Sir Harold Mario Mitchell Acton (5 July 1904 – 27 February 1994) was a British writer, scholar, and
aesthete
Aestheticism (also the Aesthetic movement) was an art movement in the late 19th century which privileged the aesthetic value of literature, music and the arts over their socio-political functions. According to Aestheticism, art should be pr ...
who was a prominent member of the
Bright Young Things
__NOTOC__
The Bright Young Things, or Bright Young People, was a nickname given by the tabloid press to a group of Bohemianism, Bohemian young Aristocracy (class), aristocrats and socialites in 1920s London. They threw flamboyant costume party, f ...
. He wrote fiction, biography, history and autobiography. During his stay in China, he studied the Chinese language, traditional drama, and poetry, some of which he translated.
He was born near
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
, Italy, to a prominent Anglo-Italian family. At
Eton College
Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...
, he was a founding member of the
Eton Arts Society before going up to
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 ...
to read
Modern Greats at
Christ Church. He co-founded the avant garde magazine ''The Oxford Broom'' and mixed with many intellectual and literary figures of the age, including
Evelyn Waugh
Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires ''Decli ...
, who based the character of Anthony Blanche in ''
Brideshead Revisited
''Brideshead Revisited: The Sacred & Profane Memories of Captain Charles Ryder'' is a novel by English writer Evelyn Waugh, first published in 1945. It follows, from the 1920s to the early 1940s, the life and romances of the protagonist Charles ...
'' partly on him. Between the wars, Acton lived in Paris, London, and Florence, proving most successful as an historian, his ''
magnum opus
A masterpiece, ''magnum opus'' (), or ''chef-d’œuvre'' (; ; ) in modern use is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, ...
'' being a 3-volume study of the Medicis and the Bourbons.
After serving as an
RAF
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
liaison officer in the Mediterranean, he returned to Florence, restoring his childhood home,
Villa La Pietra
Villa La Pietra is a renaissance villa in the hills outside Florence, in Tuscany in central Italy. It was formerly the home of Arthur Acton and later of his son Harold Acton, on whose death in 1994 it was bequeathed to New York University. The vi ...
, to its earlier glory. Acton was knighted in 1974 and died in Florence, leaving La Pietra to
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, the ...
.
Early years
Background
Acton was born to a prominent Anglo-Italian-American family of
baronets
A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14t ...
, later raised to the peerage as
Barons Acton of Aldenham at Villa La Pietra, his parents' house one mile outside the walls of Florence, Italy. He claimed that his great-great-grandfather was Commodore
Sir John Acton, 6th Baronet (1736–1811), who married his niece, Mary Anne Acton, and who was prime minister of
Naples
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
under
Ferdinand IV and grandfather of the Roman Catholic historian
Lord Acton
John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton, 13th Marquess of Groppoli, (10 January 1834 – 19 June 1902), better known as Lord Acton, was an English Catholic historian, politician, and writer. He is best remembered for the remark he w ...
. This relationship has been disproven; Harold Acton in fact descends from Sir John Acton's brother, General Joseph Edward Acton (1737–1830). Both of these brothers served in Italy, and are from the
Shropshire
Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...
family of Actons.
His father was the successful art collector and dealer
Arthur Acton
Arthur Mario Acton (1873–1953) was a British architect, art dealer and collector.
Early life
Arthur Acton was the illegitimate son of Eugene Arthur Roger Acton (1836–1895), counsellor to the Egyptian Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce. ...
(1873–1953), the illegitimate son of Eugene Arthur Roger Acton (1836–1895), counsellor to the Egyptian Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce. His mother, Hortense Lenore Mitchell (1871–1962), was the heiress of
John J. Mitchell, a president of the Illinois Trust and Savings Bank, an appointed member of the Federal Advisory Council,, and a trustee of the
Art Institute of Chicago
The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...
(1908–1909). Arthur Acton met Hortense in Chicago while helping to design the Italianate features of the bank's new building in 1896, and the Mitchell fortune allowed Arthur Acton to buy the remarkable
Villa La Pietra
Villa La Pietra is a renaissance villa in the hills outside Florence, in Tuscany in central Italy. It was formerly the home of Arthur Acton and later of his son Harold Acton, on whose death in 1994 it was bequeathed to New York University. The vi ...
on the hills of
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
, where Harold Acton lived for much of his life. The only modern furniture in the villa was in the nurseries, and that was disposed of when the children got older (Harold's younger brother
William Acton was born in 1906).
