golden Hours )
  • The Inexorable Justice of the Mandarin Shan Tien (1923, in: Ernest Bramah: Kai Lung's Golden Hours )
  • The Inopportune Behavior of the Covetous Li-loe (1923, in: Ernest Bramah: Kai Lung's Golden Hours )
  • Not Concerned with Any Particular Attribute of Those Who Are Involved (1923, in: Ernest Bramah: Kai Lung's Golden Hours )
  • Of Which It Is Written: "In Shallow Water Dragons Become the Laughing-Stock of Shrimps" (1923, in: Ernest Bramah: Kai Lung's Golden Hours )
  • The Out-Passing Into a State of Assured Felicity of the Much-Enduring Two with Whom These Printed Leaves Have Chiefly Been Concerned (1923, in: Ernest Bramah: Kai Lung's Golden Hours )
  • The Propitious Dissension Between Two Whose General Attributes Have Already Been Sufficiently Described (1923, in: Ernest Bramah: Kai Lung's Golden Hours )
  • The Timely Disputation Among Those of an Inner Chamber of Yu-ping (1923, in: Ernest Bramah: Kai Lung's Golden Hours )
  • The Timely Intervention of the Mandarin Shan Tien's Lucky Day (1923, in: Ernest Bramah: Kai Lung's Golden Hours )
  • Ming Tseuen and the Emergency (1924, in: Ernest Bramah: The Specimen Case )
  • The Story of Ching-Kwei and the Destinies (1927, in: Ernest Bramah: The Story of Wan and the Remarkable Shrub, and The Story of Ching-kwei and the Destinies )
  • The Story of Wan and the Remarkable Shrub (1927, in: Ernest Bramah: The Story of Wan and the Remarkable Shrub, and The Story of Ching-kwei and the Destinies )
  • The Story of Wan and the Remarkable Shrub, and The Story of Ching-kwei and the Destinies (1927)
  • The Ignoble Alliance of Lin T'sing with the Outlaw Fang Wang, and How It Affected the Destinies (1940, in: Ernest Bramah: Kai Lung Beneath the Mulberry Tree )
  • The Story of Prince Ying, Virtuous Mei, and the Pursuit of Worthiness (1940, in: Ernest Bramah: Kai Lung Beneath the Mulberry Tree ; also: The Story of Prince Ying , 1963)
  • The Story of Sam-tso, the Family Called Wong, and the Willing Buffalo (1940, in: Ernest Bramah: Kai Lung Beneath the Mulberry Tree )
  • The Story of Sho Chi, the No-Longer Merchant Ng Hon, and the Docile Linnets (1940, in: Ernest Bramah: Kai Lung Beneath the Mulberry Tree )
  • The Story of the Poet Lao Ping, Chun Shin's Daughter Fa, and the Fighting Crickets (1940, in: Ernest Bramah: Kai Lung Beneath the Mulberry Tree ; also: The Story of the Poet Lao Ping , 1963)
  • The Story of Ton Hi, Precious Gem and the Incospicuous Elephant (1940, in: Ernest Bramah: Kai Lung Beneath the Mulberry Tree )
  • The Story of Yin Ho, Hoa-mi, and the Magician (1940, in: Ernest Bramah: Kai Lung Beneath the Mulberry Tree )
  • The Three Recorded Judgments of Prince Ying, from the Inscribed Scroll of Mou Tao, the Beggar (1940, in: Ernest Bramah: Kai Lung Beneath the Mulberry Tree )
  • Kin Weng and the Miraculous Tusk (1941)
  • The Story of Chung Pun and the Miraculous Peacocks (1974, in: Ernest Bramah: Kai Lung: Six ; also: Chung Pun and the Miraculous Peacocks , 2010)
  • The Story of Kwey Chao and the Grateful Song Bird (1974, in: Ernest Bramah: Kai Lung: Six ; also: Kwey Chao and the Grateful Song Bird , 2010)
  • The Story of Lam-Hoo and the Reward of Merit (1974, in: Ernest Bramah: Kai Lung: Six ; also: Lam-hoo and the Reward of Merit , 2010)
  • The Story of Li Pao, Lucky Star and the Intruding Stranger (1974, in: Ernest Bramah: Kai Lung: Six ; also: Li Pao, Lucky Star and the Intruding Stranger , 2010)
  • The Story of Sing Tsung and the Exponent of Dark Magic (1974, in: Ernest Bramah: Kai Lung: Six ; also: Sing Tsung and the Exponent of Dark Magic , 2010)
  • The Story of Yuen Yang and the Empty Soo-Shong Chest (1974, in: Ernest Bramah: Kai Lung: Six ; also: Yuen Yang and the Empty Lo-Chee Crate , 2010)
  • The Cupidity of Ah Pak or Riches No Protection Against Thunder-Bolts (2010, in: Ernest Bramah: Kai Lung Raises His Voice )
  • The Destiny of Cheng, the Son of Sha-kien of the Waste Expanses (2010, in: Ernest Bramah: Kai Lung Raises His Voice )
  • The Romance of Kwang the Fruit Gatherer and the Princess Suin-yu (2010, in: Ernest Bramah: Kai Lung Raises His Voice )
  • The Subtlety of Kang Chieng (2010, in: Ernest Bramah: Kai Lung Raises His Voice )
The Secret of the League
  • 1 What Might Have Been: The Story of a Social War (1907; also: The Secret of the League: The Story of a Social War , 1909; corrected version, edited and introduced by Jeremy Hawthorn: What Might Have Been: The Story of a Social War , 2017)

