Bertram Fletcher Robinson
Encyclopedia
Bertram Fletcher Robinson (1870–1907) was an English sportsman, journalist
, author
and Liberal Unionist Party
campaigner. Between 1893 and 1907, he wrote nearly 300 published items including a series of short stories
that feature a detective
called Addington Peace. However, Robinson is perhaps best remembered for his literary collaborations with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
, Sir P. G. Wodehouse
, Sir Max Pemberton
and Sir Malcolm Fraser
.
. During early 1882, he relocated with his family to Park Hill House at Ipplepen
in Devon
. His father, Joseph Fletcher Robinson (1827–1903), was the founder of a general merchant business in Liverpool (c. 1867). Around 1850, Joseph travelled to South America
and was befriended by Giuseppe Garibaldi
. Thereafter, he fought in the Guerra Grande alongside Garibaldi and the Uruguayans against the Argentine dictator, Juan Manuel de Rosas
. Robinson's uncle, Sir John Richard Robinson (1828–1903), was the long-time editor-in-chief of the Daily News
and a prominent committee member of the Liberal Reform Club
.
Bertram Fletcher Robinson was educated at Newton Abbot
Proprietary College (1882–1890) and Jesus College, Cambridge
(1890–1894). Other notable 'Old Newtonians' include the writer Arthur Quiller-Couch
and the explorer Percy Harrison Fawcett. Robinson won three Rugby Football
Blues between 1891 and 1893 and, according to his obituary in the Daily Express
(22 January 1907), he would have played for England
but for an "accident". He also rowed for Jesus College
and was a member of the team that won the Thames Challenge Cup
at the Henley Royal Regatta
on 7 July 1892. On 12 February 1894, The Times
reported that Robinson was tried for the position of fourth oar with the Cambridge 'Trial Eight' ahead of the fifty-first annual Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race. Jesus College awarded Robinson with a Second Class History Tripos
Bachelor of Arts degree (1893), Part I of the Law Tripos Bachelor of Arts degree (1894) and a Master of Arts degree (1897). Robinson became a barrister
in June 1896 but never practised that profession.
On 3 June 1902, 31 year-old Robinson married 22 year-old Gladys Hill Morris at St. Barnabas Church, Kensington
, London. Gladys was a self-proclaimed 'actress' and a daughter of the noted Victorian artist Philip Richard Morris
(1833–1902). The couple had no children of their own. However, the Robinsons acted as godparents to Geraldine Winn Everett, the daughter of Percy Everett
.
(1893–1895), The Isthmian Library (1897–1901), Daily Express
(July 1900-May 1904), Vanity Fair (British magazine)
(May 1904-October 1906), The World, a journal for Men and Women (October 1906-December 1906), and the Gentleman's Magazine (January 1907).
Between 1893 and 1907, Robinson wrote or co-wrote at least nine satirical playlets (including four with his friend, PG Wodehouse), 54 short stories
(including seven with his friend, Sir Malcolm Fraser, 1st Baronet
), four lyrics
, 44 articles (for 15 different periodicals), 128 newspaper reports, 24 poems and eight books. He also edited a further eight books about various sports and pastimes for The Isthmian Library (1897–1901).
In July 1900, Robinson and the creator of Sherlock Holmes
, (Sir) Arthur Conan Doyle
, 'cemented' their friendship while aboard a passenger ship that was traveling to Southampton
from Cape Town
. The following year, Robinson told Doyle legends of ghostly hounds, recounted the supernatural tale of Squire
Richard Cabell III and showed him around grimly atmospheric Dartmoor
. The pair had previously agreed to co-author a Devon-based story but in the end, their collaboration led only to Doyle's celebrated novel
, The Hound of the Baskervilles
. Robinson also contributed an idea to the plot of a Sherlock Holmes short-story entitled The Adventure of the Norwood Builder
, which was first published in Collier's Weekly
on 31 October 1903.
