Gilbert Cannan
Encyclopedia
Gilbert Cannan was a British novelist and dramatist.
of Scottish descent, he got on badly with his family, and in 1897 he was sent to live in Oxford
with the economist Edwin Cannan
. He was educated at Manchester Grammar School
and King's College, Cambridge
; he started on a legal career, but turned to writing in 1908, after a short spell as an actor.
the Lawrie Saga, around the character Stephen Lawrie. Samuel Butler was a major influence on his fiction. In 1914, the novelist Henry James
in an article in The Times named Cannan as one of four significant up-and-coming authors, alongside D.H. Lawrence, Compton Mackenzie
and Hugh Walpole
.
He was employed as a secretary by J. M. Barrie
, working with him in their efforts against censorship of the theatre by the Lord Chamberlain
. A relationship developed in 1909 between Cannan and Barrie's wife Mary (née Ansell), a former actress who felt neglected in her marriage. Cannan had been wooing Kathleen Bruce, who at the same time was receiving advances from explorer Robert Falcon Scott
. When Bruce decided to marry Scott, Mary Barrie's sympathy for Cannan developed a momentum of its own. Her husband sought to be reconciled, but relented and divorced her in a high-profile case, and she and Cannan were married in 1910. Cannan was caricatured as Mr. Gunn, a minor character in George Bernard Shaw
's 1911 drama Fanny's First Play
.
During World War I he was a pacifist and then conscientious objector
, and was involved in the National Council Against Conscription. He used his experiences in later novels, making the character Melian Stokes in Pugs and Peacocks a portrait of Bertrand Russell
. He had known Ottoline Morrell from before the war. During it he moved in her circle, introducing her to D.H. Lawrence, and knew also Dora Carrington
, Dorothy Brett
and the artist Mark Gertler. Cannan's book Mendel was based on Gertler's early life (Mendel being his Yiddish given name), and explored his relationships with C.R.W. Nevinson and Carrington. Gertler painted Gilbert Cannan and his Mill; the picture is now in the Ashmolean Museum
. The mill was at Cholesbury
in Buckinghamshire, where Cannan was living in 1916, and which attracted a number of his intellectual circle (including Lawrence and his wife Frieda, and Katherine Mansfield
and John Middleton Murry
). The picture also shows the Cannan's two dogs, Sammy on the left and a Newfoundland dog Luath whose coat was copied for Nana, the dog who served as the Darling children's nurse in Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up. In 1916, partly in response to the devastating effects of the war and the threat of conscription, Cannan suffered a mental breakdown, an experience which he vividly described in his book, The Release of the Soul.
His marriage to Mary broke up during 1918, when he had an affair with Gwen Wilson; who then dropped him for Henry Mond
.
After the war Cannan wrote and translated a great deal, and travelled. Another breakdown in 1923 proved untreatable and he spent the rest of his life confined to a mental hospital
.
and her sister, writer Joanna Cannan
, were cousins of his, daughters of the academic Charles Cannan (Dean of Trinity College, Oxford, and Secretary to the Delegates of Oxford University Press); as was Professor Edwin Cannan, the noted LSE economist (and brother of Charles Cannan); Joanna's daughter Diana Pullein-Thompson was his biographer. Joanna Cannan's son, Denis Cannan
also followed in his footsteps, becoming a dramatist in his own right.
Early life
Born in ManchesterManchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
of Scottish descent, he got on badly with his family, and in 1897 he was sent to live in Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
with the economist Edwin Cannan
Edwin Cannan
Edwin Cannan was a British economist and historian of economic thought. He was a professor at the London School of Economics from 1895 to 1926....
. He was educated at Manchester Grammar School
Manchester Grammar School
The Manchester Grammar School is the largest independent day school for boys in the UK . It is based in Manchester, England...
and King's College, Cambridge
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college's full name is "The King's College of our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge", but it is usually referred to simply as "King's" within the University....
; he started on a legal career, but turned to writing in 1908, after a short spell as an actor.
Career
Cannan worked first as a translator, and reviewed in London publications. Many of his novels are in part autobiographical, and fit into a novel sequenceNovel sequence
A novel sequence is a set or series of novels which share common themes, characters, or settings, but where each novel has its own title and free-standing storyline, and can thus be read independently or out of sequence.-Definitions:...
the Lawrie Saga, around the character Stephen Lawrie. Samuel Butler was a major influence on his fiction. In 1914, the novelist Henry James
Henry James
Henry James, OM was an American-born writer, regarded as one of the key figures of 19th-century literary realism. He was the son of Henry James, Sr., a clergyman, and the brother of philosopher and psychologist William James and diarist Alice James....
in an article in The Times named Cannan as one of four significant up-and-coming authors, alongside D.H. Lawrence, Compton Mackenzie
Compton Mackenzie
Sir Compton Mackenzie, OBE was a writer and a Scottish nationalist.-Background:Compton Mackenzie was born in West Hartlepool, England, into a theatrical family of Mackenzies, but many of whose members used Compton as their stage surname, starting with his grandfather Henry Compton, a well-known...
and Hugh Walpole
Hugh Walpole
Sir Hugh Seymour Walpole, CBE was an English novelist. A prolific writer, he published thirty-six novels, five volumes of short stories, two plays and three volumes of memoirs. His skill at scene-setting, his vivid plots, his high profile as a lecturer and his driving ambition brought him a large...