What Might Have Been: The Story of a Social War (London: John Murray, 1907) as Anonymous [hb /]

  • 2 The War Hawks (in: Pall Mall Magazine, September 1909 )
Max Carrados

Collective issues:

  • 1 Max Carrados (1914)
    • German: Dr. Carrados. Translated by Franz Lichtenstein. Neufeld & Henius (Lutz Kriminalromane # 12), Berlin 1930, DNB 578945894 .
  • 2 The Eyes of Max Carrados (1923)
    • German: Dr. Carrados and his servant. Ernst Bramah. Only lawful. Translated by Franz Lichtenstein. Neufeld & Henius (Lutz Kriminalromane # [13]), Berlin 1930, DNB 578945908 .
  • 3 Max Carrado's Mysteries (1927)
  • 4 The Bravo of London (1934)
  • Best Max Carrado's Detective Stories (1972)
    • English: Max Carrados, the blind detective: Classic crime stories. Translated by Christiane Nogly. Heyne books # 1519, Munich 1973, DNB 730390381 .
  • Four Max Carrado's Detective Stories (2004)

Short stories:

  • The Clever Mrs. Straithwaite (1914, in: Ernest Bramah: Max Carrados )
  • The Coin of Dionysius (1914, in: Ernest Bramah: Max Carrados )
  • The Comedy at Fountain Cottage (1914, in: Ernest Bramah: Max Carrados )
  • The Game Played in the Dark (1914, in: Ernest Bramah: Max Carrados )
  • The Knight's Cross Signal Problem (1914, in: Ernest Bramah: Max Carrados )
  • The Last Exploit of Harry the Actor (1914, in: Ernest Bramah: Max Carrados )
  • The Tilling Shaw Mystery (1914, in: Ernest Bramah: Max Carrados )
  • The Tragedy at Brookbend Cottage (1914, in: Ernest Bramah: Max Carrados )
  • The Disappearance of Marie Severe (1923, in: Ernest Bramah: The Eyes of Max Carrados )
  • The Eastern Mystery (1923, in: Ernest Bramah: The Eyes of Max Carrados ; also as: The Secret of Headlam Height )
  • The Ghost at Massingham Mansions (1923, in: Ernest Bramah: The Eyes of Max Carrados )
  • The Ingenious Mr. Spinola (1923, in: Ernest Bramah: The Eyes of Max Carrados )
  • The Kingsmouth Spy Case (1923, in: Ernest Bramah: The Eyes of Max Carrados )
  • The Missing Actress Sensation (1923, in: Ernest Bramah: The Eyes of Max Carrados )
  • The Mystery of the Poisoned Dish of Mushrooms (1923, in: Ernest Bramah: The Eyes of Max Carrados )
  • The Secret of Dunstan's Tower (1923, in: Ernest Bramah: The Eyes of Max Carrados )
  • The Virginiola Fraud (1923, in: Ernest Bramah: The Eyes of Max Carrados )
  • The Strange Case of Cyril Bycourt (1927, in: Ernest Bramah: Max Carrados Mysteries )
Novels
  • The Mirror of Kong Ho (1905)
  • A Little Flutter (1930)
Collections
  • The Specimen Case (1924; contains stories from the series Kai Lung , Max Carrado and others)