]
Career and education
His early schooling was at Miss Penrose's private school in Florence. In 1913, his parents sent him to
Wixenford School, Wixenford Preparatory School near Reading in southern England,
Evelyn Waugh
Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires ''Decli ...
, 1983, ''The Essays, Articles and Reviews of Evelyn Waugh,'' Donat Gallagher, Ed., London, LND, GBN: Methuen Limited, , se
accessed 11 July 2015. ''"Page numbers given inline."'' where
Kenneth Clark
Kenneth Mackenzie Clark, Baron Clark (13 July 1903 – 21 May 1983) was a British art historian, museum director, and broadcaster. After running two important art galleries in the 1930s and 1940s, he came to wider public notice on television ...
was a fellow-pupil. By 1916 submarine attacks on shipping had made the journey to England unsafe and so Harold and his brother were sent in September to Chateau de Lancy, an international school near Geneva. In the autumn of 1917, he went to a 'crammers' at Ashlawn in
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
to be prepared for
Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England.
Eton may also refer to:
Places
*Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England
* Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States
* Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...
, which he entered on 1 May 1918. Among his contemporaries at Eton were
Eric Blair
Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950), better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to totalitari ...
(the writer
George Orwell
Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950), better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to totalitar ...
),
Cyril Connolly
Cyril Vernon Connolly CBE (10 September 1903 – 26 November 1974) was an English literary critic and writer. He was the editor of the influential literary magazine '' Horizon'' (1940–49) and wrote '' Enemies of Promise'' (1938), which comb ...
,
Robert Byron
Robert Byron (26 February 1905 – 24 February 1941) was a British travel writer, best known for his travelogue ''The Road to Oxiana''. He was also a noted writer, art critic and historian.
Biography
He was the son of Eric Byron, a civil engi ...
,
Alec Douglas-Home,
Ian Fleming
Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer who is best known for his postwar ''James Bond'' series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., a ...
,
Brian Howard,
Oliver Messel
Oliver Hilary Sambourne Messel (13 January 1904 – 13 July 1978) was an English artist and one of the foremost stage designers of the 20th century.
Early life
Messel was born in London, the second son of Lieutenant-Colonel Leonard Messel a ...
,
Anthony Powell
Anthony Dymoke Powell ( ; 21 December 1905 – 28 March 2000) was an English novelist best known for his 12-volume work ''A Dance to the Music of Time'', published between 1951 and 1975. It is on the list of longest novels in English.
Powell' ...
,
Steven Runciman
Sir James Cochran Stevenson Runciman ( – ), known as Steven Runciman, was an English historian best known for his three-volume ''A History of the Crusades'' (1951–54).
He was a strong admirer of the Byzantine Empire. His history's negative ...
, and
Henry Yorke (the novelist
Henry Green
Henry Green was the pen name of Henry Vincent Yorke (29 October 1905 – 13 December 1973), an English writer best remembered for the novels '' Party Going'', ''Living'' and ''Loving''. He published a total of nine novels between 1926 and 1952 ...
). In his final years at school, Acton became a founding member of the Eton Arts Society, and eleven of his poems appeared in ''The Eton Candle'', edited by his friend Brian Howard.
Oxford years
In October 1923, Acton went up to
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 ...
to read Modern Greats at
Christ Church. It was from the balcony of his rooms in Meadow Buildings that he declaimed passages from ''
The Waste Land
''The Waste Land'' is a poem by T. S. Eliot, widely regarded as one of the most important poems of the 20th century and a central work of modernist poetry. Published in 1922, the 434-line poem first appeared in the United Kingdom in the Octob ...
'' through a megaphone (an episode recounted in ''Brideshead Revisited,'' through the character Anthony Blanche). While at Oxford, he co-founded the avant garde magazine ''The Oxford Broom'', and published his first book of poems, ''Aquarium'' (1923). Acton was regarded as a leading figure of his day and would often receive more attention in memoirs of the period than men who were much more successful in later life; for example, the Welsh playwright
Emlyn Williams
George Emlyn Williams, CBE (26 November 1905 – 25 September 1987) was a Welsh writer, dramatist and actor.
