77-415: Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett, 18th Baron Dunsany FRSL FRGS ( / d ʌ n ˈ s eɪ n i / ; 24 July 1878 – 25 October 1957), commonly known as Lord Dunsany , was an Anglo-Irish writer and dramatist. He published more than 90 books during his lifetime, and his output consisted of hundreds of short stories, plays, novels, and essays; further works were published posthumously. Having gained
154-464: A Dunsany selection), Lady Gregory , Percy French , George "AE" Russell , Oliver St John Gogarty, Padraic Colum (with whom he jointly wrote a play) and others. He befriended and supported Francis Ledwidge , to whom he gave the use of his library, and Mary Lavin . Dunsany made his first literary tour to the United States in 1919 and further such visits up to the 1950s, in the early years mostly to
231-831: A billiard room, bedrooms and other facilities. The billiard room includes the crests of all the Lords Dunsany up to the 18th. Dunsany served as a second lieutenant in the Coldstream Guards in the Second Boer War . Volunteering in the First World War and appointed Captain in the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers , he was stationed for a time at Ebrington Barracks in Derry. Hearing while on leave of disturbances in Dublin during
308-430: A character appearing out of thin air or vanishing in full view of the audience, without an explanation of how the effect is to be staged, a matter of no importance, as Dunsany did not intend them to be performed live. After a successful US lecture tour in 1919–1920, Dunsany's reputation was now related principally to his plays. He temporarily reduced his output of short stories, concentrating on plays, novels and poetry for
385-589: A fine of 25 pounds or serve three months in prison without labour. The Crown Forces had searched Dunsany Castle and had found two double-barrelled shotguns, two rook rifles, four Very pistols , an automatic pistol and a large quantity of pistol ammunition, along with shotgun and rifle ammunition. During the Second World War , Dunsany signed up for the Irish Army Reserve and the British Home Guard ,
462-548: A full member. At one of their meetings, after 1922, he asked Seán Ó Faoláin , who was presiding, "Do we not toast the King?" Ó Faoláin replied that there was only one toast: to the Nation; but after it was given and O'Faolain had called for coffee, he saw Dunsany, standing quietly among the bustle, raise his glass discreetly, and whisper "God bless him". The Curse of the Wise Woman received
539-470: A little trail of them to some city of Man, and sure enough, their larders would soon be full again. Despite his frequent shifts of style and medium, Dunsany's thematic concerns remained essentially the same. Many of his later novels had an explicitly Irish theme, from the semi-autobiographical The Curse of the Wise Woman to His Fellow Men. Lord Dunsany was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature ,
616-756: A member and at one point President of the Authors' Society, and likewise President of the Shakespeare Reading Society from 1938 until his death in 1957, when he was succeeded by Sir John Gielgud . Dunsany was also a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and was an honorary member of the Institut Historique et Heraldique de France. He was initially an Associate Member of the Irish Academy of Letters, founded by Yeats and others, and later
693-708: A name in the 1910s as a writer in the English-speaking world, he is best known today for the 1924 fantasy novel The King of Elfland's Daughter , and his first book, The Gods of Pegāna , which depicts a fictional pantheon. Many critics feel his early work laid grounds for the fantasy genre . Born in London as heir to one of the oldest Irish peerages, he was raised partly in Kent, but later lived mainly at Ireland's possibly longest-inhabited home, Dunsany Castle near Tara . He worked with W. B. Yeats and Lady Gregory , and supported
770-527: A series of major new initiatives and 60 new appointments championing the great diversity of writing and writers in the UK". Initiatives included RSL Open (electing new Fellows from communities, backgrounds and experiences currently under-represented in UK literary culture), RSL International Writers (recognising the contribution of writers across the globe to literature in English) and Sky Arts RSL Writers Awards. In 2021,
847-531: A significant contribution to the advancement of literature, including publishers, agents, librarians, booksellers or producers, or who have rendered special service to the RSL. Paid membership is open to all and offers a variety of benefits. The society publishes an annual magazine, The Royal Society of Literature Review , and administers a number of literary prizes and awards, including the RSL Ondaatje Prize ,
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#1732847652798924-505: A time. His poetry, now little seen, was for a time so popular that it is recited by the lead character of F. Scott Fitzgerald 's This Side of Paradise . His sonnet A Dirge of Victory was the only poem included in the Armistice Day edition of the Times of London. Launching another phase of his work, Dunsany's first novel, Don Rodriguez: Chronicles of Shadow Valley appeared in 1922. It
