Edward Bradley (25 March 1827 – 12 December 1889) was an English clergyman and novelist. He was born in
Kidderminster
Kidderminster is a large market and historic minster town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, south-west of Birmingham and north of Worcester. Located north of the River Stour and east of the River Severn, in the 2011 census, it ha ...
and educated at
Durham University from which he took his
pen name Cuthbert Bede,
B.A.
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...
His most popular book was ''
The Adventures of Mr. Verdant Green'', on the experiences of an
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
undergraduate. There was a sequel, ''Little Mr Bouncer and his friend Verdant Green''. ''Tales of College Life'' (often bound with it), introduces the character of ''Mr Affable Canary''. The celebrated illustrations to the Verdant Green books were the work of the author.
Life
He was the second son of Thomas Bradley, surgeon of Kidderminster, who came of a somewhat ancient Worcestershire and clerical family. A brother, Thomas Waldron Bradley, was author of two novels, ''Grantley Grange'' (1874) and ''Nelly Hamilton'' (1875), while an uncle, William Bradley of Leamington, wrote ''Sketches of the Poor by a retired Guardian.''
After education at the
Kidderminster Grammar School, Bradley went up in 1845 to
University College, Durham
, motto_English = Not for ourselves alone
, scarf =
, established =
, principal = Wendy Powers
, vice_principal = Ellen Crabtree
, undergraduates = 698
, postgraduates = 153
, coordinates =
, location_map = Durham
, map_size ...
, where he was Thorp Scholar and Foundation Scholar. He graduated B.A. in 1848, and took his licentiateship of theology in 1849. Not being of age to take orders, he appears to have stayed a year at Oxford, pursuing various studies, though he never matriculated, and while there he formed a lifelong friendship with
John George Wood
John George Wood, or Rev J. G. Wood, (21 July 1827 – 3 March 1889), was an English writer who popularised natural history with his writings.
Life and work
Early life and ordination
John George Wood was born in London, son of the surgeon J ...
.
For a year or so he worked in the clergy schools at Kidderminster. In 1850, he was ordained by the
Bishop of Ely,
Thomas Turton, and appointed to the curacy of
Glatton
Glatton is a village and civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England, some south-west of Peterborough, near the villages of Conington, Yaxley and Stilton. It lies in the non-metropolitan district of Huntingdonshire, which is part of Cambridgesh ...
-with-
Holme in Huntingdonshire. He remained there over four years, during which he described for the ''
Illustrated London News
''The Illustrated London News'' appeared first on Saturday 14 May 1842, as the world's first illustrated weekly news magazine. Founded by Herbert Ingram, it appeared weekly until 1971, then less frequently thereafter, and ceased publication i ...
'' the extensive work of draining
Whittlesey Mere
Whittlesea Mere was an area of open water in the Fenland area of the county of Huntingdonshire (now Cambridgeshire), England. The mere occupied the land southeast of Yaxley Fen, south of Farcet Fen and north of Holme Fen. The town of Whit ...
, then being carried out by
William Wells of Holmewood.
In 1857, Bradley was appointed vicar of
Donington in Shropshire. From 1859 to 1871, he was rector of
Denton-with-
Caldecote, Huntingdonshire. In 1871, he became rector of
Stretton, Rutland, where he carried through a much-needed restoration of the church, at a cost of nearly £2,000. To raise the funds he gave lectures in Midland towns, and was much in demand as an authority upon ''Modern Humourists,'' ''Wit and Humour,'' and ''Light Literature.''
Bradley was a friend and associate of
George Cruikshank
George Cruikshank (27 September 1792 – 1 February 1878) was a British caricaturist and book illustrator, praised as the "modern Hogarth" during his life. His book illustrations for his friend Charles Dickens, and many other authors, reache ...
,
Frank Smedley Francis Edward Smedley (4 October 1818 – 1 May 1864) was an English novelist. His name appears in print usually as Frank E. Smedley.
Life
He was born with deformed feet, a disability that impaired his mobility and prevented him from attending reg ...
,
Mark Lemon
Mark Lemon (30 November 1809, in London – 23 May 1870, in Crawley) was the founding editor of both ''Punch'' and '' The Field''. He was also a writer of plays and verses.
Biography
Lemon was born in Marylebone, Westminster, Middlesex, ...
, and
Albert Smith (for whose serials, ''The Month,'' ''The Man in the Moon,'' and ''The Town and Country Miscellany,'' he began to write about 1850). He generally wrote for the press under the
pen name 'Cuthbert Bede', the names of the two patron saints of Durham.
His one marked literary success was obtained in 1853, when he produced ''
The Adventures of Mr. Verdant Green. With numerous illustrations designed and drawn on the wood by the author.''
Bradley had the greatest difficulty in finding a publisher, but part i. was eventually issued by
Nathaniel Cooke of the Strand as one of his shilling ''Books for the Rail'' in October 1853. Part ii. appeared in 1854, and part iii. in 1856. The three parts were then bound in one volume, of which 100,000 copies had been sold by 1870''; subsequently the book was issued in a sixpenny form, and the sale was more than doubled. The total amount that Bradley received for his work was £350. The three original parts were scarce and fetched over five guineas in 1890. The picture of 'Master Verdant kissing the Maids on the Stairs after his return from Oxford College' was omitted from the later editions.
