E. H. W. Meyerstein
Encyclopedia
Edward Harry William Meyerstein (August 11, 1889 – September 12, 1952) was an English writer and scholar. He wrote poetry and short stories, and a Life Of Thomas Chatterton.
became High Sheriff of Kent
and was knighted in 1938. Meyerstein was educated at Holly Hill Hampstead, and then went to board at St Cyprian's School
, Eastbourne
. At St Cyprian's, he met the future painter Cedric Morris
, started collecting manuscripts from local bookshops and won the Harrow History Prize
. With this under his belt, his mother then sent him to Harrow
. Brought up as a Protestant, he was baptised before going to Harrow, with George Adolphus Storey
the painter as his godfather. After Harrow, he went to Magdalen College, Oxford
, where he had many friends including Wilfred Rowland Childe
and John Wain
. His verse was published in Oxford Poetry 1910-13 and later volumes.
. In the autumn of 1914 he enlisted in the Royal Dublin Fusiliers, but was discharged as "not likely to become an efficient soldier".
He returned to the British Museum where he stayed until Armistice Day 1918. He was becoming increasingly discontented with regular work, but a visit from his mother became the final straw and he resigned. Here he based his short novel "Bollond", which although written in 1920 remained unpublished until 1958, after his death. It is the story of a young man's misadventures adrift in the West End of London in the last months of the War. Reginald Bollond, the central character, unwittingly attracts the attention of a series of homosexuals, including a cocaine dealer who wants to set him up as a rent boy. Meyerstein decided to develop his writing and his collections and his interests in the arts. He became a Fellow of Magdalen College and considered himself a man of letters thereafter. Apart from occasional holidays in the English countryside and in Europe, he spent most of his life in his rooms at Greys Inn Place. He wrote "A Life of Thomas Chatterton
" - the promising poet who committed suicide at an early age - in 1930 and produced various works of poetry which were published in collections. Occasional music criticism also appeared under his name in the journal Music Survey
.
. He is buried at Saint John’s-at-Hampstead Church and Churchyard.
The Daily Telegraph commenting on Meyerstein's autobiography "Of My Early Life" noted "Out of this strange obsessed life came strange obsessed novels and poems which could have been written by nobody else". John Wain
in his own autobiography "Sprightly Running", recalled of the neurotic poet that he emerged from Oxford with a backward looking, almost Johnsonian determination to dig in and cherish the old values while the tide of modernism swept over him. He described him as a disconcerting friend, with a taste for rather cruel or sinister jokes and recorded some strange miserly habits such as reusing old Christmas cards. Meyerstein himself in his autobiography makes no secret of his taste for flagellation
. His editor Rowland Watson quotes a letter recording a beating by an assistant master at his Prep school
(a good-looking Bristolian). While the master said his conceit must be whipped out of him, Meyerstein comments "Poor man - he was only whipping it in, had he but known". His passion for collecting extended to an extraordinary collection of whips from many countries, which were discovered under his bed after his death and burned.
Early life and education
Meyerstein was born in Hampstead, the son of Edward William Meyerstein and his wife Jessy Louise Solomon. His father was a merchant and stockbroker who was generous benefactor to the Royal Free HospitalRoyal Free Hospital
The Royal Free Hospital is a major teaching hospital in Hampstead, London, England and part of the Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust....
became High Sheriff of Kent
High Sheriff of Kent
The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been transferred elsewhere or are now defunct, so that its functions...
and was knighted in 1938. Meyerstein was educated at Holly Hill Hampstead, and then went to board at St Cyprian's School
St Cyprian's School
St Cyprian's School was an English preparatory school for boys, which operated in the early 20th century in Eastbourne, East Sussex. Like other preparatory schools, its purpose was to train pupils to do well enough in the examinations to gain admission to leading public schools, and to provide an...
, Eastbourne
Eastbourne
Eastbourne is a large town and borough in East Sussex, on the south coast of England between Brighton and Hastings. The town is situated at the eastern end of the chalk South Downs alongside the high cliff at Beachy Head...
. At St Cyprian's, he met the future painter Cedric Morris
Cedric Morris
Sir Cedric Lockwood Morris, 9th Baronet was a British artist, art teacher and plantsman. He was born in Swansea but worked mainly in East Anglia...