Early life
Williams was born into a Welsh-speaking, working class family at 1 Jones Terrace, Pen-y-ffordd, Ffynnongroyw, Flints ...
described this encounter with Acton in his autobiography ''George'' (1961): Williams also described Acton's review of ''
The Picture of Dorian Gray
''The Picture of Dorian Gray'' is a philosophical fiction, philosophical novel by Irish writer Oscar Wilde. A shorter novella-length version was published in the July 1890 issue of the American periodical ''Lippincott's Monthly Magazine''.''Th ...
'' in the Oxford student newspaper ''
Cherwell'': "a charming boy's book, we would suggest a cheap edition to fit comfortably into the pocket of a school blazer"; and summarised Acton's modernist approach to literature: "But if one finds the words, my dears, there is beauty in a black-pudding."
At Oxford Acton dominated the Railway Club, which included:
Henry Yorke,
Roy Harrod
Sir Henry Roy Forbes Harrod (13 February 1900 – 8 March 1978) was an English economist. He is best known for writing '' The Life of John Maynard Keynes'' (1951) and for the development of the Harrod–Domar model, which he and Evsey Domar dev ...
,
Henry Thynne, 6th Marquess of Bath
Henry Frederick Thynne, 6th Marquess of Bath (26 January 1905 – 30 June 1992), styled Lord Henry Thynne until 1916 and Viscount Weymouth between 1916 and 1946, was a British aristocrat, landowner, and Conservative Party politician.
Bac ...
,
David Plunket Greene
David Plunket Greene (19 November 1904 – 24 February 1941), together with his brother Richard and sister Olivia, was part of the Bright Young Things who inspired the novel ''Vile Bodies'' to Evelyn Waugh, a family friend.
Biography
David Plun ...
,
,
Brian Howard,
Michael Parsons, 6th Earl of Rosse
Laurence Michael Harvey Parsons, 6th Earl of Rosse, KBE (28 September 1906 – 5 July 1979) was an Anglo-Irish peer.
Early life and education
Parsons was the son of William Edward Parsons, 5th Earl of Rosse, whom he succeeded in 1918, and ...
,
John Sutro
John Sutro (23 April 1903 – 18 June 1985) was a British film producer. He produced seven films between 1941 and 1951. He was a member of the jury at the 7th Berlin International Film Festival.
Education
At Oxford Sutro conceived the Railw ...
,
Hugh Lygon
Hugh Patrick Lygon (2 November 190419 August 1936) was the second son of William Lygon, 7th Earl Beauchamp, and is often believed to be the inspiration for Lord Sebastian Flyte in Evelyn Waugh's ''Brideshead Revisited''. He was a friend of Waugh's ...
, Harold Acton,
Bryan Guinness, 2nd Baron Moyne
Bryan Walter Guinness, 2nd Baron Moyne, (27 October 1905 – 6 July 1992) was an heir to part of the Guinness family brewing fortune, and a lawyer, poet and novelist. He was briefly married to Diana Mitford.
Early life
He was born to ...
,
Patrick Balfour, 3rd Baron Kinross
John Patrick Douglas Balfour, 3rd Baron Kinross (25 June 1904 – 4 June 1976) was a Scottish historian and writer noted for his biography of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and other works on Islamic history.
Early life
Balfour was born on 25 June ...
,
Mark Ogilvie-Grant
Charles Randolph Mark Ogilvie-Grant (15 March 1905 – 13 February 1969) was a British diplomat and a botanist and one of the earliest members of the Bright Young Things. Despite his earliest frivolous past, he became a hero during the 1940–19 ...
,
John Drury-Lowe
Major John Drury Boteler Packe-Drury-Lowe (16 October 1905 - 1 June 1960) was an English aristocrat, part of the Bright Young Things crowd of the 1920s.
Biography
John Drury Boteler Drury-Lowe was born on 16 October 1905, the son of John Alfred E ...
.
Influence on Waugh
Evelyn Waugh
Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires ''Decli ...
populated his novels with composite characters based upon individuals he knew. Acton is reputed to have inspired, at least in part, the character of "Anthony Blanche" in Waugh's novel ''
Brideshead Revisited
''Brideshead Revisited: The Sacred & Profane Memories of Captain Charles Ryder'' is a novel by English writer Evelyn Waugh, first published in 1945. It follows, from the 1920s to the early 1940s, the life and romances of the protagonist Charles ...
