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Rex Warner (9 March 1905 – 24 June 1986) was an English
classicist Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...
, writer, and translator. He is now probably best remembered for ''The Aerodrome'' (1941).Chris Hopkins, ''English Fiction in the 1930s: Language, Genre, History'' Continuum International Publishing Group, 2007 (pp. 138–57). Warner was described by V. S. Pritchett as "the only outstanding novelist of ideas whom the decade of ideas produced"."Rex Warner, 81, Dies; Author and Translator". ''The New York Times'', 17 July 1986


Biographical sketch

He was born Reginald Ernest Warner in
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
, England, and brought up mainly in
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 Gl ...
, where his father was a clergyman."Rex Warner(Obituary)". ''The Times''. 27 June 1986. He was educated at St. George's School in
Harpenden Harpenden () is a town and civil parish in the City and District of St Albans in the county of Hertfordshire, England. The population of the built-up area was 30,240 in the 2011 census, whilst the population of the civil parish was 29,448. Har ...
, and at
Wadham College, Oxford Wadham College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street and Parks Road. Wadham College was founded in 1610 by Dorothy W ...
, where he associated with
W. H. Auden Wystan Hugh Auden (; 21 February 1907 – 29 September 1973) was a British-American poet. Auden's poetry was noted for its stylistic and technical achievement, its engagement with politics, morals, love, and religion, and its variety in ...
,
Cecil Day-Lewis Cecil Day-Lewis (or Day Lewis; 27 April 1904 – 22 May 1972), often written as C. Day-Lewis, was an Irish-born British poet and Poet Laureate from 1968 until his death in 1972. He also wrote mystery stories under the pseudonym of Nicholas Bla ...
, and
Stephen Spender Sir Stephen Harold Spender (28 February 1909 – 16 July 1995) was an English poet, novelist and essayist whose work concentrated on themes of social injustice and the class struggle. He was appointed Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry by the ...
,
Michael Moorcock Michael John Moorcock (born 18 December 1939) is an English writer, best-known for science fiction and fantasy, who has published a number of well-received literary novels as well as comic thrillers, graphic novels and non-fiction. He has work ...
, "Introduction" to ''The Aerodrome'', Vintage Classics, 2007. (p. ix–xx)
and published in ''
Oxford Poetry ''Oxford Poetry'' is a literary magazine based in Oxford, England. It is currently edited by Luke Allan. The magazine is published by Partus Press. Founded in 1910 by Basil Blackwell, its editors have included Dorothy L. Sayers, Aldous Huxley ...
''. He obtained a 1st in
Classical Moderations Honour Moderations (or ''Mods'') are a set of examinations at the University of Oxford at the end of the first part of some degree courses (e.g., Greats or '' Literae Humaniores''). Honour Moderations candidates have a class awarded (hence the ' ...
in 1925 and later graduated with a 3rd in English in 1928. He then spent time teaching, some of it in
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
. Warner's debut story, "Holiday", appeared in the ''
New Statesman The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members ...
'' in 1930. His first collection, ''Poems'', appeared in 1937. His poem, "Arms in Spain", a satire on
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
and
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...
support for the
Spanish Nationalists Francoist Spain ( es, España franquista), or the Francoist dictatorship (), was the period of Spanish history between 1939 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death in 1975, Spai ...
, has often been reprinted. He was also a contributor to ''
Left Review ''Left Review'' was a journal set up by the British section of the Comintern-sponsored International Union of Revolutionary Writers (previously known as the International Bureau for Revolutionary Literature; also known as the Writers' Internationa ...
''. Warner was a great admirer of
Franz Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a German-speaking Bohemian novelist and short-story writer, widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of realism and the fantastic. It ...
and his fiction was "profoundly influenced" by Kafka's work. Warner's first three novels all reflect his
anti-fascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were ...
beliefs; ''The Wild Goose Chase'' is in part a
dystopia A dystopia (from Ancient Greek δυσ- "bad, hard" and τόπος "place"; alternatively cacotopiaCacotopia (from κακός ''kakos'' "bad") was the term used by Jeremy Bentham in his 1818 Plan of Parliamentary Reform (Works, vol. 3, p. 493). ...
n fantasy about the overthrow of a tyrannical government in a heroic revolution.Janet Montefiore. ''Men and Women writers of the 1930s: The Dangerous Flood of History''. Routledge, 1996. (pp. 16, 170, 201). His second novel, ''The Professor'', published around the time of the
Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
Anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, en, Annexation of Austria), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into the German Reich on 13 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a " Greater Germany ...
, is the story of a liberal academic whose compromises with a repressive government lead eventually to his arrest, imprisonment and murder "while attempting to escape". Contemporary reviewers saw parallels with the Austrian leaders
Engelbert Dollfuss Engelbert Dollfuß (alternatively: ''Dolfuss'', ; 4 October 1892 – 25 July 1934) was an Austrian clerical fascist politician who served as Chancellor of Austria between 1932 and 1934. Having served as Minister for Forests and Agriculture, he a ...