Doyle is sometimes seen as downplaying the importance of Robinson's contribution to The Hound of the Baskervilles. The literary scholar and critic, Professor William Wallace Robson wrote that it is 'impossible to determine' the precise extent of Robinson's role, but in all probability he merely acted as a 'creative trigger'. He adds that once the element of Sherlock Holmes was added to the original idea, the novel evolved beyond the joint project that was originally posited. Robinson himself conceded that his part in the collaboration was restricted to that of an 'assistant plot producer'.
, London. The official cause of his death is recorded as 'enteric fever (3 weeks) and peritonitis
(24 hours)'. Others with a bent for the occult bizarrely attributed his death to a curse
linked with an Egyptian artifact
called the Unlucky Mummy
. Robinson was buried beside his parents at St. Andrew’s Church, Ipplepen
, near Newton Abbot
in Devon
.
Obituaries were published in The World, The Times
, Daily Express, The Western Guardian, The Western Morning News, The Sphere, The Athenaeum, The Illustrated London News, The Mid-Devon and Newton Times, Vanity Fair, The Book of Blues and the Annual Report of the Jesus College Cambridge Society (1907). The English poet and journalist, Jessie Pope
also wrote the following eulogy
to Robinson, which was published in the Daily Express newspaper on Saturday 26 January 1907:
service for Robinson at St. Clement Danes, Strand, London
. According to a report in the Daily Express newspaper (Saturday 26 January 1907), the congregation included the following notable figures: Arthur Hammond Marshall
, Owen Seaman
, Max Pemberton
, Cyril Arthur Pearson
, Percy Everett
, Alfred Harmsworth, Joseph Lawrence
, Sir Felix Sermon, Sir William Bell (former member of the British Iron Trade Association & tax-reform campaigner), Anthony Hope
Hawkins, Clement King Shorter, Gerald Fitzgerald Campbell, Leslie Ward
(‘Spy’), Thomas Anstey Guthrie
, Leonard Upcott Gill (journalist, author & publisher), Sir John Evelyn Leslie Wrench and Henry Hamilton Fyfe.
The congregation sang a hymn entitled Peace, Perfect Peace. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was unable to attend either the funeral
or the memorial service because he was at that time, busily campaigning for the release from prison of one George Edalji
. He did however send a floral tribute to the funeral service in Ipplepen with a message that read "In loving memory of an old and valued friend from Arthur Conan Doyle".
had a story entitled Wheels of Anarchy published by Cassell & Company (London). This story is based upon notes that were written by Robinson shortly before his death. It is an adventure tale about anarchists and assassins that is set across Europe
. The novel’s hero, Bruce Driscoll, is a recent graduate
of Jesus College, Cambridge and he appears to be modelled upon Robinson. Wheels of Anarchy by Max Pemberton was republished in facsimile
form during December 2010
During 1909, Gladys Robinson sold both Park Hill House and 44 Eaton Terrace and she then appears to have moved to continental Europe
. During World War I
, Gladys met a Royal Artillery
officer called Major
William John Frederick Halliday (Distinguished Service Order
). He was born in London during 1882 and was affectionately referred to as 'Fred'. The couple got married at the British Diplomatic mission
in Paris
on 7 January 1918 and thereafter, they relocated to Henley-on-Thames
in Oxfordshire
.
In October 1912, Conan Doyle's story, The Lost World
was published as a novel
. This story is narrated by a character called Edward E. Malone. It is possible that Malone is also partially modelled upon Robinson. Like Robinson, Malone was raised in the West Country
, became an accomplished rugby union
player, a London-based journalist and loved a woman called Gladys.
During 1951, Robinson's book entitled The Chronicles of Addington Peace (London: Harper & Brother, 1905) was listed in the influential Queen's Quorum: A History of the Detective-Crime Short Story as Revealed by the 106 Most Important Books Published in this Field Since 1845.
In January 2009, Ipplepen Parish Council gave permission for a commemorative bench and plaque to be situated outside Caunters Close in Ipplepen. The inscription on the plaque reads as follows: 'Bertram Fletcher Robinson (1870–1907). Journalist, Editor, Author and former resident of Ipplepen. He assisted Arthur Conan Doyle with The Hound of the Baskervilles.