''The Adventures of Mr. Verdant Green'' contains portraits of
Dr. Plumptre, vice-chancellor 1848–62, Dr. Bliss, registrar of the university, and 'the waiter at the Mitre,' while Mr. Bouncer reproduces many traits of the Rev. J. G. Wood.
Verdant Green himself is a kind of undergraduate
Samuel Pickwick
Samuel Pickwick is a fictional character and the main protagonist in ''The Pickwick Papers'' (1836), the first novel by author Charles Dickens. One of the author's most famous and loved creations, Pickwick is a retired successful businessman an ...
, and the book is full of harmless fun.
When we regard the difficulty of the subject, the general fidelity with which one side of university life is depicted, and the fact that Bradley was not himself an Oxford man, we can scarcely refuse a certain measure of genius to the author.
Hippolyte Taine
Hippolyte Adolphe Taine (, 21 April 1828 – 5 March 1893) was a French historian, critic and philosopher. He was the chief theoretical influence on French naturalism, a major proponent of sociological positivism and one of the first practition ...
used it effectively (together with ''
Pendennis
''The History of Pendennis: His Fortunes and Misfortunes, His Friends and His Greatest Enemy'' (1848–50) is a novel by the English author William Makepeace Thackeray. It is set in 19th-century England, particularly in London. The main ...
'' and ''
Tom Brown at Oxford'') as material for his tableau of an English university in his ''Notes sur l'Angleterre''. A sequel by Bradley, produced many years later as ''Little Mr. Bouncer and his friend Verdant Green'' (1878), did not approach the original in vigour, nor can much success be claimed for the Cambridge rival of ''Verdant Green'', ''The Cambridge Freshman, or Memoirs of Mr. Golightly'' (1871), by Martin Legrand (i.e. James Rice), with illustrations by '
Phiz
Hablot Knight Browne (10 July 1815 – 8 July 1882) was an English artist and illustrator. Well-known by his pen name, Phiz, he illustrated books by Charles Dickens, Charles Lever, and Harrison Ainsworth.
Early life
Of Huguenot ancestry, Hablot ...
'.
In 1883, on the presentation of
Lord Aveland, Bradley left Stretton for the vicarage of
Lenton with
Hanby, near Grantham. There, as elsewhere, he was indefatigable as a parochial organiser, establishing a free library, a school bank, winter entertainments, and improvement societies.
He died, greatly regretted by all who came into contact with his kindly personality, at the vicarage, Lenton, on 12 December 1889. He was buried in the churchyard of
St Nicholas' Church, Stretton, which he had laid out during his incumbency there.
Family
In December 1858 he married Harriet Amelia, youngest daughter of Samuel Hancocks of Wolverley, Worcester. He left two sons, the artist
Cuthbert Bradley and the Rev. Henry Waldron Bradley. Another son, William Hancocks Bradley, died in 1874, aged 12.
Works
Commencing with ''Bentley's'' in 1846, Bradley (as E. B. or 'Cuthbert Bede') contributed to a great number of papers and periodicals, including
''Punch'' (1847–55), ''All the Year Round,'' ''Illustrated London Magazine'' (1853–55), ''The Field,'' ''St. James's'' and ''The Gentleman's'' magazines, ''Leisure Hour,'' ''Quiver,'' ''Notes and Queries'' (1852–1886), ''
The Boy's Own Paper
''The Boy's Own Paper'' was a British story paper aimed at young and teenage boys, published from 1879 to 1967.
Publishing history
The idea for the publication was first raised in 1878 by the Religious Tract Society, as a means to encourage yo ...
'', ''
London Figaro'' and the ''Illustrated London News,'' for which paper he conducted a double
acrostic column, commencing 30 August 1856. He claimed to have reintroduced the double acrostic into England.
He wrote under the name of 'Cuthbert Bede, BA' a few novels and tales, ''Fairy Fables'' (1858), ''Glencraggan'' (1861), ''Fotheringhay'' (1885), etc. His most popular book was ''
The Adventures of Mr. Verdant Green'', on the experiences of an
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
undergraduate. There was a sequel, ''Little Mr Bouncer and his friend Verdant Green''. ''Tales of College Life'' (often bound with it), introduces the character of ''Mr Affable Canary''. The celebrated illustrations to the Verdant Green books were the work of the author.
Bibliography
* (3 parts, 1853-7)
*''Little Mr Bouncer and his friend, Verdant Green''
*''Tales of College Life.''
*''Fairy Fables'' (1858).
*''Glencraggan'' (1861).
*''Photographic Pleasures'' (1855).
*
References
;Attribution
Sources
Author and Bookinfo.com
External links
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bradley, Edward
1827 births
1889 deaths
People from Kidderminster
19th-century English Anglican priests
Alumni of University College, Durham
English male novelists
19th-century English novelists
19th-century English male writers
Burials in Rutland