and
Kurt Schuschnigg Kurt Alois Josef Johann von Schuschnigg (; 14 December 1897 – 18 November 1977) was an Austrian Fatherland Front politician who was the Chancellor of the Federal State of Austria from the 1934 assassination of his predecessor Engelbert Dollf ...
. Although Warner was initially sympathetic to the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
, "the
Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact , long_name = Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , image = Bundesarchiv Bild 183-H27337, Moskau, Stalin und Ribbentrop im Kreml.jpg , image_width = 200 , caption = Stalin and Ribbentrop shaking ...
left him disillusioned with Communism". ''The Aerodrome'' is an
allegorical As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a hidden meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory th ...
novel whose young hero is faced with the disintegration of his certainties about his loved ones, and with a choice between the earthy, animalistic life of his home village and the pure, efficient, emotionally detached life of an airman. ''The Times'' described ''The Aerodrome'' as Warner's "most perfectly accomplished novel". ''Why Was I Killed?'' (1943) is an afterlife fantasy with an anti-war theme. Warner then abandoned contemporary allegory in favour of
historical novels Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other ty ...
about
Ancient Greece Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cult ...
and
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
, including ''Imperial Caesar'', for which he was awarded the 1960
James Tait Black Memorial Prize The James Tait Black Memorial Prizes are literary prizes awarded for literature written in the English language. They, along with the Hawthornden Prize, are Britain's oldest literary awards. Based at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, Unit ...
for fiction. ''Imperial Caesar'' was praised by John Davenport as "delightfully perceptive and funny", and by
Storm Jameson Margaret Ethel Storm Jameson (8 January 1891 – 30 September 1986) was an English journalist and author, known for her novels and reviews and for her work as President of English PEN between 1938 and 1944. Life and career Jameson was born in W ...
as "brilliant, intelligent, continuously interesting. It has everything." ''The Converts'', a novel about
Saint Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Af ...
, reflected Warner's own increasing devotion to Christianity. He dedicated it to the Greek poet and diplomat
George Seferis Giorgos or George Seferis (; gr, Γιώργος Σεφέρης ), the pen name of Georgios Seferiades (Γεώργιος Σεφεριάδης; March 13 – September 20, 1971), was a Greek poet and diplomat. He was one of the most important G ...
. Warner served in the
Home Guard Home guard is a title given to various military organizations at various times, with the implication of an emergency or reserve force raised for local defense. The term "home guard" was first officially used in the American Civil War, starting wi ...
during the Second World War and also worked as a Latin teacher at a Grammar School in Morden as there was a shortage of teachers. From 1945 to 1947 he was in
Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
as Director of the British Institute. At that time he became involved in numerous translations of classical Greek and Latin authors. His translation of
Thucydides Thucydides (; grc, , }; BC) was an Athenian historian and general. His ''History of the Peloponnesian War'' recounts the fifth-century BC war between Sparta and Athens until the year 411 BC. Thucydides has been dubbed the father of "scientifi ...
' ''History of the Peloponnesian War'' for Penguin Classics sold over a million copies. He also translated ''Poems of George Seferis'' (1960). Warner's time in Greece coincided with the early stages of the
Greek Civil War The Greek Civil War ( el, ο Eμφύλιος όλεμος ''o Emfýlios'' 'Pólemos'' "the Civil War") took place from 1946 to 1949. It was mainly fought against the established Kingdom of Greece, which was supported by the United Kingdom ...
, which ended with the Greek Communists defeated and suppressed. This formed the background to his book ''"Men of Stones: A Melodrama"'' (1949), depicting imprisoned leftists presenting ''
King Lear ''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane an ...
'' in their prison camp. In 1961 Warner was appointed Tallman Professor of Classics at
Bowdoin College Bowdoin College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. When Bowdoin was chartered in 1794, Maine was still a part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The college offers 34 majors and 36 minors, as well as several joint eng ...
and from 1962 to 1973 he was a professor at the
University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from Hart ...
. While he was in the United States he was interviewed for the book ''Authors Take Sides on
Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
'' (1967) and argued for withdrawal from Indochina.
Cecil Woolf Cecil James Sidney Woolf (1927–2019) was an English author and publisher. He was a nephew of the Woolfs of the Bloomsbury Group and lived in Hammersmith and Mornington Crescent. During the Second World War, he joined the Royal Tank Regim ...
and John Bagguley (editors),''Authors Take Sides on Vietnam'', Peter Owen, 1967,(p.47).
Rex Warner retired to England in 1973 and died in
Wallingford, Oxfordshire Wallingford () is a historic market town and civil parish located between Oxford and Reading on the River Thames in England. Although belonging to the historic county of Berkshire, it is within the ceremonial county of Oxfordshire for adminis ...
.


