Finding Aid for the John Stuart Verschoyle Papers 1884-1915
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aid created by Rebecca Fenning, Manuscripts and Archives Librarian.
William Andrews Clark Memorial Library
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Email: rfenning@humnet.ucla.edu
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The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Descriptive Summary
Title: John Stuart Verschoyle papers,
Date (inclusive): 1884-1915
Collection number: MS.2007.001
Creator: Verschoyle, John
Stuart
Extent:
2 boxes (1 linear foot)
Repository:
University of California, Los Angeles. Library.
William Andrews Clark Memorial Library
Los Angeles, California 90095-1490
Abstract: 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.
Physical location: Clark Library.
Language of Material: Collection materials in English
Access
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
Copyright has not been assigned to the William Andrews Clark Memorial
Library, UCLA. All requests for permission to publish or quote from
manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Librarian. Permission
for publication is given on behalf of the William Andrews Clark Memorial
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.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], John Stuart Verschoyle papers, MS.2007.001, William
Andrews Clark Memorial Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
Acquisition Information
The items in this collection were acquired by the Clark Library in
2007.
Biographical Note
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.
In addition to Verschoyle's activity in literary circles, he was also
quite involved in the "Scramble for Africa" in the late 19th century,
which is well represented in his correspondence. He apparently spent
some time in Africa in his youth, and became a staunch advocate of
British mining interests. In 1889, he convened a dinner for Cecil Rhodes
and Harry H. Johnston at his London apartment in order to facilitate
their meeting, and throughout the 1880s and 90s published pro-Rhodes
articles and editorials (some anonymously as "Imperialist" in British
journals and newspapers). His advocacy on behalf of Rhodes reached its
apex with his writing of a laudatory 1900 Rhodes biography apparently
commissioned by Rhodes himself. Though it was published under the
pseudonym "Vindex," Verschoyle's support of Rhodes was well-known enough
that several contemporary reviewers suspected him as the author.
Verschoyle's work for social reform, is somewhat less overtly
prominent in this correspondence, but is nonetheless significant. His
activism, particularly in the anti-vivisection movement, seems to have
its roots in his relationship and admiration for suffragist and reformer
Frances Power Cobbe, whom he met as an undergraduate in 1878. At that
time, he was involved organizing government petitions against the death
sentence handed to Isabel Grant, a woman who had killed her abusive
husband, and after this was apparently a close member of Cobbe's circle
until her death in 1904. She recruited him to be the editor of the
anti-vivisection journal
The Abolitionist in 1899, and some of his
letters seeking contributions for that paper are included here.
Verschoyle is most often remembered in the memoirs, biographies and
histories of his friends and colleagues as a footnote or in a few short
paragraphs at most. Those who mention Verschoyle in detail describe a
handsome man, powerfully built with very blond hair and mustaches, of
very broad theology but very hard-working and dedicated to his
parishioners. The paradox of a clergyman working closely with the
famously profane Harris seems odd, and indeed, Harry H. Johnston
described Verschoyle as "one of the strangest characters of [his]
acquaintance." (Johnston, The story of my life, p. 218) He often
entertained parties both large and small in his London apartment,
convening together groups of writers, journalists, politicians and
social reformers.
John Verschoyle died on July 30, 1915 in a nursing home in Taunton,
Somerset.
Scope and Content
This collection includes approximately 400 letters written to John
Stuart Verschoyle between 1881-1915 by a diverse group of leaders in
late Victorian literature, politics, journalism, social reform and
society. The majority of letters are related to Verschoyle's work as an
assistant editor of the
Fortnightly Review and the social circle he
built as a result of this work, but Verschoyle's connections to colonial
African mining interests are also well-represented. Many letters also
document his commitment to and involvement in social reform causes.
Frequent correspondents include Frank Harris, Theodore Watts-Dunton,
Oswald Crawfurd, Frances Power Cobbe, Edward Dowden, Edmund Gosse and
Emile Joseph Dillon. Other important names represented here include
Henry James, Rudyard Kipling, Thomas Hardy, W.T. Stead, and A.C.