In June 2010, Brian Pugh, Paul R Spiring and Sadru Bhanji had a book published that is entitled Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes and Devon. This book contends that the success of Sherlock Holmes is partly attributable to Bertram Fletcher Robinson and two other former Devon residents called George Turnavine Budd and George Newnes
.
June 2011 saw the release of a Sherlock Holmes pastiche
entitled The Case of the Grave Accusation by Dicky Neely. The plot for this tale is loosely based upon the widely publicised claim that Arthur Conan Doyle conspired to murder Bertram Fletcher Robinson. On 1 September of that same year, Short Books Ltd. released a novel entitled The Baskerville Legacy by John O'Connell. The book gives a fictional account of the circumstances that led Arthur Conan Doyle and Bertram Fletcher Robinson to conceive The Hound of the Baskervilles.
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
, author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
and Liberal Unionist Party
Liberal Unionist Party
The Liberal Unionist Party was a British political party that was formed in 1886 by a faction that broke away from the Liberal Party. Led by Lord Hartington and Joseph Chamberlain, the party formed a political alliance with the Conservative Party in opposition to Irish Home Rule...
campaigner. Between 1893 and 1907, he wrote nearly 300 published items including a series of short stories
Short Stories
Short Stories may refer to:*A plural for Short story*Short Stories , an American pulp magazine published from 1890-1959*Short Stories, a 1954 collection by O. E...
that feature a detective
Detective
A detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person. The latter may be known as private investigators or "private eyes"...
called Addington Peace. However, Robinson is perhaps best remembered for his literary collaborations with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Arthur Conan Doyle
Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle DL was a Scottish physician and writer, most noted for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, generally considered a milestone in the field of crime fiction, and for the adventures of Professor Challenger...
, Sir P. G. Wodehouse
P. G. Wodehouse
Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, KBE was an English humorist, whose body of work includes novels, short stories, plays, poems, song lyrics, and numerous pieces of journalism. He enjoyed enormous popular success during a career that lasted more than seventy years and his many writings continue to be...
, Sir Max Pemberton
Max Pemberton
Sir Max Pemberton was a popular British novelist, working mainly in the adventure and mystery genres. He was educated at St Albans School, Merchant Taylors' School, and Caius College, Cambridge...
and Sir Malcolm Fraser
Sir Malcolm Fraser, 1st Baronet
Captain Sir John Malcolm Fraser, 1st Baronet GBE was a British journalist and political adviser.Fraser was born in Hampstead, London. He became a journalist and rose rapidly to become assistant editor of The Standard...
.
Early life and family
Bertram Fletcher Robinson (affectionately referred to as either 'Bobbles' or 'Bertie') was born on 22 August 1870 at 80 Rose Lane, Mossley Hill, LiverpoolLiverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
. During early 1882, he relocated with his family to Park Hill House at Ipplepen
Ipplepen
Ipplepen is a small village located within the county of Devon in south-west England. A priory was located there.-Location:Ipplepen is situated about to the west of the market town of Newton Abbot. Ipplepen is also located just from the southern edge of Dartmoor and about to the north-west of...
in Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
. His father, Joseph Fletcher Robinson (1827–1903), was the founder of a general merchant business in Liverpool (c. 1867). Around 1850, Joseph travelled to South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
and was befriended by Giuseppe Garibaldi
Giuseppe Garibaldi
Giuseppe Garibaldi was an Italian military and political figure. In his twenties, he joined the Carbonari Italian patriot revolutionaries, and fled Italy after a failed insurrection. Garibaldi took part in the War of the Farrapos and the Uruguayan Civil War leading the Italian Legion, and...
. Thereafter, he fought in the Guerra Grande alongside Garibaldi and the Uruguayans against the Argentine dictator, Juan Manuel de Rosas
Juan Manuel de Rosas
Juan Manuel de Rosas , was an argentine militar and politician, who was elected governor of the province of Buenos Aires in 1829 to 1835, and then of the Argentine Confederation from 1835 until 1852...