1001-676: A trainer, he served in the later war stages in the trenches and in the final period writing propaganda material for the War Office with MI7b(1). There is a book at Dunsany Castle with wartime photographs, on which lost members of his command are marked. During the Irish War of Independence , Dunsany was charged with violating the Restoration of Order in Ireland Regulations , tried by court-martial on 4 February 1921, convicted, and sentenced to pay
1078-401: Is a Georgian country estate in west London , which straddles the London boroughs of Ealing and Hounslow . Originally dating from the 1570s, the estate contains a number of Grade I and II listed buildings , with the park listed as Grade II*. The main building (Osterley House) was remodelled by Robert Adam between 1761 and 1765. The National Trust took charge of Osterley in 1991, and
1155-426: Is highly unusual, and it differs greatly in style from the original construction. One side is left almost open and is spanned by an Ionic pedimented screen, which is approached by a broad flight of steps and leads to a central courtyard, which is at piano nobile level. Adam's neoclassical interiors are among his most notable sequences of rooms. Horace Walpole described the drawing room as "worthy of Eve before
1232-455: Is joined to Terra Cognita, to the lands we know, by a bridge. Their hoard is beyond reason; avarice has no use for it; they have a separate cellar for emeralds and a separate cellar for sapphires; they have filled a hole with gold and dig it up when they need it. And the only use that is known for their ridiculous wealth is to attract to their larder a continual supply of food. In times of famine , they have even been known to scatter rubies abroad,
1309-499: Is set in "a Romantic Spain that never was" and follows the adventures of a young nobleman, Don Rodriguez, and his servant in their search for a castle for Rodriguez. In 1924, Dunsany published his second novel, The King of Elfland's Daughter , a return to his early style of writing. In his next novel, The Charwoman's Shadow , Dunsany returned to the Spanish milieu and the light style of Don Rodriguez . Among his best-known characters
1386-703: The Fortunes of War was a mocking portrait of Dunsany in that period. In 1947, Dunsany transferred his Meath estate in trust to his son and heir Randal and settled in Kent at his Shoreham house, Dunstall Priory. He visited Ireland only occasionally thereafter, and engaged actively in life in Shoreham and London. He also began a new series of visits to the United States, notably California, as recounted in Hazel Littlefield-Smith's biographical Dunsany, King of Dreams . In 1957, Lord Dunsany became ill while dining with
1463-579: The "docking" of dogs' tails, and presided over the West Kent branch of the RSPCA in his later years. He enjoyed cricket , provided the local cricket ground situated near Dunsany Crossroads, and later played for and presided at Shoreham Cricket Club in Kent. He was a supporter of Scouting for many years, serving as President of the Sevenoaks district Boy Scouts Association . He also supported an amateur drama group,
1540-497: The Abbey Theatre and some fellow writers. He was a chess and pistol champion of Ireland, and travelled and hunted . He devised an asymmetrical game called Dunsany's chess . In later life, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from Trinity College Dublin . He settled in Shoreham, Kent, in 1947. In 1957 he took ill when visiting Ireland and died in Dublin of appendicitis . Edward Plunkett ( Dunsany ), known to his family as "Eddie",
1617-457: The Benson Medal for lifetime service in the field of literature . The RSL runs a membership programme offering a variety of events to members and the general public. Membership of the RSL is open to all. The RSL also runs an outreach programme, currently for young people and those in prison. The RSL administers two annual prizes, two awards, and two honours. Through its prize programmes,
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#17328476527981694-515: The Earl and Countess of Fingall at Dunsany, in what proved to be an attack of appendicitis . He died in hospital in Dublin, at the age of 79. He was buried in the churchyard of the ancient church of St Peter and St Paul, Shoreham, Kent. His funeral was attended by many family members (including Pakenhams, Jerseys and Fingalls), representatives of his old regiment and various bodies in which he had taken an interest, and figures from Shoreham. A memorial service
1771-508: The Earl of Fingall , wrote a best-selling account of the life of the aristocracy in Ireland in the late 19th century and early 20th century called Seventy Years Young . Plunkett's only adult sibling, a younger brother, from whom he was estranged from about 1916, for reasons not fully clear but connected to his mother's will, was the noted British naval officer Sir Reginald Drax . Another younger brother died in infancy. Edward Plunkett grew up at
