Coningsby Dawson
Encyclopedia
Coningsby Dawson was an Anglo-American Novelist and Soldier, Canadian Field Artillery, born at High Wycombe
, Buckinghamshire, England.
, in 1905. He spent a year taking a theological course at Union Seminary but decided on a career as a writer.
, from 1906 to 1910, when he became literary adviser to the George H. Doran Publishing Company.
In a house in Taunton, Massachusetts, he wrote poems, short stories, and three novels: Garden Without Walls (1913), an immediate success, followed by The Raft and Slaves of Freedom.
, at Kingston, Ontario
. "His long training at Kingston had been very severe. It included besides the various classes which he attended a great deal of hard exercise, long rides or foot marches over frozen roads before breakfast, and so forth."
In July 1916 he was selected, with twenty-four other officers, for immediate service in France. His younger brothers enlisted in the Naval Patrol, then being recruited in Canada by Commander Armstrong.
Lieutenant Coningsby Dawson joined the Canadian Army at the front in 1916, and continued in service until the end of the War
. He served in the Somme battlefield at Albert, at Thiepval, at Courcelette, and at the taking of the Regina trench.
(1917, 1918) on lecture tours. In 1918, he investigated for the British Ministry of Information, American military preparedness in France
.
The Project Gutenberg EBook #14086 of Carry On: Letters in Wartime, by Lieutenant Coningsby Dawson, Novelist and Soldier, Canadian Field Artillery 1917 includes:
In 1919, he went to England
to study Europe
an reconstruction problems, and subsequently lectured on the subject of the United States. He also visited and reported on the devastated regions of Central and Eastern Europe at the request of Herbert Hoover
.
He also edited, with his father W. J. Dawson
, The Reader's Library, and Best Short Stories
(1923).
High Wycombe
High Wycombe , commonly known as Wycombe and formally called Chepping Wycombe or Chipping Wycombe until 1946,is a large town in Buckinghamshire, England. It is west-north-west of Charing Cross in London; this figure is engraved on the Corn Market building in the centre of the town...
, Buckinghamshire, England.
Education
He graduated at Merton College, OxfordUniversity of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
, in 1905. He spent a year taking a theological course at Union Seminary but decided on a career as a writer.
Career
In the same year he went to America, where he did special work for English newspapers on Canadian subjects, traveling widely during the period. He lived at Taunton, MassachusettsTaunton, Massachusetts
Taunton is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the seat of Bristol County and the hub of the Greater Taunton Area. The city is located south of Boston, east of Providence, north of Fall River and west of Plymouth. The City of Taunton is situated on the Taunton River...
, from 1906 to 1910, when he became literary adviser to the George H. Doran Publishing Company.
In a house in Taunton, Massachusetts, he wrote poems, short stories, and three novels: Garden Without Walls (1913), an immediate success, followed by The Raft and Slaves of Freedom.
Military service
In 1914, he went to Ottawa, saw Sir Sam Hughes, and was offered a commission in the Canadian Field Artillery on the completion of his training at the Royal Military College of CanadaRoyal Military College of Canada
The Royal Military College of Canada, RMC, or RMCC , is the military academy of the Canadian Forces, and is a degree-granting university. RMC was established in 1876. RMC is the only federal institution in Canada with degree granting powers...
, at Kingston, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in Eastern Ontario where the St. Lawrence River flows out of Lake Ontario. Originally a First Nations settlement called "Katarowki," , growing European exploration in the 17th Century made it an important trading post...
. "His long training at Kingston had been very severe. It included besides the various classes which he attended a great deal of hard exercise, long rides or foot marches over frozen roads before breakfast, and so forth."
In July 1916 he was selected, with twenty-four other officers, for immediate service in France. His younger brothers enlisted in the Naval Patrol, then being recruited in Canada by Commander Armstrong.
Lieutenant Coningsby Dawson joined the Canadian Army at the front in 1916, and continued in service until the end of the War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. He served in the Somme battlefield at Albert, at Thiepval, at Courcelette, and at the taking of the Regina trench.
Civilian career
After having been wounded he came twice to the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
(1917, 1918) on lecture tours. In 1918, he investigated for the British Ministry of Information, American military preparedness in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
The Project Gutenberg EBook #14086 of Carry On: Letters in Wartime, by Lieutenant Coningsby Dawson, Novelist and Soldier, Canadian Field Artillery 1917 includes:
- "By the time this reaches you I'll be in the line again, but for the present I'm undergoing a special course of training. You can't hear the most distant sound of guns, and if it wasn't for the pressure of study, similar to that at Kingston, one would be very rested." February 4, 1917.
In 1919, he went to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
to study Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an reconstruction problems, and subsequently lectured on the subject of the United States. He also visited and reported on the devastated regions of Central and Eastern Europe at the request of Herbert Hoover
Herbert Hoover
Herbert Clark Hoover was the 31st President of the United States . Hoover was originally a professional mining engineer and author. As the United States Secretary of Commerce in the 1920s under Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, he promoted partnerships between government and business...
.
He also edited, with his father W. J. Dawson
William James Dawson
William James Dawson was an English clergyman, author, and the father of Coningsby Dawson. He was born at Towchester, Northamptonshire, was educated at Didsbury College, Manchester, and entered the Wesleyan ministry in 1875. He resigned from the Wesleyan ministry and entered the Congregational...
, The Reader's Library, and Best Short Stories
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
(1923).
Partial list of Works
- The Worker and Other Poems (1906)
- The House of Weeping Women (1908)
- Murder Point (1910)
- The Road to Avalon (1911)
- The Garden Without Walls (1913)
- FlorenceFlorenceFlorence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
on a Certain Night and other Poems (1914) - The Raft (1914)
- The Unknown Country (1915)
- Slaves of Freedom (1916)
- The Seventh Christmas (1917, 1921)
- Carry On: Letters in Wartime’ (1917
- The Glory of the Trenches (1918)
- Out to Win (1918)
- Living BayonetBayonetA bayonet is a knife, dagger, sword, or spike-shaped weapon designed to fit in, on, over or underneath the muzzle of a rifle, musket or similar weapon, effectively turning the gun into a spear...
s (1919) - The Test of Scarlet (1919)
- The Little House (1920)
- It Might Have Happened to You (1921)
- The Kingdom Round the Corner (1921, 1923)
- The Vanishing Point (1922)
- Christmas Outside Eden (1922)
- The Moon Through Glass (1934)