. Robinson's uncle, Sir John Richard Robinson (1828–1903), was the long-time editor-in-chief of the Daily News
Daily News (UK)
The Daily News was a national daily newspaper in the United Kingdom.The News was founded in 1846 by Charles Dickens, who also served as the newspaper's first editor. It was conceived as a radical rival to the right-wing Morning Chronicle. The paper was not at first a commercial success...
and a prominent committee member of the Liberal Reform Club
Reform Club
The Reform Club is a gentlemen's club on the south side of Pall Mall, in central London. Originally for men only, it changed to include the admission of women in 1981. In 2011 the subscription for membership of the Reform Club as a full UK member is £1,344.00, with a one-off entrance fee of £875.00...
.
Bertram Fletcher Robinson was educated at Newton Abbot
Newton Abbot
Newton Abbot is a market town and civil parish in the Teignbridge District of Devon, England on the River Teign, with a population of 23,580....
Proprietary College (1882–1890) and Jesus College, Cambridge
Jesus College, Cambridge
Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The College was founded in 1496 on the site of a Benedictine nunnery by John Alcock, then Bishop of Ely...
(1890–1894). Other notable 'Old Newtonians' include the writer Arthur Quiller-Couch
Arthur Quiller-Couch
Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch was a Cornish writer, who published under the pen name of Q. He is primarily remembered for the monumental Oxford Book Of English Verse 1250–1900 , and for his literary criticism...
and the explorer Percy Harrison Fawcett. Robinson won three Rugby Football
Rugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
Blues between 1891 and 1893 and, according to his obituary in the Daily Express
Daily Express
The Daily Express switched from broadsheet to tabloid in 1977 and was bought by the construction company Trafalgar House in the same year. Its publishing company, Beaverbrook Newspapers, was renamed Express Newspapers...
(22 January 1907), he would have played for England
England national rugby union team
The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...
but for an "accident". He also rowed for Jesus College
Jesus College Boat Club (Cambridge)
Jesus College Boat Club is the rowing club for members of Jesus College, Cambridge. Over the years, it has been consistently successful, with the 1st Men's VIII never having dropped below 12th place in the May Bumps and 11th position in the Lent Bumps...
and was a member of the team that won the Thames Challenge Cup
Thames Challenge Cup
The Thames Challenge Cup is a rowing event for men's eights at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England. It is open to male crews from a single rowing club. Boat clubs from any university, college or secondary school are not permitted, neither are squad...
at the Henley Royal Regatta
Henley Royal Regatta
Henley Royal Regatta is a rowing event held every year on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. The Royal Regatta is sometimes referred to as Henley Regatta, its original name pre-dating Royal patronage...
on 7 July 1892. On 12 February 1894, The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
reported that Robinson was tried for the position of fourth oar with the Cambridge 'Trial Eight' ahead of the fifty-first annual Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race. Jesus College awarded Robinson with a Second Class History Tripos
Tripos
The University of Cambridge, England, divides the different kinds of honours bachelor's degree by Tripos , plural Triposes. The word has an obscure etymology, but may be traced to the three-legged stool candidates once used to sit on when taking oral examinations...
Bachelor of Arts degree (1893), Part I of the Law Tripos Bachelor of Arts degree (1894) and a Master of Arts degree (1897). Robinson became a barrister
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
in June 1896 but never practised that profession.
On 3 June 1902, 31 year-old Robinson married 22 year-old Gladys Hill Morris at St. Barnabas Church, Kensington
Kensington
Kensington is a district of west and central London, England within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. An affluent and densely-populated area, its commercial heart is Kensington High Street, and it contains the well-known museum district of South Kensington.To the north, Kensington is...