1848-528: The Easter Rising of 1916, he drove in to offer help and was wounded by a bullet lodged in his skull. After recovery at Jervis Street Hospital and what was then the King George V Hospital (now St. Bricin's Military Hospital ), he returned to duty. His military belt was lost in the episode and later used at the burial of Michael Collins . Having been refused forward positioning in 1916 and listed as valuable as
1925-610: The German invasion of Greece in April 1941, returning home by an even more complex route, his travels forming a basis for a long poem published in book form ( A Journey, in 5 cantos: The Battle of Britain, The Battle of Greece, The Battle of the Mediterranean, Battles Long Ago, The Battle of the Atlantic , special edition January 1944). Olivia Manning 's character Lord Pinkrose in her novel sequence
2002-723: The Home Guard ) when the 9th Earl, a friend of publisher Sir Edward Hulton , allowed writer and military journalist Captain Tom Wintringham to establish the first Home Guard training school (which Hulton sponsored) at the park in May–June 1940. It included teaching the theory and practice of modern mechanical warfare, guerilla-warfare techniques and street-fighting techniques, making use of some estate workers' houses that had been scheduled for demolition. Painter Roland Penrose taught camouflaging here, an extension of work he had developed with
2079-546: The 1920s. Dunsany's style varied significantly throughout his writing career. Prominent Dunsany scholar S. T. Joshi has described these shifts as Dunsany moving on after he felt he had exhausted the potential of a style or medium. From the naïve fantasy of his earliest writings, through his early short-story work in 1904–1908, he turned to the self-conscious fantasy of The Book of Wonder in 1912, in which he almost seems to be parodying his lofty early style. Each of his collections varies in mood; A Dreamer's Tales varies from
2156-576: The 1954 retrospective short story collection, and overseeing his literary heritage after his death. The Dunsanys were socially active in Dublin and London and travelled between homes in Meath, London and Kent , other than during the First and Second world wars and the Irish War of Independence . Dunsany circulated with many literary figures of the time. To many of these in Ireland he was first introduced by his uncle,
2233-519: The Dunsany family. He was also related to the prominent Anglo-Irish unionist and later nationalist / Home Rule politician Sir Horace Plunkett and George Count Plunkett , Papal Count and Republican politician, father of Joseph Plunkett , executed for his part in the 1916 Rising . His mother was a cousin of Sir Richard Burton , and he inherited from her considerable height, being 1.93 metres tall (6'4"). The Countess of Fingall, wife of Dunsany's cousin,
2310-473: The Dunsany œuvre for over twenty years, gathering stories, essays and reference material, for a joint initial bibliography and separate scholarly studies of Dunsany's work. An updated edition of their bibliography appeared in 2013. Joshi edited The Collected Jorkens and The Ginger Cat and other lost plays and co-edited The Ghost in the Corner and other stories using materials unearthed by the Dunsany curator. In
2387-672: The Harmsworth Literary Award in Ireland. Dunsany received an honorary doctorate, D.Litt., from Trinity College Dublin , in 1940. In 1950, he was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature by Irish PEN , citing his fiction, poetry, and support for younger writers. However, after a negative appraisal by Per Hallström , the Nobel Committee did not consider him for the prize, which was won that year by Bertrand Russell . In
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2464-581: The Kent County Chess Association for some years and of Sevenoaks Chess Club for 54 years. His short story The Three Sailors' Gambit is a classic work of suspense that incorporates a strong and unique chess element into its plot. Dunsany was an avid horseman and hunter, for many years hosting the hounds of a local hunt and hunting in parts of Africa. He was at one time the pistol -shooting champion of Ireland. Dunsany also campaigned for animal rights, being known especially for his opposition to
2541-557: The RSL Giles St Aubyn Awards for Non-Fiction, the RSL Encore Award for best second novel of the year and the V. S. Pritchett Memorial Prize for short stories. In 2000, the RSL published a volume that provides a description and history of the society, written by one of its fellows, Isabel Quigly . In 2020, the RSL celebrated its 200th anniversary with the announcement of RSL 200, "a five-year festival launched with
2618-542: The RSL Council responsible for its direction and management, being drawn from the Fellowship. As an independent charity, the RSL receives no regular public or government funding, relying on the support of its Members, Patrons, Fellows and friends to continue its work. The RSL has about 600 Fellows, elected from among the best writers in any genre currently at work. Additionally, Honorary Fellows are chosen from those who have made
