Edward James Stephen Dicey, CB (15 May 18327 July 1911) was an English writer, journalist, and editor.
Life
He was born on 15 May 1832 at Claybrook, near
Lutterworth
Lutterworth is a market town and civil parish in the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England. The town is located in southern Leicestershire, close to the borders with Warwickshire and Northamptonshire. It is located north of Rugby, ...
, Leicestershire.
He was the second son of Thomas Edward Dicey, of an old Leicestershire family, who was senior wrangler in 1811, was a pioneer of the
Midland Railway
The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had its headquarters. It am ...
, and owned the ''
Northampton Mercury
The ''Northampton Mercury'' was an English news and media company founded in 1720. Published in Northampton, it was sold throughout the midlands, as far west as Worcester and as far east as Cambridge. When it ceased publication in 2015, it was ...
.'' His mother Anne Mary, was sister of Sir James Stephen; aunt of Sir
James Fitzjames Stephen
Sir James Fitzjames Stephen, 1st Baronet, KCSI (3 March 1829 – 11 March 1894) was an English lawyer, judge, writer, and philosopher. One of the most famous critics of John Stuart Mill, Stephen achieved prominence as a philosopher, law re ...
and Sir
Leslie Stephen
Sir Leslie Stephen (28 November 1832 – 22 February 1904) was an English author, critic, historian, biographer, and mountaineer, and the father of Virginia Woolf and Vanessa Bell.
Life
Sir Leslie Stephen came from a distinguished intellectua ...
.
His younger brother was Professor Albert Venn Dicey.
He was educated at home and, for about two years, at
King's College, London
King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...
.
Edward went up to
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...
, in 1850, was president of the Cambridge Union, and graduated B.A. in 1854 with a third class in the classical tripos, and as a senior optime in mathematics.
After leaving Cambridge he went for a short time into business without success, and then took to writing, for which he had inherited from his mother and her family a singular facility.
He travelled abroad and interested himself in foreign politics.
In 1861, he published both ''Rome in 1860'' and ''Cavour a Memoir,''.
In 1862, Dicey visited America, and wrote on the American civil war in ''Macmillan's Magazine'' and the ''
Spectator
''Spectator'' or ''The Spectator'' may refer to:
*Spectator sport, a sport that is characterized by the presence of spectators, or watchers, at its matches
*Audience
Publications Canada
* ''The Hamilton Spectator'', a Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, ...
''.
In 1863 ''Six Months in the Federal States,'' 'met with a somewhat lukewarm reception,' on account of the northern sympathies of the author.
In 1861, Dicey became connected with ''
The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally.
It was fo ...
,'' and his style and knowledge of foreign questions led to his being made a permanent member of the staff in 1862.
Among his colleagues were Sir
Edwin Arnold
Sir Edwin Arnold KCIE CSI (10 June 183224 March 1904) was an English poet and journalist, who is most known for his work ''The Light of Asia''.Francis Lawley, and
George Augustus Sala
George Augustus Henry Fairfield Sala (November 1828 – 8 December 1895) was an author and journalist who wrote extensively for the ''Illustrated London News'' as G. A. S. and was most famous for his articles and leaders for ''The Daily Telegra ...
.
He was a leader-writer for the paper, and also acted as special correspondent in the
Second Schleswig War
The Second Schleswig War ( da, Krigen i 1864; german: Deutsch-Dänischer Krieg) also sometimes known as the Dano-Prussian War or Prusso-Danish War was the second military conflict over the Schleswig-Holstein Question of the nineteenth century. T ...
, and the
Austro-Prussian War
The Austro-Prussian War, also by many variant names such as Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), (; "German war of brothers") and by a variety of other names, was fought in 186 ...
.
While in the East in 1869, he accepted an offer of the editorship of the ''Daily News,'' and held this post for three months in 1870.
On leaving it he at once became editor of the ''Observer,'' and filled that office for nineteen years (1870–89), continuing to write for the paper for some time after he ceased to edit it.
Subsequently, he was a constant contributor to the ''Nineteenth Century,'' the ''Empire Review,'' and other periodicals.
His interest in foreign politics remained keen, especially in the affairs of Eastern Europe. He was a frequent visitor to Egypt, and formed at first hand well-defined views of England's position there, at one time advocating the annexation of the country by Great Britain.
He was a strong supporter of friendly relations between England and Germany, and closely studied South African matters in later years.
Dicey had entered at
Gray's Inn
The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...
as a student in 1865, and was called to the Bar in 1875, but did not practise.
During his later life he made his home in chambers in the Inn, of which he became a bencher in 1896, and treasurer in 1903 and 1904.
In 1886, he was made a C.B. He was a familiar figure at the Athenæum and
Garrick Club
The Garrick Club is a gentlemen's club in the heart of London founded in 1831. It is one of the oldest members' clubs in the world and, since its inception, has catered to members such as Charles Kean, Henry Irving, Herbert Beerbohm Tree, A ...
s.
He died at his chambers in Gray's Inn on 7 July 1911, and was buried in
Brompton Cemetery
Brompton Cemetery (originally the West of London and Westminster Cemetery) is a London cemetery, managed by The Royal Parks, in West Brompton in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is one of the Magnificent Seven cemeteries. Estab ...
, the first part of the funeral service taking place in Gray's Inn Chapel.
Family
He married in 1867 Anne Greene Chapman of
Weymouth, Massachusetts ("To Work Is to Conquer")
, image_map = Norfolk County Massachusetts incorporated and unincorporated areas Weymouth highlighted.svg
, mapsize = 250px
, map_caption = Location in Norfolk County in Massa ...
; she died in 1878; they had one son.
Works
*''Rome in 1860'' (1861)
*''Cavour: A Memoir'' (1861)
*''Six Months in the Federal States'' (1863)
*''The Schleswig-Holstein War'' (1864)
*''The Battle-Fields of 1866'' (1866)
*''A Month in Russia during the Marriage of the Czarevitch'' (1867)
*''The Morning Land, being Sketches of Turkey, the Holy Land, and Egypt'' (1870)
*''England and Egypt'' (1881)
*''Victor Emmanuel'' (1882)
*
*''The Story of the Khedivate'' (1902)
*''The Egypt of the Future'' (1907).