  • Ernest Bramah: Short Stories of To-day and Yesterday (1929)
  • Celestial Omnibus (1940)
Short stories
  • The Ill-Regulated Destiny of Kin Yen, the Picture-Maker (1900, in: Ernest Bramah: The Wallet of Kai Lung ; also: Kin Yen, the Picture-Maker , 1937)
  • Who Killed Charlie Winpole? (1923)
  • The Curious Circumstances of the Two Left Shoes (1929, in: The World's best one hundred detective stories, v. 8 )
  • Whereby the Angle at Which Events Present Themselves May Be Varied (1940, in: Ernest Bramah: The Celestial Omnibus )

German publication:

Theater adaptations
  • The Mirror of Kong Ho (1930)
  • The Moon of Much Gladness (1932)
Non-fiction
  • English Farming and Why I Turned It Up (1894; autobiography).
  • A Guide to the Varieties and Rarity of English Regal Copper Coins. Charles II - Victoria, 1671-1860 (1929)

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ On the extremely positive contemporary criticism during the 1920s, cf. Stuart P. Mais: Some modern authors . Books for Libraries Press, Freeport, NY 1970, pp. 45ff. ISBN 0-8369-1836-3 (reprint of the London 1923 edition).
  2. ↑ To today's reception z. B. Lin Carter : Great Short Novels of Adult Fantasy, Volume 2 . Wildside Press, Rockville, Md. 2008, pp. 65ff. ISBN 978-0-345-02789-4 .
  3. ^ Noel Perrin: A reader's delight . University Press of New England, Hanover, NH 1988, p. 15, ISBN 0-87451-430-4 .
  4. ↑ George Orwell : Predictions of Fascism . In: The Collected Essays, Journalism and Letters of George Orwell, Vol. 2: My country right or left. 1940-1943 . London 1968, p. 47f. (First published in The Tribune July 12, 1940).
  5. ↑ David Stuart Davies: Shadows of Sherlock Holmes . Wordsworth Editions, Ware, Hertfordshire 1998, p. 20. ISBN 1-85326-744-9 .
  6. ↑ Allen J. Hubin: Crime Fiction 1749-1980. A Comprehensive Bibliography . Garland Publishing, London 1984, ISBN 0-8240-9219-8 .
  7. ↑ Various performances on London stages, cf. Cedric C. Barfoot, Theo D'haen (Ed.): Oriental prospects. Western literature and the lure of the East (DQR Studies; Vol. 22). Rodopi, Amsterdam 1998, ISBN 90-420-0582-3 , p. 152 f. Fn. 58.
personal data
SURNAME Bramah, Ernest
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Smith, Ernest Brammah (real name); Smith, Ernest Bramah (alternative spelling)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English writer
DATE OF BIRTH March 20, 1868
PLACE OF BIRTH Manchester
DATE OF DEATH June 23, 1942
Place of death Weston-super-Mare , Somerset