Hugh Conway, the pen name of Frederick John Fargus (26 December 1847 – 15 May 1885), was an English novelist born in
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
, the son of an
auction
An auction is usually a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from the lowest bidder. Some exceptions to this definition ex ...
eer. He had success with his fiction in the early 1880s.
Life
Fargus was intended for his father's business, but at the age of 13 joined a
Mersey
The River Mersey () is in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it has formed part ...
school ship ''
Conway'' lent by the
Admiralty
Admiralty most often refers to:
*Admiralty, Hong Kong
*Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964
*The rank of admiral
*Admiralty law
Admiralty can also refer to:
Buildings
* Admiralty, Traf ...
for training merchant navy officers. In deference to his father's wishes, however, he returned to Bristol, where he was articled to a firm of accountants until his father's death in 1868, when he took over the family auctioneering business.
On 26 August 1871 married Amy Spark, daughter of a Bristol alderman. They had three sons and a daughter. One son,
Archibald
Archibald is a masculine given name, composed of the Germanic elements '' erchan'' (with an original meaning of "genuine" or "precious") and ''bald'' meaning "bold".
Medieval forms include Old High German and Anglo-Saxon .
Erkanbald, bishop of ...
, became a
first-class cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
er,
scholar
A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researche ...
and
clergyman
Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...
.
Works
While a clerk, Fargus had written words for various songs, adopting the pen name Hugh Conway in memory of his training-ship days.
James Williams Arrowsmith, a Bristol printer and publisher, took an interest, and Fargus's first short story appeared in ''Arrowsmith's Miscellany''.
[ In 1883 Fargus published through Arrowsmith his first ]novella
A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian ''novella'' meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) facts ...
, '' Called Back'', an early thriller that sold over 350,000 copies in four years. One admirer of the book was the American poet Emily Dickinson
Emily Elizabeth Dickinson (December 10, 1830 – May 15, 1886) was an American poet. Little-known during her life, she has since been regarded as one of the most important figures in American poetry.
Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massach ...
. A stage version of it appeared in London in 1884, when Fargus published another story, ''Dark Days''.[
Ordered to the Riviera for his health, Fargus caught ]typhoid fever
Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...
, died in Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo (; ; french: Monte-Carlo , or colloquially ''Monte-Carl'' ; lij, Munte Carlu ; ) is officially an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco, specifically the ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is ...
[ and was buried in ]Nice
Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...
. Several other books of his appeared posthumously, notably ''A Family Affair'',[ which was serialized in the ''English Illustrated Magazine'' in 1884–1885 and first published in volume form in 1885.][''XIX Century Fiction''. Part I: A–K. Jarndyce Bloomsbury, 2019.]
Long after his death, one of his novels was filmed as ''The Last Rose of Summer
"The Last Rose of Summer" is a poem by the Irish poet Thomas Moore. He wrote it in 1805, while staying at Jenkinstown Castle in County Kilkenny, Ireland, where he was said to have been inspired by a specimen of Rosa 'Old Blush'. The poem is s ...
'' (1920).
Novels
*''Called Back'', with Portrait and Sketch of the Life of the Author. Bristol: Arrowsmith, 1885 '
Bodleian Library
''
*''Dark Days'', Bristol: Arrowsmith, 188
CaliforniaBodleian Library
*''A Family Affair'', 3 vols, London: Macmillan 1885
Bodleian Library
*''Living or Dead'', New York: Henry Holt & Co 1886
Harvard
*''A Cardinal Sin'', London: Remington, 5th ed., 1888
Bodleian Library
Short stories
*''Bound Together. Tales'', 2 vols, London: Remington & Co, 1884
**Vol 1
Illinois
**"The Secret of the Stradivarius" (1881), first published December 1881, "Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine", Vol. 130, pp. 771–784
**"Fleurette" (1883), first published April 1883, "Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine", Vol. 133, pp. 512–523
**"A Cabinet Secret" (1882), first published 9 December 1882, "All the Year Round", Vol. 50, pp. 469–475
**"The Bandsman's Story" (1882), first published April 1882, "Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine", Vol. 131, pp. 491–504
**"The Blatchford Bequest" (1883), first published 3, 10, 17 and 24 November 1883, "Chambers's Journal", Vol. 60, pp. 699 ff., 713 ff., 729 ff. and 744 ff.
