James Pope-Hennessy
Encyclopedia
James Pope Hennessy CVO
(20 November 1916 to 25 January 1974) was a British biographer and travel writer.
in Ireland, and his wife, Una Constance Pope-Hennessy who was the daughter of Arthur Birch, Lieutenant-Governor of Ceylon. James, as he was generally known, came from a close-knit Catholic family and was educated at Downside School
and at Balliol College, Oxford but generally showed a lack of interest in formal education and did not enjoy his time at either Downside or Oxford.
Largely owing to his mother's influence, he decided to become a writer and left Oxford in 1937 without taking a degree. He went to work for the Catholic publishers Sheed and Ward as an editorial assistant. Whilst working at the company's offices, in Paternoster Row
in London, he worked on his first book, London Fabric (1939), for which he was awarded the Hawthornden Prize
. During this period, he was involved in a circle of notable literary figures including Harold Nicolson
, Raymond Mortimer
and James Lees-Milne
.
He left the publishers in 1938 when his mother found him a job as private secretary to Hubert Young, the Governor of Trinidad
. Although his time abroad provided the material for his later West Indian Summer (1943), he disliked both the West Indies and the atmosphere of Government House. The outbreak of World War II
gave him an excuse to return to Britain, where he enlisted as a private in an anti-aircraft battery under the command of Sir Victor Cazalet
. Rising through the ranks, he was transferred to military intelligence, given a commission and spent the latter part of the war as a member of the British army staff at Washington
.
Pope-Hennessy enjoyed his time in the United States
and made many friends there. After the end of the war he wrote an account of his experiences in America. On his return to London in 1945 he shared a flat with the British intelligence officer Guy Burgess
, who later defected to the Soviet Union
. He had a brief spell as the literary editor of The Spectator
between 1947 and 1949, before he decided to travel to France and write Aspects of Provence
which was published in 1952.
He would eventually establish himself as one of the leading biographers of his time; his first effort in this direction being a two volume biography of Monckton Milnes which appeared in 1949 under the titles The Years of Promise and The Flight of Youth . This was followed by further biographies of the Earl of Crewe and of Queen Mary
, for which he was created Commander of the Royal Victorian Order in 1960. He also wrote a life of his grandfather, the colonial governor John Pope Hennessy
under the title Verandah, followed by an account of the Atlantic slave traffickers, Sins of the Fathers (1967).
In 1970 he took out Irish citizenship and went to live at Banagher
in County Offaly
, where he took rooms at The Shannon Hotel, and during the next few years produced respectable biographies of both Anthony Trollope
and Robert Louis Stevenson
. Trollope himself had chosen James' grandfather, John Pope Hennessy, as the basis for the character Phineas Finn
in his novel of the same name. Robert Louis Stevenson was published posthumously and without revision in 1974. He became a popular figure in Banagher, evidenced by the fact that he was asked to adjudicate at a local beauty pageant and the horse fair
, the oldest in Ireland
. On being given a large advance he returned to London in 1974 to begin work on his next subject, Noël Coward
.
Despite being a successful professional writer, Pope-Hennessy was careless with money. He suffered a series of financial crises and often relied on the goodwill of friends to get him by. He was a heavy drinker and frequented back-street bars and shady pubs where he mixed with a rough crowd, associations which eventually contributed to his death when he was brutally murdered on 25 January 1974 in his London flat at 9, Ladbroke Grove, by three young men. He had been acquainted with one of them. He is buried at Kensal Green Cemetery
in London.
Royal Victorian Order
The Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry recognising distinguished personal service to the order's Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, any members of her family, or any of her viceroys...
(20 November 1916 to 25 January 1974) was a British biographer and travel writer.
Life
Richard James Arthur Pope-Hennessy was born in London on 20 November 1916, the younger son of Ladislaus Herbert Richard Pope-Hennessy, a soldier from County CorkCounty Cork
County Cork is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and is also part of the province of Munster. It is named after the city of Cork . Cork County Council is the local authority for the county...
in Ireland, and his wife, Una Constance Pope-Hennessy who was the daughter of Arthur Birch, Lieutenant-Governor of Ceylon. James, as he was generally known, came from a close-knit Catholic family and was educated at Downside School
Downside School
Downside School is a co-educational Catholic independent school for children aged 11 to 18, located in Stratton-on-the-Fosse, between Norton Radstock and Shepton Mallet in Somerset, south west England. It is attached to Downside Abbey...
and at Balliol College, Oxford but generally showed a lack of interest in formal education and did not enjoy his time at either Downside or Oxford.
Largely owing to his mother's influence, he decided to become a writer and left Oxford in 1937 without taking a degree. He went to work for the Catholic publishers Sheed and Ward as an editorial assistant. Whilst working at the company's offices, in Paternoster Row
Paternoster Row
Paternoster Row was a London street in which clergy of the medieval St Paul's Cathedral would walk, chanting the Lord's Prayer . It was devastated by aerial bombardment in The Blitz during World War II. Prior to this destruction the area had been a centre of the London publishing trade , with...
in London, he worked on his first book, London Fabric (1939), for which he was awarded the Hawthornden Prize
Hawthornden Prize
The Hawthornden Prize is a British literary award that was established in 1919 by Alice Warrender. Authors are awarded on the quality of their "imaginative literature" which can be written in either poetry or prose...
. During this period, he was involved in a circle of notable literary figures including Harold Nicolson
Harold Nicolson
Sir Harold George Nicolson KCVO CMG was an English diplomat, author, diarist and politician. He was the husband of writer Vita Sackville-West, their unusual relationship being described in their son's book, Portrait of a Marriage.-Early life:Nicolson was born in Tehran, Persia, the younger son of...