, London. Gladys was a self-proclaimed 'actress' and a daughter of the noted Victorian artist Philip Richard Morris
Philip Richard Morris
Philip Richard Morris was an English painter of genre and maritime scenes , Holman Hunt-influenced religious paintings and portraits.-Life:Taken to London aged 14 by his iron-founder father to train for the family trade, Philip became...
(1833–1902). The couple had no children of their own. However, the Robinsons acted as godparents to Geraldine Winn Everett, the daughter of Percy Everett
Percy Everett
Sir Percy Winn Everett was an editor-in-chief for the house of Pearson and an active Scouter who became the Deputy Chief Scout of Great Britain....
.
Writing & Editorial Career
Bertram Fletcher Robinson held editorial positions with The Newtonian (1887–1889), The GrantaGranta
Granta is a literary magazine and publisher in the United Kingdom whose mission centers on its "belief in the power and urgency of the story, both in fiction and non-fiction, and the story’s supreme ability to describe, illuminate and make real." In 2007, The Observer stated, "In its blend of...
(1893–1895), The Isthmian Library (1897–1901), Daily Express
Daily Express
The Daily Express switched from broadsheet to tabloid in 1977 and was bought by the construction company Trafalgar House in the same year. Its publishing company, Beaverbrook Newspapers, was renamed Express Newspapers...
(July 1900-May 1904), Vanity Fair (British magazine)
Vanity Fair (British magazine)
The second Vanity Fair was a British weekly magazine published from 1868 to 1914.-History:Subtitled "A Weekly Show of Political, Social and Literary Wares", it was founded by Thomas Gibson Bowles, who aimed to expose the contemporary vanities of Victorian society. The first issue appeared in London...
(May 1904-October 1906), The World, a journal for Men and Women (October 1906-December 1906), and the Gentleman's Magazine (January 1907).
Between 1893 and 1907, Robinson wrote or co-wrote at least nine satirical playlets (including four with his friend, PG Wodehouse), 54 short stories
Short Stories
Short Stories may refer to:*A plural for Short story*Short Stories , an American pulp magazine published from 1890-1959*Short Stories, a 1954 collection by O. E...
(including seven with his friend, Sir Malcolm Fraser, 1st Baronet
Sir Malcolm Fraser, 1st Baronet
Captain Sir John Malcolm Fraser, 1st Baronet GBE was a British journalist and political adviser.Fraser was born in Hampstead, London. He became a journalist and rose rapidly to become assistant editor of The Standard...
), four lyrics
Lyrics
Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
, 44 articles (for 15 different periodicals), 128 newspaper reports, 24 poems and eight books. He also edited a further eight books about various sports and pastimes for The Isthmian Library (1897–1901).
In July 1900, Robinson and the creator of Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
, (Sir) Arthur Conan Doyle
Arthur Conan Doyle
Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle DL was a Scottish physician and writer, most noted for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, generally considered a milestone in the field of crime fiction, and for the adventures of Professor Challenger...
, 'cemented' their friendship while aboard a passenger ship that was traveling to Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
from Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
. The following year, Robinson told Doyle legends of ghostly hounds, recounted the supernatural tale of Squire
Squire
The English word squire is a shortened version of the word Esquire, from the Old French , itself derived from the Late Latin , in medieval or Old English a scutifer. The Classical Latin equivalent was , "arms bearer"...
Richard Cabell III and showed him around grimly atmospheric Dartmoor
Dartmoor
Dartmoor is an area of moorland in south Devon, England. Protected by National Park status, it covers .The granite upland dates from the Carboniferous period of geological history. The moorland is capped with many exposed granite hilltops known as tors, providing habitats for Dartmoor wildlife. The...
. The pair had previously agreed to co-author a Devon-based story but in the end, their collaboration led only to Doyle's celebrated novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
, The Hound of the Baskervilles
The Hound of the Baskervilles
The Hound of the Baskervilles is the third of four crime novels by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle featuring the detective Sherlock Holmes. Originally serialised in The Strand Magazine from August 1901 to April 1902, it is set largely on Dartmoor in Devon in England's West Country and tells the story of an...
