The Honourable ''The Honourable'' (British English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific style that is used as a prefix before the names or titles of certain ...

Julian Charles Fane (27 May 1927 – 13 December 2009) was a British author.

Early life

Fane was the younger son of Vere Fane, 14th Earl of Westmorland and his wife Diana, daughter of

Thomas Lister, 4th Baron Ribblesdale Thomas Lister, 4th Baron Ribblesdale (29 October 1854 – 21 October 1925) was a British Liberal politician. Early life Thomas Lister was born on 29 October 1854 in Fontainebleau, France, the eldest son of Thomas Lister, 3rd Baron Ribblesdale ...

and widow of Arthur Capel.thepeerage.com Hon. Julian Charles Fane
/ref> His childhood was spent at Lyegrove,

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Glo ...

, where his mother created a celebrated garden. He was educated at Harrow.

Career

After some attempts at writing plays, at the age of 29, Fane published his first novel, ''Morning'' (1956), a description of a small boy’s childhood prior to being sent to boarding school. It was a literary success.

John Betjeman Sir John Betjeman (; 28 August 190619 May 1984) was an English poet, writer, and broadcaster. He was Poet Laureate from 1972 until his death. He was a founding member of The Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture, ...

wrote in ''

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 ...

'' that ''Morning'' "seems to me to deserve to last for generations" and he chose it as one of his Books of the Year. In ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...

Harold Nicolson Sir Harold George Nicolson (21 November 1886 – 1 May 1968) was a British politician, diplomat, historian, biographer, diarist, novelist, lecturer, journalist, broadcaster, and gardener. His wife was the writer Vita Sackville-West. Early lif ...

also described it as "the work of a literary artist, beautifully written". This reception encouraged Fane to devote his life to writing, a career that he took seriously, generally writing for five hours a day, every day, and avoiding social engagements he felt would distract from his work. In his long career he produced some forty works, though popular success eluded him. They were mostly novels, though his non-fiction books include ''Best Friends'' — an entertaining account of his friendships with Rachel and

Lord David Cecil Lord Edward Christian David Gascoyne-Cecil, CH (9 April 1902 – 1 January 1986) was a British biographer, historian, and scholar. He held the style of "Lord" by courtesy, as a younger son of a marquess. Early life and studies David Cecil wa ...

, Lady Cynthia Asquith, L. P. Hartley and others, and ''Memories of My Mother'', an evocation of the life of Diana, Countess of Westmorland. He reviewed for ''

The Times Literary Supplement ''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp. History The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to ''The Times'' but became a separate publication i ...

'' and in 1969 set up St George's Press with two partners, publishing 45 titles before it was wound up in 1991. In 1974 he was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820, by King George IV, to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 600 Fellows, elec ...

. In 1999, he declared that his latest novel, called ''Evening'' to balance ''Morning'', would be his last. For the next two years he kept a journal, eventually published as ''The Time Diaries'', but missing writing stories he gave up retirement and embarked on a new burst of creativity, publishing a novel every six months.

Personal life

In 1976, he married Gillian Swire, daughter of John Kidston Swire. Gillian was for some years a director of Glyndebourne Opera House. They were generous patrons to Glyndebourne and other good causes, and lived in

Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. It is the police and judicial centre for all of Sussex and is home to Sussex Police, East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, Lewes Crown Court and HMP Lewes. The civil parish is the centre of t ...

. Fane died on 13 December 2009, aged 82."Julian Fane: author". Obituary, ''The Times'', 4 January 2010
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fane, Julian Charles 1927 births 2009 deaths People educated at Harrow School Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature Younger sons of earls Julian English male novelists 20th-century English novelists 20th-century English male writers