'' (1945). In a letter to Lord Baldwin, Waugh wrote, "There is an aesthetic bugger who sometimes turns up in my novels under various names – that was 2/3 Brian
owardand 1/3 Harold Acton. People think it was all Harold, who is a much sweeter and saner man
han Howard"
Waugh also wrote, "The characters in my novels often wrongly identified with Harold Acton were to a great extent drawn from
Brian Howard".
General strike and after
In 1926 Acton acted as a ''special constable'' during the
general strike
A general strike refers to a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large co ...
, apolitical as he was, and took his degree. In October he took an apartment in Paris, at 29 Quai de Bourbon, and had his portrait painted by Pavel Tchelitcheff. Moving between Paris and London in the next few years, Acton sought to find his voice as a writer. In 1927 he began work on a novel, and a third book of poems, ''Five Saints and an Appendix'', came out early the following year. This was followed by a prose fable, ''Cornelian'', in March. In July Acton acted as Best Man at the wedding of Evelyn Waugh to the Honourable Evelyn Gardner. Waugh's ''Decline and Fall'' bore a dedication to Acton 'in Homage and Affection', but when Acton's own novel – disastrously entitled ''Humdrum'' – appeared in October 1928, it was slated in comparison with ''Decline and Fall'' by critics such as Cyril Connolly.
In the later 1920s Harold frequented the London salon of
Lady Cunard, where at various times he encountered
Ezra Pound
Ezra Weston Loomis Pound (30 October 1885 – 1 November 1972) was an expatriate American poet and critic, a major figure in the early modernist poetry movement, and a Fascism, fascist collaborator in Italy during World War II. His works ...
,
Joseph Duveen
Joseph Duveen, 1st Baron Duveen (14 October 1869 – 25 May 1939), known as Sir Joseph Duveen, Baronet, between 1927 and 1933, was a British art dealer who was considered one of the most influential art dealers of all time.
Life and career
Jos ...
and the Irish novelist
George Moore. On visits to Florence he cemented his friendship with
Norman Douglas
George Norman Douglas (8 December 1868 – 7 February 1952) was a British writer, now best known for his 1917 novel '' South Wind''. His travel books, such as ''Old Calabria'' (1915), were also appreciated for the quality of their writing.
...
, who wrote an introduction to Acton's translation of a lubricious 18th-century memoir of Giangastone de' Medici, ''The Last of the Medici'', privately printed in Florence in 1930 as part of the Lungarno Series. A fourth collection of poems, ''This Chaos'', was published in Paris by Acton's friend Nancy Cunard, though the Giangastone translation pointed in a more promising direction. History was indeed to prove far more congenial to Acton than poetry. His ''The Last Medici'' (not to be confused with the earlier book of similar title) was published by Faber in 1932, the first of a series of distinguished contributions to Italian historical studies.
[Andrew Gumbel, 1996, "Shadow of the Last Aesthete," ''The Independent'' (online), 14 April 1996, se]
accessed 11 July 2015. ubtitle: "In his Tuscan palazzo, Sir Harold Acton created what he hoped would be an enduring idyll. Two years after his death, the dream has turned sour."/ref>
One close observer, Alan Pryce-Jones, felt that life in Florence weighed upon Acton with its triviality, for, like his father, he was a hard worker and a careful scholar. The East was an escape.[Alan Pryce-Jones, 1994, "Obituary: Sir Harold Acton," ''The Independent'' (online), 28 February 1994, se]
accessed 11 July 2015. He took up residence in Peking, as Beijing was then known, which he found congenial. He studied Chinese language, traditional drama, and poetry. Between his arrival in 1932 and 1939 he published respected translations of '' Peach Blossom Fan'' and ''Modern Chinese Poetry'' (1936), both in collaboration with , and ''Famous Chinese Plays'' (1937) in collaboration with L.C. Arlington. His novel ''Peonies and Ponies'' (1941) is a sharp portrait of expatriate life. He translated ''Glue and Lacquer'' (1941), selected from the 17th century writer Feng Menglong
Feng Menglong (1574–1646), courtesy names Youlong (), Gongyu (), Ziyou (), or Eryou (), was a Chinese historian, novelist, and poet of the late Ming Dynasty. He was born in Changzhou County, now part of Suzhou, in Jiangsu Province.
