Edwin Keppel Bennett, ''noms de plume'': Francis Bennett, Francis Keppel (26 September 1887 – 13 June 1958), was an English writer, poet, Germanist, and a prominent academic. He served as the president of

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of th ...

between 1948 and 1956.

Biography

Bennett was born at

Wareham, Dorset Wareham ( ) is a historic market town and, under the name Wareham Town, a civil parish, in the English county of Dorset. The town is situated on the River Frome eight miles (13 km) southwest of Poole. Situation and geography The town is bu ...

, England, the son of Alfred Hockey Bennett, a

confectioner Confectionery is the art of making confections, which are food items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates. Exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confectionery is divided into two broad and somewhat overlapping categories ...

, and his wife Emilie, ''née'' Keppel. He was educated at Elm House School, Wareham, under A.E. Skewes; and at the

Universität Straßburg The University of Strasbourg (french: Université de Strasbourg, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, Alsace, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers. The French university traces its history to the e ...

, Germany (now in France), under Professor Bartholdy. He entered

as a student on 1 October 1914, receiving his B.A. in 1919 ( Schuldham Plate, Gonville and

Caius College Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of th ...

's most prestigious undergraduate award, 1921); and M.A. in 1923. As Ramadge Student, 1921–1923, Bennett was the editor of the ''Caian'', a College magazine; during the Lent term of 1922 he delivered a lecture on 'Poetry and Pessimism'. In 1923 he became 'unofficial fellow' of the College and a Cambridge University lecturer in German. Official fellowship of the college was bestowed on him in 1926, together with the position of Tutor (Senior Tutor, 1931). Bennett resigned from the post of Senior Tutor in 1952, during his presidency of the college. During the First World War Bennett served in an intelligence unit of the British Army in the rank of second lieutenant (1916–1918), mainly in Palestine. Bennett's first book, ''Built in Jerusalem’s Wall: A Book in praise of Jerusalem'', was published under the pseudonym 'Francis Keppel' in 1920. His ''A History of the German "Novelle" from Goethe to Thomas Mann'' was brought out by

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press A university press is an academic publishing hou ...

in 1934 (2nd ed., revised and continued by H.M. Waidson, London, Cambridge University Press, 1961); an important study of

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...

, ''Stefan George: A Critical Study'', appeared under the imprint of in 1954, in a series edited by

Erich Heller Erich Heller (27 March 1911 – 5 November 1990) was a British essayist, known particularly for his critical studies in German-language philosophy and literature of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Biography Heller was born at Chomutov ...

. Bennett was Erich Heller's doctoral guide at Cambridge; he died in 1958 leaving a large part of the residue of his estate to Gonville and Caius College. Some of Bennett's poems are published in Edward Davison, comp., ''Cambridge Poets, 1914–1920: An Anthology'' (Cambridge, W. Heffer & Sons, 1920). In the Michaelmas 1920 edition of the ''Caian'' (vol. 29, p. 29) there appears Bennett's poem entitled 'The Stranger': He is buried in the Parish of the Ascension Burial Ground in Cambridge

External links

References

*John Venn, , ''Biographical History of Gonville and Caius '' (vols. 5–7). *''The Caian: The Magazine of Gonville and Caius College'', vol. 24, pp. 245–246; vol. 25, pp. 80, 150–151, 226–227; vol. 29, pp. 7, 29, 77, 183–184; vol. 30, pp. 71, 140, 189; vol. 32, p. 3; vol. 36, p. 40; vol. 37, p. 42; vol. 40, pp. 24, 32, 72. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Edwin Keppel 1887 births 1958 deaths Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Fellows of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Germanists People from Wareham, Dorset English male poets 20th-century English poets 20th-century English male writers British Army personnel of World War I British Army officers