Description
Correspondence sent to John Stuart Verschoyle
from a wide-ranging group of fin-de-siecle notables, dating 1881-1915
and undated. Though much of the correspondence issues from Verschoyle's
role as assistant editor of the Fortnightly Review, a significant number
of items related to African colonial interests are also included.
Background
John Stuart Verschoyle was born in Ireland in 1853 to Anglo-Irish
gentleman James J. Verschoyle and his wife Catherine Foster. After
receiving his B.A. from Pembroke College, Cambridge University in 1881,
he was appointed curate of the Church of the Holy Trinity, Marylebone,
London in 1882. During his early years in London, Verschoyle made the
acquaintance of Frank Harris, whom he introduced to his group of literary
friends and assisted by editing his early submissions to various London
periodicals. This helped lead to Harris' appointment as the editor of
the London Evening News in 1883. In 1886, Harris left the Evening News for a post editing the Fortnightly Review, which he would continue to do
until 1894. While Verschoyle's formal role as editor during this entire
time is unclear, it seems that by at least 1889, he was formally
installed as an assistant editor at the Fortnightly, where, as several
contemporaries remarked, he seemed to take on the lion's share of the
work. During this time, he did not function just as an editor of Harris'
writing, but actively solicited contributions to the Fortnightly from
prominent individuals in a wide variety of fields, which is
well-reflected in the correspondence collected here. In 1891, Verschoyle
moved out of London and would not live in the city again for the rest of
his life. During the years he served as the rector of Creeting St Peter,
Suffolk (1891-1893), and Huish Champflower, Somerset (1893-1915), he
still apparently visited London, helped Harris with editorial matters
and kept in regular correspondence with his literary and political
friends. His editorial work seems to have largely tapered off by the
early 1900s, and there are several letters from this time also inquiring
after his poor health.
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Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to
include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be
obtained.