.
He was employed as a secretary by J. M. Barrie
J. M. Barrie
Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, OM was a Scottish author and dramatist, best remembered today as the creator of Peter Pan. The child of a family of small-town weavers, he was educated in Scotland. He moved to London, where he developed a career as a novelist and playwright...
, working with him in their efforts against censorship of the theatre by the Lord Chamberlain
Lord Chamberlain
The Lord Chamberlain or Lord Chamberlain of the Household is one of the chief officers of the Royal Household in the United Kingdom and is to be distinguished from the Lord Great Chamberlain, one of the Great Officers of State....
. A relationship developed in 1909 between Cannan and Barrie's wife Mary (née Ansell), a former actress who felt neglected in her marriage. Cannan had been wooing Kathleen Bruce, who at the same time was receiving advances from explorer Robert Falcon Scott
Robert Falcon Scott
Captain Robert Falcon Scott, CVO was a Royal Navy officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions: the Discovery Expedition, 1901–04, and the ill-fated Terra Nova Expedition, 1910–13...
. When Bruce decided to marry Scott, Mary Barrie's sympathy for Cannan developed a momentum of its own. Her husband sought to be reconciled, but relented and divorced her in a high-profile case, and she and Cannan were married in 1910. Cannan was caricatured as Mr. Gunn, a minor character in George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
's 1911 drama Fanny's First Play
Fanny's First Play
Fanny's First Play is a 1911 play by G. Bernard Shaw. It was written anonymously, then later discovered to be the work of George Bernard Shaw and produced by the Shubert family. It opened at the Adelphi Theatre at Westminster in London on April 19, 1911 and ran for 622 performances , and second...
.
Conscientious objector
A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, and/or religion....
, and was involved in the National Council Against Conscription. He used his experiences in later novels, making the character Melian Stokes in Pugs and Peacocks a portrait of Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRS was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, and social critic. At various points in his life he considered himself a liberal, a socialist, and a pacifist, but he also admitted that he had never been any of these things...
. He had known Ottoline Morrell from before the war. During it he moved in her circle, introducing her to D.H. Lawrence, and knew also Dora Carrington
Dora Carrington
Dora de Houghton Carrington , known generally as Carrington, was a British painter and decorative artist, remembered in part for her association with members of the Bloomsbury Group, especially the writer Lytton Strachey....
, Dorothy Brett
Dorothy Brett
Dorothy Brett British-American painter, remembered as much for her social life as for her art. Born into an aristocratic British family she associated with such notables and Virginia Woolf, John Huxley, Gilbert Cannan, and George Bernard Shaw. Her sister Sylvia became Ranee of Sarawak.In 1924...
and the artist Mark Gertler. Cannan's book Mendel was based on Gertler's early life (Mendel being his Yiddish given name), and explored his relationships with C.R.W. Nevinson and Carrington. Gertler painted Gilbert Cannan and his Mill; the picture is now in the Ashmolean Museum
Ashmolean Museum
The Ashmolean Museum on Beaumont Street, Oxford, England, is the world's first university museum...
. The mill was at Cholesbury
Cholesbury
Cholesbury is a village in Buckinghamshire, England, on the border with Hertfordshire. It is situated in the Chiltern Hills, about east of Wendover, north of Chesham and from Berkhamsted....
in Buckinghamshire, where Cannan was living in 1916, and which attracted a number of his intellectual circle (including Lawrence and his wife Frieda, and Katherine Mansfield
Katherine Mansfield
Kathleen Mansfield Beauchamp Murry was a prominent modernist writer of short fiction who was born and brought up in colonial New Zealand and wrote under the pen name of Katherine Mansfield. Mansfield left for Great Britain in 1908 where she encountered Modernist writers such as D.H. Lawrence and...
and John Middleton Murry
John Middleton Murry
John Middleton Murry was an English writer. He was prolific, producing more than 60 books and thousands of essays and reviews on literature, social issues, politics, and religion during his lifetime...
). The picture also shows the Cannan's two dogs, Sammy on the left and a Newfoundland dog Luath whose coat was copied for Nana, the dog who served as the Darling children's nurse in Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up. In 1916, partly in response to the devastating effects of the war and the threat of conscription, Cannan suffered a mental breakdown, an experience which he vividly described in his book, The Release of the Soul.
