Augustus Hare
Encyclopedia
Augustus John Cuthbert Hare (13 March 1834 – 22 January 1903) was an English writer and raconteur.
He was the youngest son of Francis George Hare of Herstmonceux
, East Sussex
, and Gresford
, Flintshire
, Wales, and nephew of Augustus William Hare
and Julius Hare. Augustus Hare was born in Rome
; later he was practically adopted by his aunt, the widow of Augustus Hare, and educated at Harrow School
and University College, Oxford
.
Hare was the author of a large number of books, which fall into two classes: biographies of members and connections of his family, and descriptive and historical accounts of various countries and cities. To the first belong Memorials of a Quiet Life (about his adoptive mother), Story of Two Noble Lives (Lady Canning and Lady Waterford), The Gurneys of Earlham, and an autobiography in several volumes. This last included a number of accounts of encounters with ghosts. A reviewer in the New York Times concluded that "Mr Hare's ghosts are rather more interesting than his lords or his middle-class people".
He also compiled numerous travel books compiled for John Murray
including Walks in Rome, Walks in London, Wanderings in Spain, Cities of Northern, Southern, and Central Italy (separate works), Days near Rome.
Hare was a friend to the barrister Basil Levett and his wife Lady Mary Levett, the daughter of the Earl of Shaftesbury, to whom Hare left a painting in his will. ("Basil Levett
or his wife Lady Margaret Copy of the Last Communion of S Jerome by Domenichino.")
In his biography of Somerset Maugham, writer Ted Morgan
mentions that Hare, whom he refers to as "the last Victorian," befriended Maugham who became a frequent guest at his country house, Holmhurst in Baldslow, Sussex
.
He was the youngest son of Francis George Hare of Herstmonceux
Herstmonceux
Herstmonceux is a village and civil parish in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England. The parish includes Herstmonceux Castle, the village of Cowbeech and a number of smaller hamlets.-History:...
, East Sussex
East Sussex
East Sussex is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent, Surrey and West Sussex, and to the south by the English Channel.-History:...
, and Gresford
Gresford
Gresford is a village and a local government community, the lowest tier of local government, part of Wrexham County Borough in Wales.According to the 2001 Census, the population of the community, which also includes the village of Marford, was 5,334....
, Flintshire
Flintshire
Flintshire is a county in north-east Wales. It borders Denbighshire, Wrexham and the English county of Cheshire. It is named after the historic county of Flintshire, which had notably different borders...
, Wales, and nephew of Augustus William Hare
Augustus William Hare
Augustus William Hare was the son of Francis Hare-Naylor. He was the author of a history of Germany....
and Julius Hare. Augustus Hare was born in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
; later he was practically adopted by his aunt, the widow of Augustus Hare, and educated at Harrow School
Harrow School
Harrow School, commonly known simply as "Harrow", is an English independent school for boys situated in the town of Harrow, in north-west London.. The school is of worldwide renown. There is some evidence that there has been a school on the site since 1243 but the Harrow School we know today was...
and University College, Oxford
University College, Oxford
.University College , is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. As of 2009 the college had an estimated financial endowment of £110m...
.
Hare was the author of a large number of books, which fall into two classes: biographies of members and connections of his family, and descriptive and historical accounts of various countries and cities. To the first belong Memorials of a Quiet Life (about his adoptive mother), Story of Two Noble Lives (Lady Canning and Lady Waterford), The Gurneys of Earlham, and an autobiography in several volumes. This last included a number of accounts of encounters with ghosts. A reviewer in the New York Times concluded that "Mr Hare's ghosts are rather more interesting than his lords or his middle-class people".
He also compiled numerous travel books compiled for John Murray
John Murray (publisher)
John Murray is an English publisher, renowned for the authors it has published in its history, including Jane Austen, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Lord Byron, Charles Lyell, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Herman Melville, and Charles Darwin...
including Walks in Rome, Walks in London, Wanderings in Spain, Cities of Northern, Southern, and Central Italy (separate works), Days near Rome.
Hare was a friend to the barrister Basil Levett and his wife Lady Mary Levett, the daughter of the Earl of Shaftesbury, to whom Hare left a painting in his will. ("Basil Levett
Levett
Levett is an Anglo-Norman territorial surname deriving from the village of Livet-en-Ouche, now Jonquerets-de-Livet, in Eure, Normandy. Ancestors of the earliest Levett family in England, the de Livets were lords of the village of Livet, and undertenants of the de Ferrers, among the most powerful of...
or his wife Lady Margaret Copy of the Last Communion of S Jerome by Domenichino.")
In his biography of Somerset Maugham, writer Ted Morgan
Ted Morgan
Ted Morgan is a French-American writer, biographer, journalist, and historian. He was born Comte St. Charles Armand Gabriel de Gramont in Geneva. He is the son of Gabriel Antoine Armand, Comte de Gramont , a hero of the French Resistance who became a French diplomat...
mentions that Hare, whom he refers to as "the last Victorian," befriended Maugham who became a frequent guest at his country house, Holmhurst in Baldslow, Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
.