2695-1031: The RSL launched "Literature Matters: Reading Together", a project aiming to make recreational reading accessible to young people across the UK. The society maintains its current level of about 600 Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature : generally 14 new fellows are elected annually, who are accorded the privilege of using the post-nominal letters FRSL. Past and present fellows include Samuel Taylor Coleridge , J. R. R. Tolkien , W. B. Yeats , Rudyard Kipling , Thomas Hardy , George Bernard Shaw , Arthur Koestler , Chinua Achebe , Ruth Prawer Jhabvala , Robert Ardrey , Sybille Bedford , Muriel Spark , P. J. Kavanagh , Hilary Mantel , and Sir Roger Scruton . Present Fellows include Margaret Atwood , Bernardine Evaristo , David Hare , Kazuo Ishiguro , Andrew Motion , Paul Muldoon , Zadie Smith , Nadeem Aslam , Sarah Waters , Geoffrey Ashe , J. K. Rowling , and Nick Cave . A newly created fellow inscribes his or her name on
2772-473: The RSL roll book. The RSL's 2022–23 Open initiative aimed to recognise writers from backgrounds currently underrepresented in UK literary culture by electing 60 fellows over a two-year period from communities, backgrounds and experiences currently under-represented in UK literary culture, through drawing on a broad range of writers from "different parts of the UK, from different communities, different demographics", as Bernardine Evaristo noted. The * before
2849-422: The RSL supports new and established contemporary writers. The Council of the Royal Society of Literature is central to the election of new fellows, and directs the RSL's activities through its monthly meetings. Council members serve for a fixed term of four years, with new members being elected by Council when members retire. The Royal Society of Literature comprises more than 600 Fellows, who are entitled to use
2926-768: The Shoreham Players. Dunsany provided support for the British Legion in both Ireland and Kent, including grounds in Trim and poetry for the Irish branch's annual memorial service on a number of occasions. Dunsany was a prolific writer of short stories, novels, plays, poetry, essays and autobiography. He published over 90 books in his lifetime, not including individual plays. Books have continued to appear, with more than 120 having been issued by 2017. Dunsany's works have been published in many languages. Dunsany began his literary career in
3003-405: The UK, the RSL has about 600 Fellows, elected from among the best writers in any genre currently at work. Additionally, Honorary Fellows are chosen from those who have made a significant contribution to the advancement of literature, including publishers, agents, librarians, booksellers or producers. The society is a cultural tenant at London's Somerset House . The Royal Society of Literature (RSL)
3080-422: The co-operative pioneer Sir Horace Plunkett , who also helped to manage his estate and investments for a time. He was friendly, for example, with George William Russell , Oliver St. John Gogarty , and for a time, W. B. Yeats . He also socialised at times with George Bernard Shaw and H. G. Wells , and was a friend of Rudyard Kipling . In 1910 Dunsany commissioned a two-storey extension to Dunsany Castle, with
3157-460: The contents of the Last Book of Jorkens , and some short stories published on the Dunsany website or elsewhere by the family in the early 2000s. Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature ( RSL ) is a learned society founded in 1820 by King George IV to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in
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3234-567: The eastern seaboard and later, notably, to California. Dunsany's own work and contribution to the Irish literary heritage were recognised with an honorary degree from Trinity College Dublin . In 1940, Dunsany was appointed Byron Professor of English in Athens University , Greece. Having reached Athens by a circuitous route, he was so successful that he was offered a post as Professor of English in Istanbul . However, he had to be evacuated due to
3311-492: The estate passed into the Villiers family . In 1819, George Villiers changed his surname to Child Villiers. George Child Villiers, 9th Earl of Jersey , opened Osterley to the public in 1939 after having received many requests from people wishing to see its historic interior. He justified his decision by saying that it was "sufficient answer that he did not live in it and that many others wished to see it". Some 12,000 people visited
3388-737: The fall ". The rooms are characterised by elaborate but restrained plasterwork, rich, highly varied colour schemes, and a degree of coordination between decor and furnishings unusual in English neoclassical interiors. Notable rooms include the entrance hall, which has large semi-circular alcoves at each end, and the Etruscan dressing room, which Adam said was inspired by the " Etruscan " vases (as they were then regarded, now recognised as Greek ) in Sir William Hamilton's collection , illustrations of which had recently been published. Adam also designed some of