Life
Fe ...
's '' Tales to Rouse the World'', with a preface by Arthur Waley
Arthur David Waley (born Arthur David Schloss, 19 August 188927 June 1966) was an English orientalist and sinologist who achieved both popular and scholarly acclaim for his translations of Chinese and Japanese poetry. Among his honours were ...
, the leading scholar-translator and member of the Bloomsbury Group.
The Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...
broke out in 1937, but Acton did not leave until 1939, when he returned to England and joined the Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
as a liaison officer. He served in India and what was then Ceylon, and then after the Liberation in Paris. When the war was over, he returned to Florence. La Pietra had been occupied by German soldiers, but he expeditiously restored it to its proper glory.
Literary works
Acton's non-historical works include four volumes of poetry, three novels, two novellas, two volumes of short stories, two volumes of autobiography and a memoir of his friend Nancy Mitford
Nancy Freeman-Mitford (28 November 1904 – 30 June 1973), known as Nancy Mitford, was an English novelist, biographer, and journalist. The eldest of the Mitford sisters, she was regarded as one of the "bright young things" on the London ...
, who was his exact contemporary. His historical works include ''The Last Medici'', a study of the later Medici Grand Dukes, and two large volumes on the House of Bourbon
The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a European dynasty of French origin, a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Navarre in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Spanis ...
, rulers of the Kingdom of Naples
The Kingdom of Naples ( la, Regnum Neapolitanum; it, Regno di Napoli; nap, Regno 'e Napule), also known as the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was ...
in the 18th and earlier 19th century, which together may be said to constitute his ''magnum opus''.
Awards and honours
Acton was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(CBE) in 1965 and knighted
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...
in 1974. The British Institute in Florence, an important centre for Anglo-Florentine cultural life since 1917, renamed its collections the Harold Acton Library.
Personal life
Acton was Catholic;[Joseph Pearce, 2006, "Literary Converts: Spiritual Inspiration in an Age of Unbelief," San Francisco, CA, USA: Ignatius Press, , se]
accessed 11 July 2015. [David Kubiak]
Memories of an Aesthete
''Modern Age'' Vol 51 Nos 3-4 (Summer-Fall 2009) his cultural and historical commitment to the Church remained unchanged throughout his life. Acton's name was first on a petition submitted to Rome in 1971 by British cultural élite, requesting that the traditional Latin rite of the Mass not be abrogated in England.[ ][ His mother, the heiress Hortense Lenore Mitchell, a dominating personality in his life who lived on until the age of 90, did not make life easy for him but he still remained the devoted and admiring son.][
Acton was a prominent member of the ]Bright Young Things
__NOTOC__
The Bright Young Things, or Bright Young People, was a nickname given by the tabloid press to a group of Bohemianism, Bohemian young Aristocracy (class), aristocrats and socialites in 1920s London. They threw flamboyant costume party, f ...
in 1920s London.
After Acton's death, in reply to a magazine article that speculated both about the probable suicide of Acton's brother and about Acton's homosexuality, author A. N. Wilson remarked, "To call him homosexual would be to misunderstand the whole essence of his being" and that "He was more asexual than anything else". The article, by American writer David Plante, described Acton's time at Oxford as a "virile aesthete-dandy," but noted that while in China during the 1930s Acton's predilection for boys led to a classified government document describing him as a "scandalous debauchee," and prevented the possibility of his serving in the intelligence services there, when war broke out. Plante also described the young men whom Acton welcomed to La Pietra, including Alexander Zielcke, a German photographer and artist who was Acton's lover for the last twenty-five years of his life.[Andrew Gumbel]
Shadow of the Last Aesthete
''Independent'' 13 April 1996
When Acton died he left Villa La Pietra to New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, the ...
. In leaving his family's property and collection to New York University, Acton expressed his desire that the estate be used as a meeting place for students, faculty, and guests who might study, teach, write and do research, and as a centre for international programs. Following his death, DNA testing confirmed the existence of a half-sister born out of wedlock, whose heirs have gone to court to challenge Acton's $500 million bequest to New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, the ...
