Raymond Postgate
Encyclopedia
Raymond William Postgate (6 November 1896 - 29 March 1971) was an English
socialist, journalist and editor, social historian
, mystery
novelist and gourmet.
, the eldest son of John Percival Postgate
and Edith Allen, Postgate was educated at St John's College, Oxford
, where he gained a First in Honours Moderations in 1917.
Postgate sought exemption from World War I
military service
as a socialist conscientious objector
, but was offered only non-combatant service in the army; forcibly conscripted, he was held at Cowley Barracks, Oxford, but found medically unfit for service and discharged. Fearful of any possible further attempt at conscription he went "on the run" for a period. While he was in custody, his sister Margaret
campaigned on his behalf, in the process meeting the socialist writer and economist
G. D. H. Cole
, whom she subsequently married. In 1918 Postgate married Daisy Lansbury, daughter of the Labour Party
journalist and politician George Lansbury
, and was barred from the family home by his Tory
father.
in 1920, Postgate left the Herald to join his colleague Francis Meynell
on the staff of the CP's first weekly, The Communist. Postgate soon became its editor and was briefly a major propagandist for the communist cause, but he left the party after falling out with its leadership in 1922. when the Communist International insisted that British communists follow the Moscow
line. As such, he was one of Britain's first left-wing former-communists, and the party came to treat him as an archetypal bourgeois intellectual
renegade. He remained a key player in left journalism, however, returning to the Herald, then joining Lansbury on Lansbury's Labour Weekly in 1925-1927.
and Robert Emmet
and his first novel, No Epitaph (1932
), and worked as an editor for the Encyclopædia Britannica
. In 1932 he visited the Soviet Union with a Fabian
delegation and contributed to the collection Twelve Studies in Soviet Russia. Later in the 1930s he co-authored with G. D. H. Cole The Common People, a social history of Britain from the mid-18th century. Postgate was editor of the left-wing monthly Fact from 1937 to 1939 and editor of the socialist weekly Tribune
from early 1940 until the end of 1941.
Always interested in food
and wine
, after World War II
, Postgate assembled a band of volunteers to visit and report on UK restaurants. He edited the results into the Good Food Guide
, first published in 1951. He continued to work as a journalist, mainly on the Co-operative movement's Sunday paper Reynolds' News, and during the 1950s and 1960s published several historical works and a biography of his father-in-law, The Life of George Lansbury.
Postgate wrote several mystery novels that drew on his socialist beliefs to set crime
, detection and punishment in a broader social and economic context. His most famous novel is Verdict of Twelve
(1940
), his other novels include Somebody at the Door (1943
) and The Ledger Is Kept (1953
). (His sister and brother-in-law, the Coles, also became a successful mystery-writing duo.) After the death of H. G. Wells
, Postgate edited some revisions of the two-volume Outline of History
that Wells had first published in 1920.
Postgate's son, Oliver
, also a conscientious objector, became a leading creator of children's television programmes in the UK.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
socialist, journalist and editor, social historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
, mystery
Mystery fiction
Mystery fiction is a loosely-defined term.1.It is often used as a synonym for detective fiction or crime fiction— in other words a novel or short story in which a detective investigates and solves a crime mystery. Sometimes mystery books are nonfiction...
novelist and gourmet.
Early life
Raymond Postgate was born in CambridgeCambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, the eldest son of John Percival Postgate
John Percival Postgate
John Percival Postgate was an English classicist, professor of Latin at the University of Liverpool from 1909 to 1920....
and Edith Allen, Postgate was educated at St John's College, Oxford
St John's College, Oxford
__FORCETOC__St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, one of the larger Oxford colleges with approximately 390 undergraduates, 200 postgraduates and over 100 academic staff. It was founded by Sir Thomas White, a merchant, in 1555, whose heart is buried in the chapel of...
, where he gained a First in Honours Moderations in 1917.
Postgate sought exemption from 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...
military service
Military service
Military service, in its simplest sense, is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, whether as a chosen job or as a result of an involuntary draft . Some nations require a specific amount of military service from every citizen...
as a socialist conscientious objector
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....
, but was offered only non-combatant service in the army; forcibly conscripted, he was held at Cowley Barracks, Oxford, but found medically unfit for service and discharged. Fearful of any possible further attempt at conscription he went "on the run" for a period. While he was in custody, his sister Margaret
Margaret Cole
Dame Margaret Isabel Cole, DBE was an English socialist politician.Daughter of John Percival Postgate and Edith Allen, Margaret was educated at Roedean School and Girton College, Cambridge. While at Girton, through her reading of H. G...
campaigned on his behalf, in the process meeting the socialist writer and economist
Economist
An economist is a professional in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy...
G. D. H. Cole
G. D. H. Cole
George Douglas Howard Cole was an English political theorist, economist, writer and historian. As a libertarian socialist he was a long-time member of the Fabian Society and an advocate for the cooperative movement...
, whom she subsequently married. In 1918 Postgate married Daisy Lansbury, daughter of the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
journalist and politician George Lansbury
George Lansbury
George Lansbury was a British politician, socialist, Christian pacifist and newspaper editor. He was a Member of Parliament from 1910 to 1912 and from 1922 to 1940, and leader of the Labour Party from 1932 to 1935....
, and was barred from the family home by his Tory
Tory
Toryism is a traditionalist and conservative political philosophy which grew out of the Cavalier faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It is a prominent ideology in the politics of the United Kingdom, but also features in parts of The Commonwealth, particularly in Canada...
father.