. Robinson also contributed an idea to the plot of a Sherlock Holmes short-story entitled The Adventure of the Norwood Builder
The Adventure of the Norwood Builder
"The Adventure of the Norwood Builder", one of the 56 short Sherlock Holmes stories written by British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is the second tale from The Return of Sherlock Holmes. The story was first published in Strand Magazine in 1903 with original illustrations by Sidney...
, which was first published in Collier's Weekly
Collier's Weekly
Collier's Weekly was an American magazine founded by Peter Fenelon Collier and published from 1888 to 1957. With the passage of decades, the title was shortened to Collier's....
on 31 October 1903.
Doyle is sometimes seen as downplaying the importance of Robinson's contribution to The Hound of the Baskervilles. The literary scholar and critic, Professor William Wallace Robson wrote that it is 'impossible to determine' the precise extent of Robinson's role, but in all probability he merely acted as a 'creative trigger'. He adds that once the element of Sherlock Holmes was added to the original idea, the novel evolved beyond the joint project that was originally posited. Robinson himself conceded that his part in the collaboration was restricted to that of an 'assistant plot producer'.
Death
Bertram Fletcher Robinson died aged just 36 years and 153 days on 21 January 1907, at 44 Eaton Terrace, BelgraviaBelgravia
Belgravia is a district of central London in the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Noted for its immensely expensive residential properties, it is one of the wealthiest districts in the world...
, London. The official cause of his death is recorded as 'enteric fever (3 weeks) and peritonitis
Peritonitis
Peritonitis is an inflammation of the peritoneum, the serous membrane that lines part of the abdominal cavity and viscera. Peritonitis may be localised or generalised, and may result from infection or from a non-infectious process.-Abdominal pain and tenderness:The main manifestations of...
(24 hours)'. Others with a bent for the occult bizarrely attributed his death to a curse
Curse
A curse is any expressed wish that some form of adversity or misfortune will befall or attach to some other entity—one or more persons, a place, or an object...
linked with an Egyptian artifact
Artifact (archaeology)
An artifact or artefact is "something made or given shape by man, such as a tool or a work of art, esp an object of archaeological interest"...
called the Unlucky Mummy
Unlucky Mummy
The Unlucky Mummy is an Ancient Egyptian artefact in the collection of the British Museum in London. The identity of the original owner is unknown...
. Robinson was buried beside his parents at St. Andrew’s Church, Ipplepen
Ipplepen
Ipplepen is a small village located within the county of Devon in south-west England. A priory was located there.-Location:Ipplepen is situated about to the west of the market town of Newton Abbot. Ipplepen is also located just from the southern edge of Dartmoor and about to the north-west of...
, near Newton Abbot
Newton Abbot
Newton Abbot is a market town and civil parish in the Teignbridge District of Devon, England on the River Teign, with a population of 23,580....
in Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
.
Obituaries were published in The World, The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, Daily Express, The Western Guardian, The Western Morning News, The Sphere, The Athenaeum, The Illustrated London News, The Mid-Devon and Newton Times, Vanity Fair, The Book of Blues and the Annual Report of the Jesus College Cambridge Society (1907). The English poet and journalist, Jessie Pope
Jessie Pope
Jessie Pope was an English poet, writer and journalist, who remains best known for her patriotic motivational poems published during World War I...
also wrote the following eulogy
Eulogy
A eulogy is a speech or writing in praise of a person or thing, especially one recently deceased or retired. Eulogies may be given as part of funeral services. However, some denominations either discourage or do not permit eulogies at services to maintain respect for traditions...
to Robinson, which was published in the Daily Express newspaper on Saturday 26 January 1907:
Memorial service
At 4pm on Thursday 24 January 1907, The Reverend Septimus Pennington conducted a memorialMemorial
A memorial is an object which serves as a focus for memory of something, usually a person or an event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or art objects such as sculptures, statues or fountains, and even entire parks....
service for Robinson at St. Clement Danes, Strand, London
Strand, London
Strand is a street in the City of Westminster, London, England. The street is just over three-quarters of a mile long. It currently starts at Trafalgar Square and runs east to join Fleet Street at Temple Bar, which marks the boundary of the City of London at this point, though its historical length...
