Henry Newbolt

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Sir Henry John Newbolt (June 6, 1862 - April 19, 1938) was an English author and poet.

He was born in Bilston, Staffordshire, to the Vicar of St Mary's Church, the Rev. Henry Francis Newbolt. In his biography, My World as in My Time, he says he was Jewish. After attending Clifton College, where he was head of the school (1881) and edited the school magazine, and at Corpus Christi College, Oxford,he was called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn in 1887 and practised until 1899. His first book was a story, Taken from the Enemy (1892), and in 1895 he published a tragedy, Mordred; but it was the publication of his ballads, Admirals All (1897), that created his literary reputation. These were followed by other volumes of stirring verse, The Island Race (1898), The Sailing of the Long-ships (1902), Songs of the Sea (1904).

In 1914, he published Aladore, a fantasy novel, which was concerned with a bored but dutiful Knight who abruptly abandons his estate and wealth to discover his hearts' desire and woo a half-fae enchantress in a tale filled with allegories about the nature of youth, service, individuality and tradition. It was reissued in a limited and illustrated edition by Newcastle Publishing Company in 1975, as the new holders of the copyright.

Probably the best known of all Newbolt's poems and the one for which he is now chiefly remembered is Vitaï Lampada, which contains the memorable refrain:

Play up, play up, and play the game. [This poem is detailed in full in the Clifton College page - as the poem refers to how a future soldier learns stoicism in cricket matches on the famous Close].

From 1900 to 1905, Newbolt was the editor of the Monthly Review. During the First World War, he became controller of telecommunications and worked as an official historian. He was also a member of the Coefficients dining club of social reformers set up in 1902 by the Fabian campaigners Sidney and Beatrice Webb.

The popularity of his verse was due to the solid beat of his rhythm.

Newbolt was knighted in 1915. He was awarded the 'Companion of Honour' in 1922.

A biography of Newbolt published in the 1990s revealed that his wife had a lesbian relationship with Ella Coltman, and even accompanied her on her honeymoon with Newbolt. A further extraordinary aspect was that Newbolt himself enjoyed a sexual relationship with Coltman, in whose Kensington house he was to die. Apparently he had a town wife and an ( official ) country wife. One of Newbolt´s later poems is entitled " To E.C " and in it he refers to E.C. as " dearest ".

[edit] Works

Works by Henry Newbolt at Project Gutenberg
- The Old Country (1906)
- The New June (1909)
- The Naval History of the Great War (1920)
- A Ballad of Sir Pertab Singh
- He fell among Thieves
- Admirals All