.
Acton was buried beside his parents and brother in the Roman Catholic section of the Cimitero Evangelico degli Allori
The Cimitero Evangelico agli Allori ("The Evangelical Cemetery at Laurels") is located in Florence, Italy, between 'Due Strade' and Galluzzo.
History
The small cemetery was opened in 1877 when the non-Catholic communities of Florence could no long ...
in the southern suburb of Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
, Galluzzo
Galluzzo is part of quartiere 3 of the Italian city of Florence, Italy, located in the southern extremity of the Florentine commune. It is known for the celebrated Carthusian monastery, the Galluzzo or Florence Charterhouse (''Certosa di Firenze ...
(Italy).
Publications
*''Aquarium'', London, Duckworth, 1923
*''An Indian Ass'', London, Duckworth, 1925.
*''Five Saints and an Appendix'', London, Holden, 1927.
*''Cornelian'', London, The Westminster Press, 1928.
*''Humdrum'', London, The Westminster Press, 1928.
*''The Last of the Medici'', Florence, G. Orioli, 1930.
*''This Chaos'', Paris, Hours Press, 1930.
*''The Last Medici'', London, Faber & Faner, 1932.
*''Modern Chinese Poetry'' (with Ch'en Shih-Hsiang), Duckworth, 1936.
*''Famous Chinese Plays'' (with L.C. Arlington), Peiping, Henri Vetch, 1937.
*''Glue and Lacquer: Four Cautionary Tales'' (with Lee Yi-Hsieh), London, The Golden Cockerel Press, 1941.
*''Peonies and Ponies'', London, Chatto & Windus, 1941; rpr. Oxford in Asia paperbacks. Hong Kong; New York: Oxford University Press, 1983.
*''Memoirs of an Aesthete'', London, Methuen, 1948; reprinted London, Methuen, 1970.
*''Prince Isidore'', London, Methuen, 1950.
*''The Bourbons of Naples (1734–1825)'', London, Methuen, 1956.
*''Ferdinando Galiani'', Rome, Edizioni di Storia e di Letteratura, 1960.
*''Florence'' (with Martin Huerlimann), London, Thames & Hudson, 1960.
*''The Last Bourbons of Naples (1825–1861)'', London, Methuen, 1961.
*''Old Lamps for New'', London, Methuen, 1965.
*''More Memoirs of an Aesthete'', London, Methuen, 1970.
*''Tit for Tat'', London, Hamish Hamilton, 1972.
*''Tuscan Villas'', London, Thames & Hudson, 1973; reprinted as ''The Villas of Tuscany'', London, Thames & Hudson, 1984.
*''Nancy Mitford: a Memoir'', London, Hamish Hamilton, 1975.
*''The Peach Blossom Fan'' (with Ch'en Shih-Hsiang), Berkeley, University of California Press, 1976.
*''The Pazzi Conspiracy'', London, Thames & Hudson, 1979.
*''The Soul's Gymnasium'', London, Hamish Hamilton, 1982.
*''Three Extraordinary Ambassadors'', London, Thames & Hudson, 1984.
*''Florence: a Travellers' Companion'' (introduction; texts ed Edward Chaney
Edward Chaney (born 1951) is a British cultural historian. He is Professor Emeritus at Solent University and Honorary Professor at University College London (School of European Languages, Culture and Society (SELCS) – Centre for Early Modern ...
), London, Constable, 1986.
References
Further reading
Substantial secondary sources
* Martin Green, 2008 977 ''Children of the Sun: A Narrative of "Decadence" in England After 1918'', Mount Jackson, VA, USA: Axios Press, , se
o
accessed 11 July 2015. [A book in which Acton features very prominently. For his relationship to villa La Pietra, see pp. 1–8, 94–117, 220, 393–395, and 425''f''. For his early education, see pp. 11, 79, 103, and 115''f''. For his time at Eton, see pp. 98''f'', 127–182, and 256. For his time at Oxford, see pp. 2''ff'', 11, 20, 82, 117, 155, 163–195, 201, 227, 305, and 464. For his experiences in World War II, see pp. 333–355, and 367. For his parents Arthur and Hortense, see pp. 6, 102–114, 338, and 385''f''.]
