Alphonse James Albert Symons (pronounced ''SIMM-ons''; (16 August 1900 – 26 August 1941) was an English writer and

bibliographer Bibliography (from and ), as a discipline, is traditionally the academic study of books as physical, cultural objects; in this sense, it is also known as bibliology (from ). English author and bibliographer John Carter describes ''bibliography ...

Early life and education

Symons was the eldest of four sons and a daughter born to auctioneer Morris (or Maurice) Albert Symons (died 1929), of Russian-Polish Jewish immigrant parentage, and Minnie Louise (died 1964), née Bull. Due to the family's financial difficulties, his education was limited, and he was mainly self-educated. He was obliged to enter a trade at the age of fourteen, and for three years led a "life of drudgery" apprenticed to a furrier. Symons retained a sense of "intense humiliation" over his time in the fur trade, comparing it to "Dickens's time at Warren's blacking factory".

Career

In 1922, he founded the First Edition Club to publish limited editions and to organize exhibitions of rare books and manuscripts. In 1924 he published a bibliography of first editions of the works of

Yeats William Butler Yeats (13 June 186528 January 1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and became a pillar of the Irish liter ...

, and in 1930 he founded the ''Book Collector's Quarterly''. He was an authority on writers and editions of the 1890s, and he published ''An Anthology of 'Nineties Verse'' in 1928. Symons completed his first biography, '' Emin, Governor of Equatoria'', in 1928. In 1933 he brought out a biography of the explorer H. M. Stanley. Neither created much of a stir. In 1934, however, Symons published his masterpiece, ''The Quest for Corvo'', a biography of the English author and eccentric

Frederick Rolfe Frederick William Rolfe (surname pronounced ), better known as Baron Corvo (Italian for "Crow"), and also calling himself Frederick William Serafino Austin Lewis Mary Rolfe (22 July 1860 – 25 October 1913), was an English writer, artist, ph ...

(the self-styled Baron Corvo). Subtitled "An experiment in biography," ''The Quest for Corvo'' was a groundbreaking work: rather than being a simple narrative of a life, it describes an author's search for understanding of his subject, revealing aspects of Rolfe's life and character as they are revealed to the author. Though it appears entirely natural, the work is very skillfully orchestrated. The result is a vivid, prismatic portrait of Rolfe, those who knew him, and of Symons himself. Symons wrote with difficulty and sought help in the study of

psychoanalysis PsychoanalysisFrom Greek: + . is a set of theories and therapeutic techniques"What is psychoanalysis? Of course, one is supposed to answer that it is many things — a theory, a research method, a therapy, a body of knowledge. In what might b ...

. He left several unfinished works, including a long-contemplated biography of Oscar Wilde, at his death. His author brother

Julian Symons Julian Gustave Symons (originally Gustave Julian Symons) (pronounced ''SIMM-ons''; 30 May 1912 – 19 November 1994) was a British crime writer and poet. He also wrote social and military history, biography and studies of literature. He was bor ...

(1912–1994) published his biography in 1950.

Personal life

A dandy and an epicure, Symons devoted much of his energy to fine living. In 1933, he founded the Wine and Food Society with André Simon. In 1924, he married Gladys Weeks; in 1936, the marriage ended in divorce. In 1939 he fell ill, suffering from partial paralysis. He died in 1941 of a tumour of the brainstem.

Bibliography

*P. H. Muir, 'Bibliomanes I: A. J. A. Symons: Part 1', in ''The Book Collector'', Autumn 1954 (Part 2 appeared in ''The Book Collector'' in Winter 1954, and Part 3 appeared in ''The Book Collector'' in Summer 1955). *Robert Scoble, ''The Corvo Cult: The History of an Obsession'', Strange Attractor Press, 2014, pages 225–329. *Julian Symons, ''A. J. A. Symons: His Life and Speculations'', Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1950. * ulian Symons ed. A. J. A. Symons, ''Essays and Biographies'', Cassell, 1969.

References

External links

* Archival Material at {{DEFAULTSORT:Symons, A. J. A. 1900 births 1941 deaths English biographers English book and manuscript collectors English bibliographers 20th-century English historians 20th-century biographers Deaths from brain tumor Deaths from cancer in the United Kingdom