Julian MacLaren-Ross
Encyclopedia
Julian MacLaren-Ross was a British novelist.
, London
in 1912, his father John Lambden Ross was of mixed Scottish and Cuban blood, and his mother, from an Anglo-Indian family, was described as "a magnificent Indian lady and the obvious source of his male beauty". MacLaren-Ross was largely educated in the South of France, though his memoir The Weeping and the Laughter (1953) principally concerns his boyhood in a Bournemouth suburb. In 1943 he was discharged from the army, having been found at home with a female acquaintance while AWOL.
MacLaren-Ross was a frequent contributor to literary journals, such as the London Magazine
and Horizon
. He was known to be a sympathiser of the Labour Party
and though he never dealt with explicitly political themes in his stories, the backdrop of inter and post-war social strife was always intimated. MacLaren Ross was fictionalised as novelist X. Trapnel in Anthony Powell
's A Dance to the Music of Time
and as Prince Yakimov in Olivia Manning
's The Balkan Trilogy and was the subject of a 2003 biography Fear and Loathing in Fitzrovia by Paul Willetts. John Betjeman
described him as "One of our very best writers".
His reputation as a dandy
in post-war London bohemia to some extent exceeds the actual stature of his recognised works. His turbulent life and pivotal role in the Fitzrovia
n milieu has ensured iconic status and a constant interest in his work. Debt, alcoholism and a love of debauched living all featured heavily in his life. His biographer referred to him as the "mediocre caretaker of his own immense talent".
Background
Born James McLaren Ross in South NorwoodSouth Norwood
South Norwood is an urban town and in south London, England, in the London Borough of Croydon. It is a suburban development 7.8 miles south-east of Charing Cross. South Norwood is an electoral with a resident population in 2001 of just over 14,000...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1912, his father John Lambden Ross was of mixed Scottish and Cuban blood, and his mother, from an Anglo-Indian family, was described as "a magnificent Indian lady and the obvious source of his male beauty". MacLaren-Ross was largely educated in the South of France, though his memoir The Weeping and the Laughter (1953) principally concerns his boyhood in a Bournemouth suburb. In 1943 he was discharged from the army, having been found at home with a female acquaintance while AWOL.
MacLaren-Ross was a frequent contributor to literary journals, such as the London Magazine
London Magazine
The London Magazine is a historied publication of arts, literature and miscellaneous interests. Its history ranges nearly three centuries and several reincarnations, publishing the likes of William Wordsworth, William S...
and Horizon
Horizon (magazine)
Horizon: A Review of Literature and Art was an influential literary magazine published in London, between 1940 and 1949. It was edited by Cyril Connolly who gave a platform to a wide range of distinguished and emerging writers....
. He was known to be a sympathiser of the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
and though he never dealt with explicitly political themes in his stories, the backdrop of inter and post-war social strife was always intimated. MacLaren Ross was fictionalised as novelist X. Trapnel in Anthony Powell
Anthony Powell
Anthony Dymoke Powell CH, CBE was an English novelist best known for his twelve-volume work A Dance to the Music of Time, published between 1951 and 1975....
's A Dance to the Music of Time
A Dance to the Music of Time
A Dance to the Music of Time is a twelve-volume cycle of novels by Anthony Powell, inspired by the painting of the same name by Nicolas Poussin. One of the longest works of fiction in literature, it was published between 1951 and 1975 to critical acclaim...
and as Prince Yakimov in Olivia Manning
Olivia Manning
Olivia Mary Manning CBE was a British novelist, poet, writer and reviewer. Her fiction and non-fiction, frequently detailing journeys and personal odysseys, were principally set in England, Ireland, Europe and the Middle East. She often wrote from her personal experience, though her books also...
's The Balkan Trilogy and was the subject of a 2003 biography Fear and Loathing in Fitzrovia by Paul Willetts. John Betjeman
John Betjeman
Sir John Betjeman, CBE was an English poet, writer and broadcaster who described himself in Who's Who as a "poet and hack".He was a founding member of the Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture...
described him as "One of our very best writers".
His reputation as a dandy
Dandy
A dandy is a man who places particular importance upon physical appearance, refined language, and leisurely hobbies, pursued with the appearance of nonchalance in a cult of Self...
in post-war London bohemia to some extent exceeds the actual stature of his recognised works. His turbulent life and pivotal role in the Fitzrovia
Fitzrovia
Fitzrovia is a neighbourhood in central London, near London's West End lying partly in the London Borough of Camden and partly in the City of Westminster ; and situated between Marylebone and Bloomsbury and north of Soho. It is characterised by its mixed-use of residential, business, retail,...
n milieu has ensured iconic status and a constant interest in his work. Debt, alcoholism and a love of debauched living all featured heavily in his life. His biographer referred to him as the "mediocre caretaker of his own immense talent".
Works
- The Stuff to Give the Troops, Jonathan Cape (1944)
- Better than a Kick in the Pants, Lawson & Dunn, jointly with the Hyperion Press (1945)
- Bitten by the Tarantula, Allan Wingate (1946),
- The Nine Men of Soho, Allan Wingate (1946)
- Of Love and HungerOf Love and HungerOf Love and Hunger is a novel by Julian Maclaren-Ross, first published in the UK in 1947 by Allan Wingate.- Plot summary :Richard Fanshawe sells vacuum cleaners for a living and has an unhappy love affair with Sukie, the wife of his friend....
, Allan Wingate (1947) - The Weeping and the Laughter, Rupert Hart-Davis (1953)
- The Funny Bone, Elek Books (1956)
- Until the Day She Dies, Hamish Hamilton (1960)
- The Doomsday Book, Hamish Hamilton (1961)
- My Name is Love, Times Press (1964)
- Memoirs of the Forties, Alan Ross (1965)
- Bitten by the Tarantula and other writing, Black Spring PressBlack Spring PressBlack Spring Press is an independent English publishing house, founded in 1985. The initial published works were lyric and poetry collections by musicians Nick Cave and Leonard Cohen. They have also published Off the Road by Carolyn Cassady, and Nick Cave's debut novel And the Ass Saw the Angel...
(2005) - Selected Letters, Black Spring Press (2008)
Further reading
- Closing Times, Dan Davin (1975)
- Dead as Doornails, Anthony CroninAnthony CroninAnthony Cronin is an Irish poet. He received the Marten Toonder Award for his contribution to Irish literature....
(1976) - Fear and Loathing in Fitzrovia, Paul Willetts (2003)
- Waterstone's Guide to London Writing (1999)
- London's Bohemia, Michael Bakewell (1999)
External links
- Morning Star profile
- Guardian review of biography
- Guardian review of short story collections
- Julian Maclaren-Ross website including extracts and interviews
- "An unpublished story by Julian Maclaren-Ross": an unpublished story by Julian MacLaren-Ross from TLS, June 25 2008.