3465-606: The family properties, notably Dunstall Priory in Shoreham , Kent, and Dunsany Castle in County Meath, but also in family homes such as in London. His schooling was at Cheam , Eton College and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst , which he entered in 1896. The title passed to him at his father's death in 1899 at a fairly young age. The young Lord Dunsany returned to Dunsany Castle after war duty, in 1901. In that year he
3542-490: The first collection, The Gods of Pegāna, earning a commission on sales. The stories in his first two books, and perhaps the beginning of his third, were set in an invented world, Pegāna, with its own gods, history and geography. Starting with this, Dunsany's name is linked to that of Sidney Sime , his chosen artist, who illustrated much of his work, notably up to 1922. After The Book of Wonder (1912), Dunsany began to write plays – many of which were even more successful at
3619-475: The first edition of which he wrote an introduction, and an unnamed 1956 short story collection, eventually published as part of The Ghost in the Corner and other stories in 2017. Doyle was still working as curator in 2020. Some uncollected works, previously published in magazines, and some unpublished works, have been selected in consultation with them, and published in chapbooks by a US small press. Fans and scholars S. T. Joshi and Darrell Schweitzer worked on
3696-414: The first of a type that would become popular in fantasy and science fiction writing: highly improbable "club tales" told at a gentleman's club or bar. Some saw Dunsany's writing habits as peculiar. Lady Beatrice said, "He always sat on a crumpled old hat while composing his tales". (The hat was eventually stolen by a visitor to Dunsany Castle.) Dunsany almost never rewrote anything; everything he published
3773-414: The furniture, including the opulent domed state bed, which is still in the house. Robert Child's only daughter, Sarah , married John Fane, 10th Earl of Westmorland , in 1782. When Child died two months later, his will placed his vast holdings, including Osterley, in trust for any second-to-be born grandchild. This proved to be Lady Sarah Fane , who was born in 1785. Child's will kept his property out of
3850-562: The hands of John Fane, his son-in-law. Under the doctrine of coverture then in force, if Child had given his daughter more than a life interest in any property, Fane would have had control of it. Fane had eloped with Child's daughter to Gretna Green , as Child had not consented to the marriage. Child had wished his daughter to marry someone willing to take on the Child surname and ensure its continuation. Child's eventual heiress, Lady Sarah Fane, married George Villiers in 1804 and, having children,
3927-966: The house and its park to the National Trust . The furniture was sold to the Victoria & Albert Museum . In 1947, Lord Jersey moved to the island of Jersey , taking with him many pictures from the collection at Osterley. Some were destroyed in a warehouse fire on the island soon after. Lord Jersey assisted the Ministry of Works and the V&;A in their restoration of the house to its present late-18th-century state. The National Trust took charge of Osterley in 1991. The house has enjoyed loans and gifts from Lord Jersey, including items of silver, porcelain, furniture and miniatures. The trust commissioned portraits of Lord Jersey and his wife by Howard J. Morgan , which hang upstairs. In 2014, William Villiers, 10th Earl of Jersey ,
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#17328476527984004-475: The house and park are open to visitors. The original building on this site was a manor house built in the 1570s for banker Sir Thomas Gresham , who purchased the manor of Osterley in 1562. The "faire and stately brick house" was completed in 1576. It is known that Queen Elizabeth I visited. The stable block from that period remains at Osterley Park. Gresham, the founder of the Royal Exchange , also bought
4081-495: The house during its first month of opening. Villiers staged a series of exhibitions of artworks by living artists in the top-floor rooms to contrast with the 18th-century interiors on the ground floor. He also planned to create an arboretum in the grounds, although that never came to fruition. The grounds of Osterley Park were used for the training of the first members of the Local Defence Volunteers (forerunners of
4158-448: The late 1890s writing under his given name, with published verses such as "Rhymes from a Suburb" and "The Spirit of the Bog". In 1905, writing as Lord Dunsany, he produced the well-received collection The Gods of Pegāna . Dunsany's most notable fantasy short stories appeared in collections from 1905 to 1919, before fantasy had been recognised as a distinct genre. He paid for the publication of
4235-503: The late 1990s, a curator, J. W. (Joe) Doyle, was appointed by the estate to work at Dunsany Castle, in part to locate and organise the author's manuscripts, typescripts and other materials. Doyle found several works known to exist but thought to be "lost": the plays The Ginger Cat and "The Murderers," some Jorkens stories, and the novel The Pleasures of a Futuroscope (later published by Hippocampus Press ). He also found hitherto unknown works, including The Last Book of Jorkens , to