, started collecting manuscripts from local bookshops and won the Harrow History Prize
Harrow History Prize
The Harrow History Prize or the Townsend Warner Preparatory Schools History Prize is a prestigious annual history competition for children at British preparatory schools. It currently attracts around 800 entrants each year.-History:...
. With this under his belt, his mother then sent him to Harrow
Harrow School
Harrow School, commonly known simply as "Harrow", is an English independent school for boys situated in the town of Harrow, in north-west London.. The school is of worldwide renown. There is some evidence that there has been a school on the site since 1243 but the Harrow School we know today was...
. Brought up as a Protestant, he was baptised before going to Harrow, with George Adolphus Storey
George Adolphus Storey
George Adolphus Storey RA was an English portrait painter, genre painter and illustrator.Storey was born in London, but educated in Paris. When he returned to London, he worked briefly for an architect before studying under J. M. Leigh and J.L. Dulong. Though not a pupil he was also encouraged by...
the painter as his godfather. After Harrow, he went to Magdalen College, Oxford
Magdalen College, Oxford
Magdalen College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. As of 2006 the college had an estimated financial endowment of £153 million. Magdalen is currently top of the Norrington Table after over half of its 2010 finalists received first-class degrees, a record...
, where he had many friends including Wilfred Rowland Childe
Wilfred Rowland Childe
Wilfred Rowland Childe was a British poet and critic. He was educated at Harrow School and Magdalen College, Oxford. He edited Oxford Poetry in 1916 and 1917. He became a Roman Catholic convert in 1916. He is chiefly remembered for 'Dream English. A Fantastical Romance' which was and still is...
and John Wain
John Wain
John Barrington Wain was an English poet, novelist, and critic, associated with the literary group "The Movement". For most of his life, Wain worked as a freelance journalist and author, writing and reviewing for newspapers and the radio. He seems to have married in 1947, since C. S...
. His verse was published in Oxford Poetry 1910-13 and later volumes.
Career
After Oxford, Meyerstein spent some time in Germany before starting work in the manuscript room of the British MuseumBritish Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
. In the autumn of 1914 he enlisted in the Royal Dublin Fusiliers, but was discharged as "not likely to become an efficient soldier".
He returned to the British Museum where he stayed until Armistice Day 1918. He was becoming increasingly discontented with regular work, but a visit from his mother became the final straw and he resigned. Here he based his short novel "Bollond", which although written in 1920 remained unpublished until 1958, after his death. It is the story of a young man's misadventures adrift in the West End of London in the last months of the War. Reginald Bollond, the central character, unwittingly attracts the attention of a series of homosexuals, including a cocaine dealer who wants to set him up as a rent boy. Meyerstein decided to develop his writing and his collections and his interests in the arts. He became a Fellow of Magdalen College and considered himself a man of letters thereafter. Apart from occasional holidays in the English countryside and in Europe, he spent most of his life in his rooms at Greys Inn Place. He wrote "A Life of Thomas Chatterton
Thomas Chatterton
Thomas Chatterton was an English poet and forger of pseudo-medieval poetry. He died of arsenic poisoning, either from a suicide attempt or self-medication for a venereal disease.-Childhood:...
" - the promising poet who committed suicide at an early age - in 1930 and produced various works of poetry which were published in collections. Occasional music criticism also appeared under his name in the journal Music Survey
Music Survey
Music Survey was a short-lived academic journal covering classical and contemporary music, which flourished in the United Kingdom for a brief period after World War II...
.
Legacies
He made important bequests to his college and the British Library (including part of a Mozart manuscript). His will also established the Chatterton Lectures on Poetry an annual lecture to be given by a lecturer under the age of 40 on the life and works of a deceased English poet (interpreted as ‘a deceased poet writing in the English language’). An inaugural lecture on Meyerstein himself was delivered in 1955 by the historian Lionel Butler, husband of Gwendoline ButlerGwendoline Butler
Gwendoline Butler is a writer of mystery fiction credited for inventing the "woman's police procedural" and known for her series of Inspector John Coffin novels. She has also published a series featuring female detective Charmian Daniels under the pseudonym Jennie Melville...
