Henry Kingsley
Encyclopedia
Henry Kingsley was an English novelist, brother of the better-known Charles Kingsley
.
Kingsley was born at Barnack
rectory, Northamptonshire
, son of the Rev. Charles Kingsley the elder, Mary, née Lucas. Charles Kingsley came of a long line of clergymen and soldiers, and in addition to the two well-known novelists, the family included Dr. George Kingsley the traveller and writer, and a daughter who also wrote fiction and niece, Mary Kingsley
. Henry Kingsley's boyhood was spent at Clovelly
and Chelsea
, before attending King's College School
, King's College London
, and Worcester College
, Oxford, which he left without graduating. An opportune legacy from a relation enabled him to leave Oxford free of debt and emigrate to Australia, arriving at Melbourne in the Gauntlet in December 1853. He became involved in gold-digging, and later joined the mounted police
.
For some time Kingsley had little or no money and carried his swag from station to station. Mr Philip Russell stated in 1887 that he employed Kingsley at his station Langa-Willi, and that Geoffrey Hamlyn was begun there. Miss Rose Browne, the daughter of "Rolf Boldrewood", has stated that it was on her father's suggestion that Kingsley began to write. Mr Russell's story is confirmed by her further statement that her father gave Kingsley a letter to Mr Mitchell of Langa-Willi station, that he stayed with Mitchell, and there wrote Geoffrey Hamlyn.
On his return to the UK in 1858 Kingsley devoted himself to literature, and wrote several well-regarded novels, including Geoffrey Hamlyn (1859), set in Colebrooke, Devon, and Australia, The Hillyars and the Burtons (1865), Ravenshoe (1861), and Austin Elliot (1863). Ravenshoe is generally regarded as the best. Henry Kingsley married Sarah Maria Haselwood on 19 July 1864. In 1869, he went to Edinburgh
to edit the Daily Review
, but he soon gave this up, and in 1870 became war correspondent
for the paper during the Franco-German War.
Kingsley also published Leighton Court (1866), Mademoiselle Mathilde (1868), Tales of Old Travel re-narrated (1869), Stretton (1869), The Boy in Grey (1871), Hetty and other Stories (1871), Old Margaret (1871), Hornby Mills and other Stories (1872), Valentine (1872), The Harveys (1872), Oakshott Castle (1873), Reginald Hetherege (1874), Number Seventeen (1875), The Grange Garden (1876), Fireside Studies (Essays) (1876), The Mystery of the Island (1877).
Kingsley and his wife moved to Cuckfield
, Sussex late in 1874, where Kingsley died of cancer of the tongue on 24 May 1876.
Charles Kingsley
Charles Kingsley was an English priest of the Church of England, university professor, historian and novelist, particularly associated with the West Country and northeast Hampshire.-Life and character:...
.
Kingsley was born at Barnack
Barnack
Barnack is a village and civil parish in the City of Peterborough unitary authority of Cambridgeshire, England. It is located in the north-west of the district, only four miles south-east from Stamford in Lincolnshire. According to the 2001 census, it had a population of 851 people. Barnack's...
rectory, Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
, son of the Rev. Charles Kingsley the elder, Mary, née Lucas. Charles Kingsley came of a long line of clergymen and soldiers, and in addition to the two well-known novelists, the family included Dr. George Kingsley the traveller and writer, and a daughter who also wrote fiction and niece, Mary Kingsley
Mary Kingsley
Mary Henrietta Kingsley was an English writer and explorer who greatly influenced European ideas about Africa and African people.-Early life:Kingsley was born in Islington, London on 13 October 1862...
. Henry Kingsley's boyhood was spent at Clovelly
Clovelly
Clovelly is a village in the Torridge district of Devon, England. It is a major tourist attraction, famous for its history and beauty, its extremely steep car-free cobbled main street, donkeys, and its location looking out over the Bristol Channel. Thick woods shelter it and render the climate so...
and Chelsea
Chelsea, London
Chelsea is an area of West London, England, bounded to the south by the River Thames, where its frontage runs from Chelsea Bridge along the Chelsea Embankment, Cheyne Walk, Lots Road and Chelsea Harbour. Its eastern boundary was once defined by the River Westbourne, which is now in a pipe above...
, before attending King's College School
King's College School
King's College School, commonly referred to as KCS, King's, or KCS Wimbledon, is an independent school for day pupils in Wimbledon in south-west London. The school was founded as the junior department of King's College London and occupied part of its premises in Strand, before relocating to...
, King's College London
King's College London
King's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...
, and Worcester College
Worcester College, Oxford
Worcester College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. The college was founded in the eighteenth century, but its predecessor on the same site had been an institution of learning since the late thirteenth century...
, Oxford, which he left without graduating. An opportune legacy from a relation enabled him to leave Oxford free of debt and emigrate to Australia, arriving at Melbourne in the Gauntlet in December 1853. He became involved in gold-digging, and later joined the mounted police
Mounted police
Mounted police are police who patrol on horseback or camelback. They continue to serve in remote areas and in metropolitan areas where their day-to-day function may be picturesque or ceremonial, but they are also employed in crowd control because of their mobile mass and height advantage and...
.
For some time Kingsley had little or no money and carried his swag from station to station. Mr Philip Russell stated in 1887 that he employed Kingsley at his station Langa-Willi, and that Geoffrey Hamlyn was begun there. Miss Rose Browne, the daughter of "Rolf Boldrewood", has stated that it was on her father's suggestion that Kingsley began to write. Mr Russell's story is confirmed by her further statement that her father gave Kingsley a letter to Mr Mitchell of Langa-Willi station, that he stayed with Mitchell, and there wrote Geoffrey Hamlyn.
On his return to the UK in 1858 Kingsley devoted himself to literature, and wrote several well-regarded novels, including Geoffrey Hamlyn (1859), set in Colebrooke, Devon, and Australia, The Hillyars and the Burtons (1865), Ravenshoe (1861), and Austin Elliot (1863). Ravenshoe is generally regarded as the best. Henry Kingsley married Sarah Maria Haselwood on 19 July 1864. In 1869, he went to Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
to edit the Daily Review
Daily Review
The Daily Review is a daily newspaper published in Hayward, California. Floyd L. Sparks was owner of the Review from 1944 to 1985, along with The Argus of Fremont and the Tri-Valley Herald. It is now owned by Bay Area News Group-East Bay , a subsidiary of MediaNews Group, which bought the paper in...
, but he soon gave this up, and in 1870 became war correspondent
War correspondent
A war correspondent is a journalist who covers stories firsthand from a war zone. In the 19th century they were also called Special Correspondents.-Methods:...
for the paper during the Franco-German War.
Kingsley also published Leighton Court (1866), Mademoiselle Mathilde (1868), Tales of Old Travel re-narrated (1869), Stretton (1869), The Boy in Grey (1871), Hetty and other Stories (1871), Old Margaret (1871), Hornby Mills and other Stories (1872), Valentine (1872), The Harveys (1872), Oakshott Castle (1873), Reginald Hetherege (1874), Number Seventeen (1875), The Grange Garden (1876), Fireside Studies (Essays) (1876), The Mystery of the Island (1877).
Kingsley and his wife moved to Cuckfield
Cuckfield
Cuckfield is a large village and civil parish in the Mid Sussex District of West Sussex, England, on the southern slopes of the Weald. It lies south of London, north of Brighton, and east northeast of the county town of Chichester. Nearby towns include Haywards Heath to the southeast and Burgess...
, Sussex late in 1874, where Kingsley died of cancer of the tongue on 24 May 1876.