. According to a report in the Daily Express newspaper (Saturday 26 January 1907), the congregation included the following notable figures: Arthur Hammond Marshall
Archibald Marshall
Arthur Hammond Marshall , better known by his pen name Archibald Marshall, was an English author, publisher and journalist whose novels were particularly popular in the United States. He published over 50 books and was recognized as a realist in his writing style, and was considered by some as a...
, Owen Seaman
Owen Seaman
Sir Owen Seaman, 1st Baronet was a British writer, journalist and poet. He is best known as editor of Punch, from 1906 to 1932.-Biography:...
, Max Pemberton
Max Pemberton
Sir Max Pemberton was a popular British novelist, working mainly in the adventure and mystery genres. He was educated at St Albans School, Merchant Taylors' School, and Caius College, Cambridge...
, Cyril Arthur Pearson
Cyril Arthur Pearson
Sir Cyril Arthur Pearson, 1st Baronet, GBE was a British newspaper magnate and publisher, most noted for founding the Daily Express.-Family and Early life:...
, Percy Everett
Percy Everett
Sir Percy Winn Everett was an editor-in-chief for the house of Pearson and an active Scouter who became the Deputy Chief Scout of Great Britain....
, Alfred Harmsworth, Joseph Lawrence
Joseph Lawrence
Joseph Lawrence may refer to:* Joseph Lawrence , US Congressman* Joseph Lawrence , British MP* Joe Lawrence , baseball player* Joseph Lawrence, convicted murderer of Jason Gage...
, Sir Felix Sermon, Sir William Bell (former member of the British Iron Trade Association & tax-reform campaigner), Anthony Hope
Anthony Hope
Sir Anthony Hope Hawkins, better known as Anthony Hope , was an English novelist and playwright. Although he was a prolific writer, especially of adventure novels, he is remembered best for only two books: The Prisoner of Zenda and its sequel Rupert of Hentzau...
Hawkins, Clement King Shorter, Gerald Fitzgerald Campbell, Leslie Ward
Leslie Ward
Sir Leslie Matthew Ward , was a British portrait artist and caricaturist who drew or painted numerous portraits which were regularly published by Vanity Fair, under the pseudonyms "Spy" and "Drawl".-Background:...
(‘Spy’), Thomas Anstey Guthrie
Thomas Anstey Guthrie
Thomas Anstey Guthrie , was an English novelist and journalist, who wrote his comic novels under the pseudonym F. Anstey....
, Leonard Upcott Gill (journalist, author & publisher), Sir John Evelyn Leslie Wrench and Henry Hamilton Fyfe.
The congregation sang a hymn entitled Peace, Perfect Peace. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was unable to attend either the funeral
Funeral
A funeral is a ceremony for celebrating, sanctifying, or remembering the life of a person who has died. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember the dead, from interment itself, to various monuments, prayers, and rituals undertaken in their honor...
or the memorial service because he was at that time, busily campaigning for the release from prison of one George Edalji
George Edalji
George Ernest Thompson Edalji was a solicitor from the West Midlands who became world-famous in 1907 when Sir Arthur Conan Doyle campaigned to have him declared innocent of maliciously wounding a pony in 1903....
. He did however send a floral tribute to the funeral service in Ipplepen with a message that read "In loving memory of an old and valued friend from Arthur Conan Doyle".