. He is buried at Saint John’s-at-Hampstead Church and Churchyard.
Inner life
- "I suspect - but you mustn't tell anybody - that I was born out of Jane AustenJane AustenJane Austen was an English novelist whose works of romantic fiction, set among the landed gentry, earned her a place as one of the most widely read writers in English literature, her realism and biting social commentary cementing her historical importance among scholars and critics.Austen lived...
by ApuleiusApuleiusApuleius was a Latin prose writer. He was a Berber, from Madaurus . He studied Platonist philosophy in Athens; travelled to Italy, Asia Minor and Egypt; and was an initiate in several cults or mysteries. The most famous incident in his life was when he was accused of using magic to gain the...
." E. H. W. M.
The Daily Telegraph commenting on Meyerstein's autobiography "Of My Early Life" noted "Out of this strange obsessed life came strange obsessed novels and poems which could have been written by nobody else". John Wain
John Wain
John Barrington Wain was an English poet, novelist, and critic, associated with the literary group "The Movement". For most of his life, Wain worked as a freelance journalist and author, writing and reviewing for newspapers and the radio. He seems to have married in 1947, since C. S...
in his own autobiography "Sprightly Running", recalled of the neurotic poet that he emerged from Oxford with a backward looking, almost Johnsonian determination to dig in and cherish the old values while the tide of modernism swept over him. He described him as a disconcerting friend, with a taste for rather cruel or sinister jokes and recorded some strange miserly habits such as reusing old Christmas cards. Meyerstein himself in his autobiography makes no secret of his taste for flagellation
Flagellation
Flagellation or flogging is the act of methodically beating or whipping the human body. Specialised implements for it include rods, switches, the cat o' nine tails and the sjambok...
. His editor Rowland Watson quotes a letter recording a beating by an assistant master at his Prep school
Preparatory school (UK)
In English language usage in the former British Empire, the present-day Commonwealth, a preparatory school is an independent school preparing children up to the age of eleven or thirteen for entry into fee-paying, secondary independent schools, some of which are known as public schools...
(a good-looking Bristolian). While the master said his conceit must be whipped out of him, Meyerstein comments "Poor man - he was only whipping it in, had he but known". His passion for collecting extended to an extraordinary collection of whips from many countries, which were discovered under his bed after his death and burned.
Works
- Symphonies (1915) poems
- Grobo (1925)
- The Pleasure Lover: Being some account of the early life and fortunes of Terence Duke (1925)
- A Life of Thomas Chatterton (1930)
- New Symphonies (1933) poems
- The Pageant and Other Stories (1934)
- Selected Poems (1935)
- A Boy of Clare (1937) poems
- Eclogues (1941, Richards Press) poems
- Adventures by Sea of Edward CoxereEdward CoxereEdward Coxere, was a Kentish merchant seaman, linguist, Quaker convert and autobiographer.His manuscript autobiography surfaced in 1943 and was edited by E. H. W. Meyerstein and published by Oxford University Press in 1945 as Adventures by Sea . The small-format book has a map of Europe and North...
(1945) editor - The Delphic Charioteer (1951) poems
- Tom Tallion (1952) novel
- Verse Letters to Five Friends (1954)
- Of My Early Life (1957) autobiography
- Bolland and Other Stories (1958)
- Some Poems (1960)
See also
- Thomas MoultThomas MoultThomas Moult was a versatile English journalist and writer, and one of the Georgian poets. He is known for his annual anthologies Best Poems of the Year, 1922 to 1943, which were popular verse selections taken from periodicals on both sides of the Atlantic.-Life:He was born in Derbyshire...
The Best Poems of 1931 - John GawsworthJohn GawsworthJohn Gawsworth , a pseudonym of Terence Ian Fytton Armstrong , was a British writer, poet and compiler of anthologies, both of poetry and of short stories. He also used the pseudonym Orpheus Scrannel...
Edwardian Poets (1936) - Poems of TodayPoems of TodayPoems of Today was a series of anthologies of poetry, almost all Anglo-Irish, produced by the English Association. Poems of Today a collection of the contemporary verse of America and Great Britian was edited by Alice Cecilia Cooper Supervisor of Senior English, University High School Oakland,...
1938 3rd Series