Charles Whibley (1859–1930) was an English literary journalist and author. Whibley’s style was described by Matthew as “often acerbic high-tory commentary”.[1]
| Charles Whibley | |
|---|---|
Charles Whibley, English writer and journalist |
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| Born | 9 December 1859 Sevenoaks, Kent, England |
| Died | 4 March 1930 Hyères, France |
| Occupation | Writer and journalist |
| Parents | Ambrose Whibley and Mary Jean Davy |
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Born 9 December 1859 at Sevenoaks, Kent, England. The eldest son of Ambrose Whibley,[3] silk mercer, and his second wife, Mary Jean Davy.[4] He was educated at Bristol Grammar School and Jesus College, Cambridge where he took a first in classics in 1883.[5][6] Died 4 March 1930 at Hyères, France.
Whibley worked for three years in the editorial department of Cassell & Co, publishers. He shared a house with his brother Leonard Whibley, William Ernest Henley and George Warrington Steevens.[7]
In 1894 he became the Paris correspondent for the Pall Mall Gazette. This Tory evening paper conformed with Whibley's conservative political views.
In literature and the arts, his views were progressive. He supported James Abbott McNeill Whistler[8]). (they had married sisters[9]). He also made the recommendation of T.S. Eliot to Geoffrey Faber, that resulted in Eliot's position at Faber and Faber.[10] Eliot's essay Charles Whibley (1931) was contained within his Selected Essays, 1917-1932.
In Paris he moved in the symbolist circles with Stéphane Mallarmé, Marcel Schwob and Paul Valéry.[11] He was a witness at the wedding of Marcel Schwob and Marguerite Moreno in England on 12 September 1900.
Married in 1896 to Ethel Birnie Philip in the garden of the house occupied by James Abbott McNeill Whistler at 110 rue du Bac, Paris.[12] Ethel Birnie Philip, was the daughter of the sculptor John Birnie Philip and Frances Black. Before her marriage Ethel Whibley worked for a time in 1893-4 as secretary to James McNeill Whistler. Whistler painted a number of full-length portraits of Ethel Whibley, including Mother of Pearl and Silver: The Andalusian and portraits and sketches of her titled as Miss Ethel Philip or Mrs Ethel Whibley.[13] After the death of Ethel in 1920, in 1927 Charles married Philippa Raleigh the daughter of Walter Raleigh, Chair of English Literature at Oxford University.[14]
Hartrick (1939) describes Whibley as “an obviously English type, and therefore something of a red rag to Whistler.”[15] As the brother-in-law of James McNeill Whistler, Whibley was part of Whistler’s intimate family circle, referred to as “Wobbles” in Whistler’s correspondence and on one occasion Whibley was mocked by Whistler for describing himself as a 'boulevardier' during his time in Paris.[16] In 1897 Whistler created the cover design for Whibley's volume of essays A Book of Scoundrels.[17]
Brother of Leonard Whibley, Fellow of Pembroke College, Cambridge from 1899–1910, lecturer in Classics (Ancient History).[18] Half-brother of Fred Whibley, copra trader, on Niutao, Ellice Islands (now Tuvalu). Half-sister of Eliza Elenor, wife of John T. Arundel, owner of J. T. Arundel & Co. which evolved into Pacific Islands Company and later the Pacific Phosphate Company, which commenced phosphate mining in Nauru and Banaba Island (Ocean Island).
Whibley contributed to the London & Edinburgh magazines including The Pall Mall Magazine, Macmillan's Magazine and Blackwood's Magazine. As a writer on Blackwood's Magazine, he was a prominent conservative columnist, as well as an influential literary figure, recruited by its editor William Blackwood III.[19] He was a persistent critic of the system of state education.[20] It was an open secret that Whibley contributed anonymously, to the Magazine, his Musings without Methods for over twenty-five years. T.S. Eliot described them as "the best sustained piece of literary journalism that I know of in recent times"[21] Whibley was friends with William Ernest Henley and contributed to the Scots Observer (published in Edinburgh) and also to the National Observer (published in London ) under Henley's editorship.
Portrait of Charles Whibley held by Jesus College, Cambridge. Sketch of Charles Whibley held by the National Portrait Gallery, London.[22]
Project Gutenburg publishes online editions of American Sketches[25] and A Book of Scoundrels[26]