4312-562: The late 2000s a PhD researcher, Tania Scott from the University of Glasgow , worked on Dunsany for some time and spoke at literary and other conventions; her thesis was published in 2011, entitled Locating Ireland in the fantastic fiction of Lord Dunsany . A Swedish fan, Martin Andersson, was also active in research and publication in the mid-2010s. An hour-long documentary, Shooting for the Butler ,
4389-415: The name denotes an Honorary Fellow. The list is online at the RSL website. The RSL International Writers programme is a new life-long honour and award recognizing the contribution of writers across the globe to literature in English, and the power of literature to transcend borders in bringing people together, the inaugural list of recipients being announced in 2021. Osterley Park Osterley Park
4466-449: The neighbouring Manor of Boston in 1572. During the late 17th century, the estate was owned by Nicholas Barbon , a developer who mortgaged it to Child's Bank and then died in debt around 1698. As a result of a mortgage default, by the early 1710s, the estate came into the ownership of Sir Francis Child , the founder of Child's Bank. In 1761, Sir Francis's grandsons, Francis and Robert , employed Scottish architect Robert Adam (who
4543-544: The paintbrush in avant-garde paintings to protect the modesty of his lover, Elizabeth 'Lee' Miller (married to Aziz E. Bey). Maj. Wilfred Vernon taught the art of mixing home-made explosives, and his explosives store can still be seen at the rear of the house, while Canadian Bert "Yank" Levy , who had served under Wintringham in the Spanish Civil War , taught knife fighting and hand-to-hand combat . Despite winning world fame in newsreels and newspaper articles around
4620-548: The post-nominal letters FRSL . New fellows of the Royal Society of Literature are elected by its current fellows. To be nominated for fellowship, a writer must have published two works of literary merit, and nominations must be seconded by an RSL fellow. All nominations are presented to members of the Council of the Royal Society of Literature, who vote biannually to elect new fellows. Nominated candidates who have not been successful are reconsidered at every election for three years from
4697-417: The present Earl, arranged a ten-year loan to Osterley of portraits of the Child family. The pictures that are part of the loan include Allan Ramsay 's portrait of Francis Child (1758), and George Romney 's portrait of Francis's brother, Robert . The house and small formal gardens are open to the public. They account for 30,000 paying visitors per year. Many hundreds of thousands of visitors per year walk
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#17328476527984774-428: The society's official roll using either Byron's pen, T. S. Eliot 's fountain pen , which replaced Dickens 's quill in 2013, or (as of 2018) George Eliot 's pen, with pens belonging to Jean Rhys and Andrea Levy being additional choices from 2020. From time to time, the RSL confers the honour and title of Companion of Literature to writers of particular note. Additionally, the RSL can bestow its award of
4851-405: The time than his early story collections – while continuing to write short stories. He carried on writing plays for the theatre into the 1930s, including the famous If (1921), and also some radio productions. Although many of Dunsany's plays were successfully staged in his lifetime, he also wrote "chamber plays" or closet dramas . Some of these chamber or radio plays involve supernatural events –
4928-631: The two countries' local defence forces, and was especially active in Shoreham, Kent , the English village bombed most during the Battle of Britain . Dunsany's fame arose chiefly from his prolific writings. He was involved in the Irish Literary Revival . Supporting the Revival, Dunsany was a major donor to the Abbey Theatre and he moved in Irish literary circles. He was well acquainted with W. B. Yeats (who rarely acted as editor but gathered and published
5005-557: The wistfulness of "Blagdaross" to the horrors of "Poor Old Bill" and "Where the Tides Ebb and Flow" to the social satire of "The Day of the Poll." The opening paragraph of " The Hoard of the Gibbelins " from The Book of Wonder , (1912) gives a good indication of both the tone and tenor of Dunsany's style at the time: The Gibbelins eat, as is well known, nothing less good than man. Their evil tower
5082-430: The world (particularly in the US), the school was disapproved of by the War Office and Winston Churchill , and it was taken over in September 1940. Closed in 1941, its staff and courses were reallocated to other newly opened War Office -approved Home Guard schools. After the Second World War, Lord Jersey approached Middlesex County Council , which had shown interest in buying the estate, but eventually decided to give