Swinburne.
The collection is organized into the following series:
- Series 1. Correspondence, 1881-1915. 2 boxes (1 linear foot)
- Series 2. Miscellany, 1888-1893. 3 folders
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this
collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Subjects
Africa -- Colonization
Animal rights activists --
England -- 20th century
Journalism -- England --
19th century
Genres and Forms
Letters.
Series 1.
Correspondence
1881-1915
Physical Description: 2 boxes (1 linear foot)
Scope and Content Note
Approximately 400 letters written to John Stuart Verschoyle between
1881-1915 by various and diverse leaders in late Victorian literature,
politics, journalism and society. The majority of letters are related to
Verschoyle's work as an assistant editor of the
Fortnightly Review and
the social circle he built as a result of this work, but Verschoyle's
connections to colonial African mining interests are also
well-represented as is his involvement in social reform movements,
particularly the anti-vivisection movement. Frequent correspondents
include Frank Harris, Theodore Watts-Dunton, Oswald Crawfurd, Frances
Power Cobbe, Edward Dowden, Edmund Gosse and Emile Joseph Dillon. Other
important names represented here include Henry James, Rudyard Kipling,
Thomas Hardy, W.T. Stead, and A.C. Swinburne.
Arrangement
Correspondence is arranged in alphabetical order by correspondent and
in chronological order within folders.
Box 1, Folder 1
Aldin, Cecil
undated
Physical Description: 1 item
Box 1, Folder 4
Archer, William
1889-1891
Physical Description: 5 items
Box 2, Folder 31
Balfour, Arthur James
1889
Physical Description: 1 item
Box 1, Folder 5
Barrie, J.M.
1890, undated
Physical Description: 2 items
Box 1, Folder 6
Beit, Alfred
1889
Physical Description: 1 item
Box 1, Folder 7
Black, Clementina
undated
Physical Description: 1 item
Box 1, Folder 8
Blackmore, R.D. (Richard Doddridge)
1896-1897
Physical Description: 3 items
Box 1, Folder 9
Buchanan, Robert
undated
Physical Description: 1 item
Box 1, Folder 10
Bunting, Percy William
1903,
1909
Physical Description: 2 items
Box 1, Folder 11
Burne-Jones, Philip
undated
Physical Description: 1 item
Box 1, Folder 12
Blaze de Bury, Marie
1890-1892, undated
Physical Description: 4 items
Box 1, Folder 13
Cawston, George
1889
Physical Description: 2 items
Box 1, Folder 14
Chamberlain, Rahmeh
undated
Physical Description: 3 items
Box 1, Folder 17
Cobbe, Frances Power
after 1884
Physical Description: 17 items
Box 1, Folder 16
Compton, Lord Alwyne
undated
Physical Description: 1 item
Box 1, Folder 18-19
Crawfurd, Oswald
1888-1897, undated
Physical Description: 34 items
Box 1, Folder 20
Dameron, N. (?)
undated
Physical Description: 1 item
Box 1, Folder 21
Darmesteter, Mary
1891
Physical Description: 1 item
Box 1, Folder 23
Davidson, John
1899
Physical Description: 4 items
Box 1, Folder 22
Davidson, Randall T.
1889
Physical Description: 1 item
Box 1, Folder 24
Dilke, Charles Wentworth
1891, undated
Physical Description: 7 items
Box 1, Folder 25
Dilke, Emilia F.
1891
Physical Description: 1 item
Box 1, Folder 26
Dillon, Emile Joseph
1890-1892,
1899, undated
Physical Description: 22 items
Box 1, Folder 27
Dowden, Edward
1886-1897
Physical Description: 17 items
Box 1, Folder 28
Eastlake, Elizabeth Rigby
1888-1893
Physical Description: 8 items
Box 1, Folder 29
Everett, Katharine
1926
Physical Description: 1 item
Scope and Content Note
Postcard addressed to "W. Verschoyle-Campbell, 9 Fitzwilliam Sq, Dublin."
