John Edward Courtenay Bodley
Encyclopedia
John Edward Courtenay Bodley (1853 – 1925) was an English civil servant, known for his writings on France
.
from 1873 to 1876. An active Freemason, he approached Oscar Wilde
, then also an undergraduate, and introduced him to a Masonic Lodge in Oxford. Richard Ellmann
attributes to Bodley a long, spiteful New York Times article that appeared on Wilde, on 21 January 1882.
He was secretary to Charles Dilke, from 1880. Initially Dilke thought him frivolous, but he came to play a major part in Dilke's official work and private life. He was a witness in the divorce case that broke Dilke's career. He subsequently believed that Dilke's downfall was caused by Joseph Chamberlain
.
A personal friend of Cardinal Manning
("almost certainly his most intimate non-Catholic friend", and Manning's preferred choice as biographer), he was his biographer only in a short work.
, whom Bodley knew. When Émile Boutmy
, a follower of Taine, had his work on England in the same vein translated into English, Bodley wrote an introduction.
Shane Leslie
, a friend, described him as "one of the last cultured Europeans". A 1928 work by Charles Maurras
about him was entitled L'anglais qui a connu la France; Maurras had already studied Bodley in 1902, in Deux témoins de la France.
. The writer Ronald Victor Courtenay Bodley
and the artist Josselin Reginald Courtenay Bodley (1893-1974) were his sons, and joint dedicatees of France. His daughter Ava married Ralph Wigram
in 1925, and John Anderson, 1st Viscount Waverley
in 1941.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
Life
He studied at Balliol College, OxfordBalliol College, Oxford
Balliol College , founded in 1263, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England but founded by a family with strong Scottish connections....
from 1873 to 1876. An active Freemason, he approached Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
, then also an undergraduate, and introduced him to a Masonic Lodge in Oxford. Richard Ellmann
Richard Ellmann
Richard David Ellmann was a prominent American literary critic and biographer of the Irish writers James Joyce, Oscar Wilde, and William Butler Yeats...
attributes to Bodley a long, spiteful New York Times article that appeared on Wilde, on 21 January 1882.
He was secretary to Charles Dilke, from 1880. Initially Dilke thought him frivolous, but he came to play a major part in Dilke's official work and private life. He was a witness in the divorce case that broke Dilke's career. He subsequently believed that Dilke's downfall was caused by Joseph Chamberlain
Joseph Chamberlain
Joseph Chamberlain was an influential British politician and statesman. Unlike most major politicians of the time, he was a self-made businessman and had not attended Oxford or Cambridge University....
.
A personal friend of Cardinal Manning
Cardinal Manning
Cardinal Manning may refer to* Henry Edward Manning , English Roman Catholic Archbishop and Cardinal* Timothy Manning , Archbishop of Los Angeles...
("almost certainly his most intimate non-Catholic friend", and Manning's preferred choice as biographer), he was his biographer only in a short work.
Political writing
Bodley's political writings are in the general tradition of Hippolyte TaineHippolyte Taine
Hippolyte Adolphe Taine was a French critic and historian. He was the chief theoretical influence of French naturalism, a major proponent of sociological positivism, and one of the first practitioners of historicist criticism. Literary historicism as a critical movement has been said to originate...
, whom Bodley knew. When Émile Boutmy
Émile Boutmy
Émile Boutmy was a French political scientist and sociologist who was a native of Paris.He studied law in Paris, and from 1867 to 1870 gave lectures on the history and culture of civilizations pertaining to architecture at the École Spéciale d'Architecture...
, a follower of Taine, had his work on England in the same vein translated into English, Bodley wrote an introduction.
Shane Leslie
Shane Leslie
Sir John Randolph Leslie, 3rd Baronet, generally known as Shane Leslie , was an Irish-born diplomat and writer. He was a first cousin of the British war time Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill...
, a friend, described him as "one of the last cultured Europeans". A 1928 work by Charles Maurras
Charles Maurras
Charles-Marie-Photius Maurras was a French author, poet, and critic. He was a leader and principal thinker of Action Française, a political movement that was monarchist, anti-parliamentarist, and counter-revolutionary. Maurras' ideas greatly influenced National Catholicism and "nationalisme...
about him was entitled L'anglais qui a connu la France; Maurras had already studied Bodley in 1902, in Deux témoins de la France.
Works
- France (1898, two volumes)
- L'Anglomanie et les Traditions Françaises (1899)
- The Coronation of Edward the Seventh: A Chapter of European and Imperial History (1903)
- The Church In France (1906)
- Cardinal Manning; The decay of idealism in France; The Institute of France (1912)
- L'Age Mécanique et le Déclin de l'idéalisme en France (1913)
- The Romance of the Battle-Line in France (1920)
Family
He was a descendent of Sir Thomas Bodley, founder of the Bodleian LibraryBodleian Library
The Bodleian Library , the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library...
. The writer Ronald Victor Courtenay Bodley
Ronald Bodley
Colonel Ronald Victor Courtenay Bodley was a British army officer, author and journalist. He is best known for his book, Wind in the Sahara.-Biography:...
and the artist Josselin Reginald Courtenay Bodley (1893-1974) were his sons, and joint dedicatees of France. His daughter Ava married Ralph Wigram
Ralph Wigram
Ralph Follett Wigram CMG was a British government official in the Foreign Office. He helped raise the alarm about German re-armament under Hitler during the period prior to World War II...
in 1925, and John Anderson, 1st Viscount Waverley
John Anderson, 1st Viscount Waverley
John Anderson, 1st Viscount Waverley, GCB, OM, GCSI, GCIE, PC, PC was a British civil servant then politician who served as a minister under Neville Chamberlain and Winston Churchill as Home Secretary, Lord President of the Council and Chancellor of the Exchequer...
in 1941.