Communist period
From 1918, Postgate worked as a journalist on the Daily Herald, then edited by his father-in-law, Lansbury. A founding member of the British Communist PartyCommunist Party of Great Britain
The Communist Party of Great Britain was the largest communist party in Great Britain, although it never became a mass party like those in France and Italy. It existed from 1920 to 1991.-Formation:...
in 1920, Postgate left the Herald to join his colleague Francis Meynell
Francis Meynell
Sir Francis Meredith Wilfrid Meynell was a British poet and printer at The Nonesuch Press.He was son of the writer Alice Meynell, a suffragist and prominent Roman Catholic convert. Francis Meynell was brought in by George Lansbury to be business manager of the Daily Herald in 1913. He was...
on the staff of the CP's first weekly, The Communist. Postgate soon became its editor and was briefly a major propagandist for the communist cause, but he left the party after falling out with its leadership in 1922. when the Communist International insisted that British communists follow the Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
line. As such, he was one of Britain's first left-wing former-communists, and the party came to treat him as an archetypal bourgeois intellectual
Intellectual
An intellectual is a person who uses intelligence and critical or analytical reasoning in either a professional or a personal capacity.- Terminology and endeavours :"Intellectual" can denote four types of persons:...
renegade. He remained a key player in left journalism, however, returning to the Herald, then joining Lansbury on Lansbury's Labour Weekly in 1925-1927.
Later career
In the late 1920s and early 1930s he published biographies of John WilkesJohn Wilkes
John Wilkes was an English radical, journalist and politician.He was first elected Member of Parliament in 1757. In the Middlesex election dispute, he fought for the right of voters—rather than the House of Commons—to determine their representatives...
and Robert Emmet
Robert Emmet
Robert Emmet was an Irish nationalist and Republican, orator and rebel leader born in Dublin, Ireland...
and his first novel, No Epitaph (1932
1932 in literature
The year 1932 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*E. V. Knox replaces Sir Owen Seaman as editor of Punch magazine.*Samuel Beckett's first novel, Dream of Fair to Middling Women, is rejected by several publishers....
), and worked as an editor for the Encyclopædia Britannica
Encyclopædia Britannica
The Encyclopædia Britannica , published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia that is available in print, as a DVD, and on the Internet. It is written and continuously updated by about 100 full-time editors and more than 4,000 expert...
. In 1932 he visited the Soviet Union with a Fabian
Fabian Society
The Fabian Society is a British socialist movement, whose purpose is to advance the principles of democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist, rather than revolutionary, means. It is best known for its initial ground-breaking work beginning late in the 19th century and continuing up to World...
delegation and contributed to the collection Twelve Studies in Soviet Russia. Later in the 1930s he co-authored with G. D. H. Cole The Common People, a social history of Britain from the mid-18th century. Postgate was editor of the left-wing monthly Fact from 1937 to 1939 and editor of the socialist weekly Tribune
Tribune (magazine)
Tribune is a democratic socialist weekly, founded in 1937 published in London. It is independent but supports the Labour Party from the left...
from early 1940 until the end of 1941.
Always interested in food
Food
Food is any substance consumed to provide nutritional support for the body. It is usually of plant or animal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals...
and wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
, after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Postgate assembled a band of volunteers to visit and report on UK restaurants. He edited the results into the Good Food Guide
Good Food Guide
The Good Food Guide is an annual guidebook to the best restaurants in the UK, published by Which?books.The Good Food Guide was first published in 1951 by Raymond Postgate, an enthusiastic gourmet, who was appalled by the standard of contemporary catering. He recruited an army of volunteers to...
, first published in 1951. He continued to work as a journalist, mainly on the Co-operative movement's Sunday paper Reynolds' News, and during the 1950s and 1960s published several historical works and a biography of his father-in-law, The Life of George Lansbury.
Postgate wrote several mystery novels that drew on his socialist beliefs to set crime
Crime
Crime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...
, detection and punishment in a broader social and economic context. His most famous novel is Verdict of Twelve
Verdict of Twelve
Verdict of Twelve is a novel by Raymond Postgate first published in 1940 about a trial by jury seen through the eyes of each of the twelve jurors as they listen to the evidence and try to reach a unanimous verdict of either “Guilty” or “Not guilty”. Verdict of Twelve is set in England in the late...
(1940
1940 in literature
The year 1940 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Aldous Huxley is a screenwriter for the movie adaptation of Pride and Prejudice.*Jean-Paul Sartre is taken prisoner by the Germans....
), his other novels include Somebody at the Door (1943
1943 in literature
The year 1943 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*George Orwell resigns from the BBC to become literary editor of Tribune.*Isaac Bashevis Singer becomes a naturalized citizen of the United States....
) and The Ledger Is Kept (1953
1953 in literature
The year 1953 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* January 22 - The Crucible, a drama by Arthur Miller, opens on Broadway....
). (His sister and brother-in-law, the Coles, also became a successful mystery-writing duo.) After the death of H. G. Wells
H. G. Wells
Herbert George Wells was an English author, now best known for his work in the science fiction genre. He was also a prolific writer in many other genres, including contemporary novels, history, politics and social commentary, even writing text books and rules for war games...
, Postgate edited some revisions of the two-volume Outline of History
The Outline of History
The Outline of History, subtitled either "The Whole Story of Man" or "Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind", is a book by H. G. Wells published in 1919...
that Wells had first published in 1920.
Death and legacy
Raymond Postgate died on 29 March 1971.Postgate's son, Oliver
Oliver Postgate
Oliver Postgate was an English animator, puppeteer and writer.He was the creator and writer of some of Britain's most popular children's television programmes...
, also a conscientious objector, became a leading creator of children's television programmes in the UK.
External links
- Portrait by Stella Bowen Australian War Memorial Collection (Retrieved 23-July-2007)
- R. W. Postgate Archive Marxists Internet Archive
- Catalogue of the Postgate papers held at LSE Archives