Legacy
During 1908, the British author Max PembertonMax Pemberton
Sir Max Pemberton was a popular British novelist, working mainly in the adventure and mystery genres. He was educated at St Albans School, Merchant Taylors' School, and Caius College, Cambridge...
had a story entitled Wheels of Anarchy published by Cassell & Company (London). This story is based upon notes that were written by Robinson shortly before his death. It is an adventure tale about anarchists and assassins that is set across Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. The novel’s hero, Bruce Driscoll, is a recent graduate
Graduation
Graduation is the action of receiving or conferring an academic degree or the ceremony that is sometimes associated, where students become Graduates. Before the graduation, candidates are referred to as Graduands. The date of graduation is often called degree day. The graduation itself is also...
of Jesus College, Cambridge and he appears to be modelled upon Robinson. Wheels of Anarchy by Max Pemberton was republished in facsimile
Facsimile
A facsimile is a copy or reproduction of an old book, manuscript, map, art print, or other item of historical value that is as true to the original source as possible. It differs from other forms of reproduction by attempting to replicate the source as accurately as possible in terms of scale,...
form during December 2010
During 1909, Gladys Robinson sold both Park Hill House and 44 Eaton Terrace and she then appears to have moved to continental Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Gladys met a Royal Artillery
Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery , is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...
officer called Major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
William John Frederick Halliday (Distinguished Service Order
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
). He was born in London during 1882 and was affectionately referred to as 'Fred'. The couple got married at the British Diplomatic mission
Diplomatic mission
A diplomatic mission is a group of people from one state or an international inter-governmental organisation present in another state to represent the sending state/organisation in the receiving state...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
on 7 January 1918 and thereafter, they relocated to Henley-on-Thames
Henley-on-Thames
Henley-on-Thames is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in South Oxfordshire, England, about 10 miles downstream and north-east from Reading, 10 miles upstream and west from Maidenhead...
in Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
.
In October 1912, Conan Doyle's story, The Lost World
The Lost World (Arthur Conan Doyle)
The Lost World is a novel released in 1912 by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle concerning an expedition to a plateau in the Amazon basin of South America where prehistoric animals still survive. It was originally published serially in the popular Strand Magazine during the months of April 1912-November 1912...
was published as a novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
. This story is narrated by a character called Edward E. Malone. It is possible that Malone is also partially modelled upon Robinson. Like Robinson, Malone was raised in the West Country
West Country
The West Country is an informal term for the area of south western England roughly corresponding to the modern South West England government region. It is often defined to encompass the historic counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Somerset and the City of Bristol, while the counties of...
, became an accomplished rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
player, a London-based journalist and loved a woman called Gladys.
During 1951, Robinson's book entitled The Chronicles of Addington Peace (London: Harper & Brother, 1905) was listed in the influential Queen's Quorum: A History of the Detective-Crime Short Story as Revealed by the 106 Most Important Books Published in this Field Since 1845.
In January 2009, Ipplepen Parish Council gave permission for a commemorative bench and plaque to be situated outside Caunters Close in Ipplepen. The inscription on the plaque reads as follows: 'Bertram Fletcher Robinson (1870–1907). Journalist, Editor, Author and former resident of Ipplepen. He assisted Arthur Conan Doyle with The Hound of the Baskervilles.
In June 2010, Brian Pugh, Paul R Spiring and Sadru Bhanji had a book published that is entitled Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes and Devon. This book contends that the success of Sherlock Holmes is partly attributable to Bertram Fletcher Robinson and two other former Devon residents called George Turnavine Budd and George Newnes
George Newnes
Sir George Newnes, 1st Baronet was a publisher and editor in England.-Background and education:...
.
June 2011 saw the release of a Sherlock Holmes pastiche
Pastiche
A pastiche is a literary or other artistic genre or technique that is a "hodge-podge" or imitation. The word is also a linguistic term used to describe an early stage in the development of a pidgin language.-Hodge-podge:...
entitled The Case of the Grave Accusation by Dicky Neely. The plot for this tale is loosely based upon the widely publicised claim that Arthur Conan Doyle conspired to murder Bertram Fletcher Robinson. On 1 September of that same year, Short Books Ltd. released a novel entitled The Baskerville Legacy by John O'Connell. The book gives a fictional account of the circumstances that led Arthur Conan Doyle and Bertram Fletcher Robinson to conceive The Hound of the Baskervilles.