, Raymond Mortimer
Raymond Mortimer
Charles Raymond Mortimer Bell , who wrote under the name Raymond Mortimer, was a British writer, known mostly as a critic and literary editor....
and James Lees-Milne
James Lees-Milne
James Lees-Milne was an English writer and expert on country houses. He was an architectural historian, novelist, and a biographer. He is also remembered as a diarist.-Biography:...
.
He left the publishers in 1938 when his mother found him a job as private secretary to Hubert Young, the Governor of Trinidad
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
. Although his time abroad provided the material for his later West Indian Summer (1943), he disliked both the West Indies and the atmosphere of Government House. The outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
gave him an excuse to return to Britain, where he enlisted as a private in an anti-aircraft battery under the command of Sir Victor Cazalet
Victor Cazalet
Colonel Victor Alexander Cazalet MC was a British Conservative Party Member of Parliament .Cazalet was commissioned into the Queen's Own West Kent Yeomanry in 1915 and reached the rank of Captain, winning the Military Cross in 1917...
. Rising through the ranks, he was transferred to military intelligence, given a commission and spent the latter part of the war as a member of the British army staff at Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
.
Pope-Hennessy enjoyed his time in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and made many friends there. After the end of the war he wrote an account of his experiences in America. On his return to London in 1945 he shared a flat with the British intelligence officer Guy Burgess
Guy Burgess
Guy Francis De Moncy Burgess was a British-born intelligence officer and double agent, who worked for the Soviet Union. He was part of the Cambridge Five spy ring that betrayed Western secrets to the Soviets before and during the Cold War...
, who later defected to the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. He had a brief spell as the literary editor of The Spectator
The Spectator
The Spectator is a weekly British magazine first published on 6 July 1828. It is currently owned by David and Frederick Barclay, who also owns The Daily Telegraph. Its principal subject areas are politics and culture...
between 1947 and 1949, before he decided to travel to France and write Aspects of Provence
Provence
Provence ; Provençal: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm) is a region of south eastern France on the Mediterranean adjacent to Italy. It is part of the administrative région of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...
which was published in 1952.
He would eventually establish himself as one of the leading biographers of his time; his first effort in this direction being a two volume biography of Monckton Milnes which appeared in 1949 under the titles The Years of Promise and The Flight of Youth . This was followed by further biographies of the Earl of Crewe and of Queen Mary
Mary of Teck
Mary of Teck was the queen consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, as the wife of King-Emperor George V....
, for which he was created Commander of the Royal Victorian Order in 1960. He also wrote a life of his grandfather, the colonial governor John Pope Hennessy
John Pope Hennessy
Sir John Pope Hennessy, KCMG , was an Irish and British politician and colonial administrator who served as the eighth Governor of Hong Kong.-Early life:...
under the title Verandah, followed by an account of the Atlantic slave traffickers, Sins of the Fathers (1967).
In 1970 he took out Irish citizenship and went to live at Banagher
Banagher
Banagher is a town in Ireland, located in the midlands on the western edge of County Offaly in the province of Leinster, on the banks of the River Shannon. The name Banagher comes from its Irish name which translates to English as "the place of the pointed rocks on the Shannon"...
in County Offaly
County Offaly
County Offaly is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Midlands Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe and was formerly known as King's County until the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. Offaly County Council is...
, where he took rooms at The Shannon Hotel, and during the next few years produced respectable biographies of both Anthony Trollope
Anthony Trollope
Anthony Trollope was one of the most successful, prolific and respected English novelists of the Victorian era. Some of his best-loved works, collectively known as the Chronicles of Barsetshire, revolve around the imaginary county of Barsetshire...
and Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist and travel writer. His best-known books include Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde....
. Trollope himself had chosen James' grandfather, John Pope Hennessy, as the basis for the character Phineas Finn
Phineas Finn
Phineas Finn is a novel by Anthony Trollope and the name of its leading character. The novel was first published as a monthly serial from October 1867 to May 1868 in St Paul's Magazine. It is the second of the "Palliser" series of novels...
in his novel of the same name. Robert Louis Stevenson was published posthumously and without revision in 1974. He became a popular figure in Banagher, evidenced by the fact that he was asked to adjudicate at a local beauty pageant and the horse fair
Banagher Horse Fair
The Banagher Horse Fair, the oldest horse fair in Ireland, is held every September in Banagher, County Offaly, Republic of Ireland.-History:Founded by a Royal Charter from Charles II, it has been run every year since...
, the oldest in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. On being given a large advance he returned to London in 1974 to begin work on his next subject, Noël Coward
Noël Coward
Sir Noël Peirce Coward was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise".Born in Teddington, a suburb of London, Coward attended a dance academy...
.
Despite being a successful professional writer, Pope-Hennessy was careless with money. He suffered a series of financial crises and often relied on the goodwill of friends to get him by. He was a heavy drinker and frequented back-street bars and shady pubs where he mixed with a rough crowd, associations which eventually contributed to his death when he was brutally murdered on 25 January 1974 in his London flat at 9, Ladbroke Grove, by three young men. He had been acquainted with one of them. He is buried at Kensal Green Cemetery
Kensal Green Cemetery
Kensal Green Cemetery is a cemetery in Kensal Green, in the west of London, England. It was immortalised in the lines of G. K. Chesterton's poem The Rolling English Road from his book The Flying Inn: "For there is good news yet to hear and fine things to be seen; Before we go to Paradise by way of...
in London.