**"My First Client" (1883), first published December 1883, ''Bristol Times and Mirror''
**Vol 2
Illinois
**"Our Last Walk"
**"Miss Rivers's Revenge" (1883), first published 1, 8 and 15 December 1883 ''Chambers's Journal'' Vol. 60, pp. 762 ff., 778 ff. and 793 ff.
**"The Daughter of the Stars: a psychological romance" (1881), first published 1881, ''Thirteen at Table'', Arrowsmith's Christmas Annual 1881
**"In One Short Year!"
**"The Truth of It"
**''A Speculative Spirit'' (1882), first published 3 June 1882, ''All the Year Round'', Vol. 49, pp. 373–377
*''Carriston's Gift and Other Tales'' (New York: H. Holt & co. 1885), with portrait and illustration
Harvard
Internet Archive
**"Carriston's Gift" (1885), first published 1885, ''The Graphic'', Summer Number, pp. 4–28
**"Chewton-Abbot" (1884), first published 3, 10 and 17 May 1884, ''Chambers's Journal'' Vol. 61, pp. 280 ff., 295 ff. and 315 ff.
**"Paul Vargas" (1884), first published April 1884, ''The English Illustrated Magazine'' Vol. 1, pp. 439–449
**"A Dead Man's Face" (1884), first published December 1884, ''Harper's New Monthly Magazine'' Vol. 70, pp. 143–152
**"Julian Vanneck" (1884), first published 1884, ''Society'', Winter Number
**"The 'Bichwa'" (1884), first published 1884, ''Bristol Times and Mirror'', Christmas Number
*''At What Cost, and Other Stories'' (London: John and Robert Maxwell 885
Year 885 ( DCCCLXXXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place Europe
* Summer – Emperor Charles the Fat summons a meeting of officials at Lobith (moder ...
br>California
**"At What Cost" (1885, as "At What a Cost"), first published 22 August 1885, ''Sheffield & Rotherham Independent''; 18 September 1885, ''The Nottinghamshire Guardian''
**"The Story of a Sculptor" (1885), first published 29 August, 5 and 12 September 1885, ''Sheffield & Rotherham Independent''; 28 August, 4 and 11 September 1885, ''The Nottinghamshire Guardian''
**"Capital Wine" (1885), first published 19 September 1885 ''Sheffield & Rotherham Independent''; 25 September 1885 ''The Nottinghamshire Guardian''
*''Carriston's Gift...'' 886
__NOTOC__
Year 886 ( DCCCLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place Byzantine Empire
* March – A wide-ranging conspiracy against Emperor Basil I, led by John Kourkouas, is uncovered.
* ...
**"Carriston's Gift" (1885), first published 1885, ''The Graphic'' Summer Number, pp. 4–28
**"A Fresh Start" (1886, @ Trove), first published 12 and 19 June 1886 @ Trove
**"Julian Vanneck" (1884), first published 1884, ''Society'' Winter Number
**"A Dead Man's Face" (1884), first published December 1884 , ''Harper's New Monthly Magazine'' Vol. 70, pp. 143–152
References
;Other sources
*Jarndyce Antiquarian Booksellers, London. Catalogue CLXXXVII, Spring 2010: Novels & Tales 1748–1926.
Bristol Archives
Accessed 20 March 2017.
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Conway, Hugh
1847 births
1885 deaths
Deaths from typhoid fever
Infectious disease deaths in Monaco
English expatriates in Monaco
English male novelists
19th-century English novelists
19th-century English male writers