W. L. George
Encyclopedia
Walter Lionel GeorgeWalter Lionel George (20 March 1882, Paris
, France
– 30 January 1926) was an English writer, chiefly known for his popular fiction, which included feminist
, pacifist
, and pro-labor
themes.
and did not learn English
until the age of twenty. In 1905 he moved to London
, where he became a journalist. The success of his first novel, A Bed of Roses (1911), about a woman's descent into prostitution, allowed him to apply himself full-time to literary efforts. His subsequent books also generally sold well, often requiring more than one edition and appearing on both sides of the Atlantic
. In addition to novels and short stories, George also wrote literary essays and several political tracts on left-wing themes. He was married three times and widowed twice.
included George in a list of "natural" novelists, not inhibited by "good taste". According to Alec Waugh
, he was commercially successful, helpful in practical terms to upcoming authors, but unpopular in the literary world for his subject matter, his hack journalism, and his left-wing views.
Noting similarities between George's novel Children of the Morning (1926) and William Golding's
celebrated Lord of the Flies
(1954), Auberon Waugh
suggested that George's work may have subliminally influenced Golding, although the latter denied having read it.
, in his short story "The Stalled Ox" (c. 1914), slyly conveys the tastes of the character Adela Pingsford by placing a copy of George's novel Israel Kalisch (1913) in her morning room (where its cover is eaten by an intrusive bovine).
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...
, France
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...
– 30 January 1926) was an English writer, chiefly known for his popular fiction, which included feminist
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
, pacifist
Pacifism
Pacifism is the opposition to war and violence. The term "pacifism" was coined by the French peace campaignerÉmile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress inGlasgow in 1901.- Definition :...
, and pro-labor
Labour movement
The term labour movement or labor movement is a broad term for the development of a collective organization of working people, to campaign in their own interest for better treatment from their employers and governments, in particular through the implementation of specific laws governing labour...
themes.
Life
Although born of British parents, George grew up in ParisParis
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...
and did not learn English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
until the age of twenty. In 1905 he moved to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, where he became a journalist. The success of his first novel, A Bed of Roses (1911), about a woman's descent into prostitution, allowed him to apply himself full-time to literary efforts. His subsequent books also generally sold well, often requiring more than one edition and appearing on both sides of the Atlantic
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
. In addition to novels and short stories, George also wrote literary essays and several political tracts on left-wing themes. He was married three times and widowed twice.
Reception and Influence
In 1945 George OrwellGeorge Orwell
Eric Arthur Blair , better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English author and journalist...
included George in a list of "natural" novelists, not inhibited by "good taste". According to Alec Waugh
Alec Waugh
Alexander Raban Waugh , was a British novelist, the elder brother of the better-known Evelyn Waugh and son of Arthur Waugh, author, literary critic, and publisher...
, he was commercially successful, helpful in practical terms to upcoming authors, but unpopular in the literary world for his subject matter, his hack journalism, and his left-wing views.
Noting similarities between George's novel Children of the Morning (1926) and William Golding's
William Golding
Sir William Gerald Golding was a British novelist, poet, playwright and Nobel Prize for Literature laureate, best known for his novel Lord of the Flies...
celebrated Lord of the Flies
Lord of the Flies
Lord of the Flies is a novel by Nobel Prize-winning author William Golding about a group of British boys stuck on a deserted island who try to govern themselves, with disastrous results...
(1954), Auberon Waugh
Auberon Waugh
Auberon Alexander Waugh was a British author and journalist, son of the novelist Evelyn Waugh. He was known to his family and friends as Bron Waugh.-Life and career:...
suggested that George's work may have subliminally influenced Golding, although the latter denied having read it.
Cultural References
SakiSaki
Hector Hugh Munro , better known by the pen name Saki, and also frequently as H. H. Munro, was a British writer whose witty, mischievous and sometimes macabre stories satirised Edwardian society and culture. He is considered a master of the short story and often compared to O. Henry and Dorothy...
, in his short story "The Stalled Ox" (c. 1914), slyly conveys the tastes of the character Adela Pingsford by placing a copy of George's novel Israel Kalisch (1913) in her morning room (where its cover is eaten by an intrusive bovine).
Works
- Engines of Social Progress (1907), tract
- France in the Twentieth Century (1908), tract
- Labour and Housing at Port Sunlight (1909), tract
- A Bed of Roses (1911), novel
- City of Light: A Novel of Modern Paris (1912), novel
- Woman and To-morrow (1913), tract
- Israel Kalisch (1913), novel, published in the United States as Until the Day Break
- The Making of an Englishman (1914), novel, reissued as The Little Beloved (1916)
- The Second Blooming (1914), novel
- Dramatic Actualities (1914), essays
- Olga Nazimov and Other Stories (1915), short stories
- Anatole France (1915), criticism
- The Intelligence of Woman (1916), tract
- The Strangers' Wedding, Or the Comedy of a Romantic (1916), novel
- A Novelist on Novels (1918), criticism, published in the United States as Literary Chapters
- Blind Alley (1919), novel
- Eddies of the Day (1919), tract
- Caliban (1920), novel
- The Confession of Ursula Trent (1921), novel, published in the United States as Ursula Trent
- A London Mosaic (1921) with illustrations Philippe Forbes-Robertson.
- Hail Columbia! Random Impressions of A Conservative English Radical (1921), travel writing
- The Stiff Lip (1922), novel, published in the United States as Her Unwelcome Husband (1922), reissued as One of the Guilty (1923)
- The Triumph of Gallio (1924), novel
- The Story of Woman (1925), tract
- Historic Lovers (1925, reissued 1994), popular history
- Children of the Morning (1926), novel
- Gifts of Sheba (1926), novel
- The Ordeal of Monica Mary (1927), novel
- The Selected Short Stories of W. L. George (1927), short stories