Box 1, Folder 30
Farrar, F.W. (Frederic William)
1902
Physical Description: 1 item
Box 1, Folder 31
Fawcett, Edgar
undated
Physical Description: 1 item
Box 1, Folder 32
Fawcett, Dame Millicent Garrett
1891, undated
Physical Description: 2 items
Box 1, Folder 33
Francillon, R.E. (Robert Edward)
1895
Physical Description: 1 item
Box 1, Folder 34
Fremantle, W.H. (William Henry)
1887-1888,
1896
Physical Description: 3 items
Box 1, Folder 35
French Ministry of Commerce (Ministere du Commerce et de
l'Industrie), Exposition Universelle de 1889
1889
Physical Description: 1 item
Box 1, Folder 36
Gattie, Catherine A.
ca. 1909
Physical Description: 1 item
Box 1, Folder 37
Grand, Sarah
1899
Physical Description: 1 item
Box 1, Folder 38
Gosse, Edmund
1888-1891,
1896
Physical Description: 13 items
Box 1, Folder 39
Hardy, Thomas
1887,
1891
Physical Description: 4 items
Box 1, Folder 40
Hadwen, Walter (British Union for the Abolition of
Vivisection)
1910
Physical Description: 1 item
Box 1, Folder 48-49
Harris, Frank
1884-1898
Physical Description: 24 items
Box 1, Folder 41
Harrod, Charles?
1896
Physical Description: 1 item
Box 1, Folder 42
Henley, W.E. (William Ernest)
1891, undated
Physical Description: 2 items
Box 1, Folder 43
Herbert, Auberon
1890-1891
Physical Description: 5 items
Box 1, Folder 44
Herbert, Clair
undated
Physical Description: 1 item
Box 1, Folder 45
Hichens, Robert
1901
Physical Description: 1 item addressed to M. Arapott of Cairo
Box 1, Folder 46
Huxley, T.H. (Thomas Henry)
1888
Physical Description: 1 item
Box 1, Folder 50
Ingelow, Jean
undated
Physical Description: 1 item
Scope and Content Note
Letter begins "My dear Madame," and it is unclear if it was
originally sent to JSV.
Box 1, Folder 51
James, Henry
1900,
1906
Physical Description: 3 items
Box 1, Folder 52
Jephson, A. J. Mounteney (Arthur Jermy Mounteney)
1891
Physical Description: 1 item
Box 1, Folder 53
Johnston, H.H. (Henry Hamilton)
1881-1891,
1897
Physical Description: 11 items
Box 1, Folder 54
Knight-Bruce, G.W.H. (George Wyndham Hamilton)
undated
Physical Description: 2 items
Box 1, Folder 55
Kipling, Rudyard
1896-1906, undated
Physical Description: 9 items
Box 1, Folder 56
Le Gallienne, Richard
1891,
1896
Physical Description: 4 items
Box 1, Folder 57
Leigh, J.W. (James Wentworth)
1891,
1895
Physical Description: 4 items
Box 1, Folder 58
Linton, E. Lynn (Eliza Lynn)
undated
Physical Description: 3 items
Box 1, Folder 59
Low, Sidney J.
1889-1892, undated
Physical Description: 7 items
Box 1, Folder 61
MacQuoid, Katharine S.
1884-1891
Physical Description: 3 items
Box 1, Folder 62
Maguire, Rochfort
1891
Physical Description: 1 item
Box 1, Folder 60
Malabari, B.M. (Behramji Merwanji)
1891
Physical Description: 1 item
Box 1, Folder 63
Manning, Henry E.