5159-420: The year in which they were proposed. Newly elected fellows are introduced at the Society's AGM and summer party. While the President reads a citation for each, they are invited to sign their names in the roll book which dates back to 1820, using either T. S. Eliot 's fountain pen or Byron 's pen. In 2013, Charles Dickens ' quill was retired and replaced with Eliot's fountain pen, and in 2018 George Eliot 's pen
5236-434: Was Joseph Jorkens , an obese , middle-aged raconteur who frequented the fictional Billiards Club in London and would tell fantastic stories if anyone bought him a large whiskey and soda. From his tales, it was clear that Jorkens had travelled to all seven continents, was extremely resourceful and well-versed in world cultures, but always came up short on becoming rich and famous. The Jorkens books, which sold well, were among
5313-571: Was a first draft. Much of his work was written with a quill pen he made himself; Lady Beatrice was usually the first to see the writings and would help to type them. It has been said that Lord Dunsany sometimes conceived stories while hunting and would return to the Castle and draw in his family and servants to re-enact his visions before he set them on paper. Dunsany's work was translated from early on into languages that include Spanish, French, Japanese, German, Italian, Dutch, Russian, Czech and Turkish – his uncle, Horace Plunkett, suggested 14 languages by
5390-421: Was a keen chess player, setting chess puzzles for journals such as The Times of London, playing José Raúl Capablanca to a draw in a simultaneous exhibition , and inventing Dunsany's Chess , an asymmetrical chess variant notable for not involving any fairy pieces , unlike the many variants that require the player to learn unconventional piece movements. He was president of both the Irish Chess Union and
5467-482: Was also confirmed as an elector for the Irish representative peers in the House of Lords . In 1903, he met Lady Beatrice Child Villiers (1880–1970), youngest daughter of The 7th Earl of Jersey (head of the Jersey banking family), who was then living at Osterley Park . They married in 1904. Their one child, Randal, was born in 1906. Lady Beatrice was supportive of Dunsany's interests and helped him by typing his manuscripts, selecting work for his collections, including
5544-447: Was founded in 1820, with the patronage of George IV , to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent", and its first president was Thomas Burgess , Bishop of St David's (who was later translated as Bishop of Salisbury ). As of 2018, the RSL's patron is Queen Camilla , who took over in the role from Elizabeth II . At the heart of the RSL is its Fellowship, "which encompasses the most distinguished writers working today", with
5621-500: Was held at Kilmessan in Meath, with a reading of " Crossing the Bar ", which coincided with the passing of a flock of geese. Beatrice survived Dunsany, living mainly at Shoreham and overseeing his literary legacy until her death in 1970. Their son Randal succeeded to the barony and was in turn succeeded by his grandson, the artist Edward Plunkett . Dunsany's literary rights passed from Beatrice to Edward. Aside from his literary work, Dunsany
5698-459: Was just emerging as one of the most fashionable architects in Britain) to remodel the house. When Francis Child died in 1763, the project was taken up by his brother and heir, Robert Child, for whom the interiors were created. The house is of red brick with white stone details and is approximately square, with turrets in the four corners. Adam's design, which incorporates some of the earlier structure,
5775-404: Was offered as a choice, the first time in the RSL's history that a pen that belonged to a woman writer was an option. In 2018, the RSL honoured the achievements of Britain's younger writers through the initiative "40 Under 40", which saw the election of 40 new fellows aged under 40. In 2020, pens belonging to Andrea Levy and Jean Rhys were added to the choices offered to fellows for signing
5852-762: Was released by Auteur TV and Justified Films in 2014, directed by Digby Rumsey. With footage from Dunsany and Shoreham, it included interviews with the author's great-grandson, the estate's curator, author Liz Williams , scholar S. T. Joshi, a local who knew the writer personally, and the head of the Irish Chess Union, among others. Dunsany's literary rights passed to a will trust first managed by Beatrice, Lady Dunsany, and are currently handled by Curtis Brown of London and partner firms worldwide. (Some past US deals, for example, have been listed by Locus Magazine as by SCG.) A few Dunsany works are protected for longer than normal copyright periods in some territories, notably most of
5929-501: Was the first son of John William Plunkett, 17th Baron of Dunsany (1853–1899), and his wife, Ernle Elizabeth Louisa Maria Grosvenor Ernle -Erle-Drax (née Burton) (1855–1916). From a historically wealthy and famous family, Lord Dunsany was related to many well-known Irish figures. He was a kinsman of the Catholic Saint Oliver Plunkett , the martyred Archbishop of Armagh whose ring and crozier head are still held by
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