His marriage to Mary broke up during 1918, when he had an affair with Gwen Wilson; who then dropped him for Henry Mond
Henry Mond, 2nd Baron Melchett
Henry Ludwig Mond, 2nd Baron Melchett was a British politician, industrialist and financier.-Early life and education:...
.
After the war Cannan wrote and translated a great deal, and travelled. Another breakdown in 1923 proved untreatable and he spent the rest of his life confined to a mental hospital
Mental Hospital
Mental hospital may refer to:*Psychiatric hospital*hospital in Nepal named Mental Hospital...
.
Family
The poet May Wedderburn CannanMay Wedderburn Cannan
May Wedderburn Cannan was a British poet who was active in World War I.-Early life:She was the second of three daughters of Charles Cannan, Dean of Trinity College, Oxford .In 1911, at the age of 18 she joined the Voluntary Aid Detachment, training as a nurse and eventually reaching...
and her sister, writer Joanna Cannan
Joanna Cannan
Joanna Cannan was a writer of pony books and detective novels. Her pony books were aimed primarily at children.Youngest daughter of Oxford don Charles Cannan and Mary Wedderburn, also cousin of Gilbert Cannan, it is perhaps her children she is best known for, being mother to Josephine...
, were cousins of his, daughters of the academic Charles Cannan (Dean of Trinity College, Oxford, and Secretary to the Delegates of Oxford University Press); as was Professor Edwin Cannan, the noted LSE economist (and brother of Charles Cannan); Joanna's daughter Diana Pullein-Thompson was his biographer. Joanna Cannan's son, Denis Cannan
Denis Cannan
Denis Cannan was a British dramatist, playwright and script writer. Born Denis Pullein-Thompson, the son of Captain Harold J. Pullein-Thompson and novelist Joanna Cannan, he changed his name by deed poll in 1964. His younger sisters were Josephine, Diana and Christine Pullein-Thompson.Born in...
also followed in his footsteps, becoming a dramatist in his own right.
Works
- Jean-Christophe by Romain RollandRomain RollandRomain Rolland was a French dramatist, novelist, essayist, art historian and mystic who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1915.-Biography:...
(1910–1913) translator - Peter Homunculus (1909) first novel
- Heinrich HeineHeinrich HeineChristian Johann Heinrich Heine was one of the most significant German poets of the 19th century. He was also a journalist, essayist, and literary critic. He is best known outside Germany for his early lyric poetry, which was set to music in the form of Lieder by composers such as Robert Schumann...
's Memoirs, edited by Gustav KarpelesGustav KarpelesGustav Karpeles was a German Jewish historian of literature and editor; son of Elijah Karpeles.-Life:He studied at the University of Breslau, where he attended also the Jewish Theological Seminary...
(1910) translator - Devious Ways (1910) novel
- Little Brother (1912) novel
- The Joy of the Theatre (1913) essays
- Four Plays (1913)
- Round The Corner (1913) novel
- Love (1914)
- Old Mole (1914) novel
- Old Mole's Novel (1914) novel
- Satire (1914)
- Young Earnest – The Romance Of A Bad Start In Life (1915)
- Samuel Butler: A Critical Study (1915)
- Windmills: A Book of Fables (1915) fantasy
- Three Pretty Men (1916) novel
- Mendel: a story of youth (1916) novel, closely based on Mark Gertler's early life
- Everybody's Husband (1917) play, performed at the Birmingham Repertory TheatreBirmingham Repertory TheatreBirmingham Repertory Theatre is a theatre and theatre company based on Centenary Square in Birmingham, England...
with incidental music by Maurice Besly - The House with the Mezzanine, and Other Stories by Anton ChekhovAnton ChekhovAnton Pavlovich Chekhov was a Russian physician, dramatist and author who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short stories in history. His career as a dramatist produced four classics and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics...
(1917) translator with S. S. KotelianskyS. S. KotelianskyS.S. Koteliansky, or Samuel Solomonovich Koteliansky, was born in the small Jewish shtetl of Ostropol in the Ukraine, where his first language almost certainly was Yiddish. He was educated and attended university in Russia.-Biography:By 1911, he had moved to London, where he became a great friend... - The Stucco House (1917) novel
- Freedom (1917)
- The Anatomy of Society (1919)
- Time and Eternity (1919)
- Pink roses (1919)
- My Life (1920)
- Pugs and Peacocks (1921)
- Sembal (1922)
- Annette and Bennety (1922)
- Noel – An Epic in Seven Cantos (1922)
- Seven Plays (1923)
- House of Prophecy (1924)
- Diary of A.O. Barnabooth by Valery LarbaudValery LarbaudValery Larbaud was a French writer.-Life:He was born in Vichy, Allier, the only child of a pharmacist. His father died when he was 8, and he was brought up by his mother and aunt. His father had been owner of the Vichy Saint-Yorre mineral water springs, and the family fortune assured him an easy...
, translator