Clifford Henry Benn Kitchin (17 October 1895 – 4 April 1967) was a British novelist of the early twentieth century.

Biography

The elder son of Clifford Kitchin (1860–1913), a barrister, young Kitchin attended

Clifton College ''The spirit nourishes within'' , established = 160 years ago , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent boarding and day school , religion = Christian , president = , head_label = Head of College , head ...

and

Exeter College, Oxford Exeter College (in full: The Rector and Scholars of Exeter College in the University of Oxford) is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England and the fourth-oldest college of the un ...

and, like his father before him, became a barrister. He was a gifted chess player, bridge player and pianist. In the 1920s and 1930s Kitchin owned a house in

Chiddingly Chiddingly ( ) is an English village and civil parish in the Wealden District of the administrative county of East Sussex, within historic Sussex, some five miles (8 km) northwest of Hailsham. The parish is rural in character: it inc ...

East Sussex East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East Su ...

. Kitchin led a varied and colourful life. He was born into wealth and increased his wealth through investment in the stock market. He used his wealth to take part in many different fields, including the breeding and racing of greyhounds, in which he was briefly an important figure. He was homosexual, and was living with his lover Clive Bertram Preen until Preen's death in 1944. He was best known for his four mystery novels featuring the sleuth Malcolm Warren (''Death of My Aunt'', ''Crime at Christmas'', ''Death of His Uncle'', and ''The Cornish Fox''), but his other novels were also highly regarded, especially by other writers. His best-known novels are ''The Auction Sale'', ''Streamers Waving'', and ''Mr. Balcony''. He was one of

Francis King Francis Henry King (4 March 19233 July 2011) Ion Trewin and Jonathan Fryer"Obituary: Francis King" ''The Guardian'', 3 July 2011. was a British novelist and short story writer. He worked for the British Council for 15 years, with positions i ...

's two mentors, the other being J. R. Ackerley. His other works include ''The Book of Life'', ''Ten Pollitt Place'' and ''Jumping Joan''. Five of his novels with gay themes—''The Sensitive One'', ''Birthday Party'', ''Ten Pollitt Place'', ''The Book of Life'', and ''A Short Walk in Williams Park''—have been reprinted by

Valancourt Books Valancourt Books is an independent American publishing house founded by James Jenkins and Ryan Cagle in 2005. The company specializes in "the rediscovery of rare, neglected, and out-of-print fiction," in particular gay titles and Gothic and horr ...

Works

*''Curtains''. Oxford: B.H. Blackwell, 1919. (poetry) *''Winged Victory''. Oxford: B.H. Blackwell, 1920. (poetry) *''Streamers Waving''. London: Hogarth Press, 1925. *''Mr. Balcony''. London: Hogarth Press, 1927. *''The Sensitive One''. London: Hogarth Press, 1931. *''Olive E.''. London: Constable & Co, 1937. *''The Birthday Party''. London: Constable & Co, 1938. *''The Auction Sale''. London: Secker & Warburg, 1949. *''Jumping Joan and other stories''. London: Secker & Warburg, 1954. *''The Secret River''. London: Secker & Warburg, 1956. *''Ten Pollitt Place''. London: Secker & Warburg, 1957. *''The Book of Life''. London: Peter Davies, 1960. *''A Short Walk in Williams Park''. London: Chatto & Windus, 1971.

Malcolm Warren series

*''Death of My Aunt''. London: Hogarth Press, 1929. *''Crime at Christmas''. London: Hogarth Press, 1934. *''Death of His Uncle''. London: Constable & Co, 1939. *''The Cornish Fox''. London: Secker & Warburg, 1949.

References

External links

* * via knitting circle
Valancourt Books biography
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kitchin, C. H. B. 1895 births 1967 deaths 20th-century British male writers 20th-century British novelists British male novelists British mystery writers English gay writers English LGBT novelists People educated at Clifton College People from Chiddingly 20th-century LGBT people