* Charlotte Eagar, 2011, "The house of secrets and lies," ''The Sunday Times'' (magazine, online), 3 July 2011, se
accessed 11 July 2015. Subtitle: "The art dealer Arthur Acton's love affair with an Italian beauty led to an illegitimate child, two exhumed bodies and a long-running, vicious feud."
* Alan Pryce-Jones, 1994, "Obituary: Sir Harold Acton," ''The Independent'' (online), 28 February 1994, se
accessed 11 July 2015.
* D. J. Taylor, 2007, ''Bright Young People: The Lost Generation of London's Jazz Age,'' New York, NY, USA: Macmillan-FSG,
accessed 11 July 2015. ee pp. 21–31, 68, 74–77, 83–88, 127, 140ff, 150, 163–166, 171–179, 189–205, 216–218, 231, 257, 279–288, 311–315.* Luca Baratta, (2020), «Evoking the Atmosphere of a Vanished Society»: la Firenze fantasmatica di Sir Harold Acton in The Soul’s Gymnasium (1982)’, Mediazioni. Rivista online di Studi Interdisciplinari su Lingue e Culture, 27, pp. A139-A165.
Archival resources
Harold Acton Papers, 1904–1994
(3.83 linear feet) are housed at Yale University
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
's Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
The Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library () is the rare book library and literary archive of the Yale University Library in New Haven, Connecticut. It is one of the largest buildings in the world dedicated to rare books and manuscripts. Es ...
.
Harold Acton Correspondence with Ruth Page and Thomas H. Fisher, 1948–1952
are housed at the New York Public Library
The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress ...
.
Harold Mario Mitchell Acton Autograph Letter Signed: Florence, to Herbert Cahoon, 1961 June 18
(1 item (4 pages)) is housed at the Pierpont Morgan Library
The Morgan Library & Museum, formerly the Pierpont Morgan Library, is a museum and research library in the Murray Hill neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It is situated at 225 Madison Avenue, between 36th Street to the south and 37th ...
.
Robin McDouall Papers, circa 1933–1980
(0.21 linear ft.) are housed at Yale University
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
's Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
The Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library () is the rare book library and literary archive of the Yale University Library in New Haven, Connecticut. It is one of the largest buildings in the world dedicated to rare books and manuscripts. Es ...
.
Miscellaneous further sources
* Edward Chaney
Edward Chaney (born 1951) is a British cultural historian. He is Professor Emeritus at Solent University and Honorary Professor at University College London (School of European Languages, Culture and Society (SELCS) – Centre for Early Modern ...
, "Sir Harold Acton", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', 2004.
* Edward Chaney
Edward Chaney (born 1951) is a British cultural historian. He is Professor Emeritus at Solent University and Honorary Professor at University College London (School of European Languages, Culture and Society (SELCS) – Centre for Early Modern ...
and Neil Ritchie, ''Oxford, China and Italy: Writings in Honour of Sir Harold Acton'', Florence-London, 1984.
* :fr:Jean-Marie Thiébaud, "Une famille bisontine d'origine anglaise : les Acton", ''Procès-verbaux et Mémoires de l'Académie de Besançon et de Franche-Comté, Besançon'', 1987.
* Christopher Hollis, ''Oxford in the Twenties'' (1976).
External links
*
an
images of the 1896 Chicago ITSB building, whose Italianate design included contributions from Acton's father.
Harold Acton at the Gay/Bi/Lesbian Encyclopedia
Wafted onto the Antimacassars
– memories of Acton at Oxford by Emlyn Williams
George Emlyn Williams, CBE (26 November 1905 – 25 September 1987) was a Welsh writer, dramatist and actor.
Early life
Williams was born into a Welsh-speaking, working class family at 1 Jones Terrace, Pen-y-ffordd, Ffynnongroyw, Flints ...
* hdl:10079/fa/beinecke.acton, Harold Acton Papers. General Collection, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Acton, Harold
1904 births
1994 deaths
People educated at Eton College
Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford
English memoirists
English Roman Catholics
New York University
Italian emigrants to the United Kingdom
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
Knights Bachelor
People educated at Wixenford School
English gay writers
British male writers
British special constables
20th-century English historians
Royal Air Force officers
Royal Air Force personnel of World War II
20th-century LGBT people