1889
Physical Description: 3 items
Box 1, Folder 64
Meredith, George
1893-1894
Physical Description: 3 items
Box 1, Folder 65
Meynell, Alice
ca. 1896
Physical Description: 2 items
Box 1, Folder 66
Morris, Lewis
1899,
1905
Physical Description: 2 items
Box 1, Folder 67
Morris, William
undated
Physical Description: 1 item
Box 1, Folder 68
Moulton, Louise Chandler
undated
Physical Description: 7 items
Box 2, Folder 1
Muller, F. Max
1888
Physical Description: 1 item
Box 2, Folder 2
Myers, F.W.H. (Frederic William Henry)
1889-1891
Physical Description: 5 items
Box 2, Folder 3
Norwich, Bishop of
undated
Physical Description: 1 item
Box 2, Folder 4
Pater, Walter
ca 1889
Physical Description: 4 items
Box 2, Folder 5
Patmore, Coventry
1893-1895
Physical Description: 6 items
Box 2, Folder 6
Peel, Robert
undated
Physical Description: 1 item
Box 2, Folder 7
Plunket, William Conyngham
1888
Physical Description: 1 item
Box 2, Folder 8
Plunkett, Horace
1892-1893, undated
Physical Description: 8 items
Box 2, Folder 9
Pottinger, Henry
1889-1891, undated
Physical Description: 9 items
Box 2, Folder 10
Prior, C.H.
1887
Physical Description: 1 item
Box 2, Folder 11
Prothero, R.E. (Roland Edmund)
1891
Physical Description: 1 item
Box 2, Folder 12
Rajou, Antoine
1890
Physical Description: 1 item
Box 2, Folder 13
Rhodes, Cecil
1891, undated
Physical Description: 2 items
Scope and Content Note
1 item is an incomplete draft of a letter from JSV to Rhodes.
Box 2, Folder 14
Sarrazin, Gabriel
1889
Physical Description: 1 item
Box 2, Folder 15
Seaver, F.W.
undated
Physical Description: 1 item
Box 2, Folder 16
Selous, F.C. (Frederick Courteney)
1889-1890, undated
Physical Description: 3 items
Box 2, Folder 17
Sharp, William
1890,
1900, undated
Physical Description: 6 items
Scope and Content Note
Includes 1 letter from Sharp's pseudonym Fiona MacLeod.
Box 2, Folder 18
Shorter, Clement
undated
Physical Description: 1 item
Box 2, Folder 19
Stead, W.T. (William Thomas)
1889-1893
Physical Description: 7 items
Scope and Content Note
Includes an incomplete letter to Stead from JSV.
Box 2, Folder 20
Symonds, J.A. (John Addington)
1889
Physical Description: 1 item
Box 2, Folder 21
Swinburne, A.C. (Algernon Charles)
1889, undated
Physical Description: 3 items
Scope and Content Note
Includes a printed proof of a poem with JSV's notes.
Box 2, Folder 22
Tynan, Katharine
undated
Physical Description: 1 item
Box 2, Folder 23
Tyrrell, R.Y. (Robert Yelverton)
undated
Physical Description: 13 items
Box 2, Folder 24
Ward, Mary (Mrs. Humphry)
1902
Physical Description: 1 item
Box 2, Folder 25
Watson, William
1890,
1909, undated
Physical Description: 8 items
Box 2, Folder 28
Watts-Dunton, Clara
1914-1915
Physical Description: 2 items
Box 2, Folder 26-27
Watts-Dunton, Theodore
1888-1914
Physical Description: 25 items
Box 2, Folder 29
Webster, Wentworth
1881-1891
Physical Description: 4 items
Box 2, Folder 30
Whistler, J. MacNeil
undated
Physical Description: 1 item
Box 2, Folder 32
Wolseley, Garnet Joseph
1891-1895, undated
Physical Description: 4 items
Box 2, Folder 33
Wyndham, George
undated
Physical Description: 1 item
Series 2.
Miscellany
1888-1893
Physical Description: 3 folders
Scope and Content Note
This series contains several miscellaneous items found in the
Verschoyle archive.
Arrangement
These items are arranged in alphabetical order by author.
Box 1, Folder 2
Anonymous manuscript essay on Shakespeare
undated
Box 1, Folder 3
Anonymous, religious text in Latin
September 19, 1893
Box 1, Folder 15
Church of England, printed circulars
1888, undated
Physical Description: 2 items