Personal life

Warner was married three times, but to only two women. His first marriage was to Frances Chamier Grove, in 1929. Their marriage ended in divorce and in 1949 Warner married Barbara, Lady Rothschild, formerly the wife of Baron Victor Rothschild. After his second divorce, in 1966, he remarried his first wife. Warner and his wife Frances had three children. He had further children including a daughter Anne, who wrote about the relationship between Warner and her mother (when he was not married) in the book 'The Blind Horse of Corfu'.


Works


Novels

*''The Wild Goose Chase'' (1937) *''The Professor'' (1938) *''The Aerodrome'' (1941) *''Why Was I Killed?'' (1943) (US title: ''Return of the Traveller'' (1944)) *''Men of Stones; A melodrama'' (1949) *''Escapade'' (1953) *''Young Caesar'' (1958) *''Imperial Caesar'' (1960) *''Pericles the Athenian'' (1963) *''The Converts'' (1967)


Collections of Poems

*''Poems'' (1937) *''Poems and Contradictions'' (1945) *''New Poems 1954'' (with
Laurie Lee Laurence Edward Alan "Laurie" Lee, MBE (26 June 1914 – 13 May 1997) was an English poet, novelist and screenwriter, who was brought up in the small village of Slad in Gloucestershire. His most notable work is the autobiographical trilogy ...
and
Christopher Hassall Christopher Vernon Hassall (24 March 1912 – 25 April 1963) was an English actor, dramatist, librettist, lyricist and poet, who found his greatest fame in a memorable musical partnership with the actor and composer Ivor Novello after worki ...
) (1954)


Non-fiction

*''The Kite'' (1936) *''We're Not Going To Do Nothing: A Reply to Mr
Aldous Huxley Aldous Leonard Huxley (26 July 1894 – 22 November 1963) was an English writer and philosopher. He wrote nearly 50 books, both novels and non-fiction works, as well as wide-ranging essays, narratives, and poems. Born into the prominent Huxley ...
's Pamphlet "What Are You Going to Do About It?"'' (1936); (with
Cecil Day-Lewis Cecil Day-Lewis (or Day Lewis; 27 April 1904 – 22 May 1972), often written as C. Day-Lewis, was an Irish-born British poet and Poet Laureate from 1968 until his death in 1972. He also wrote mystery stories under the pseudonym of Nicholas Bla ...
) *''English Public Schools'' (1945) *''The Cult of Power'' (1946) *''John Milton'' (1949) *''E. M. Forster'' (1950, 2nd edition 1960) (with John Morris) *''Men and Gods'' (1950) *''Greeks and Trojans'' (1951) *''Views of Attica'' (1951) *''Ashes to Ashes: A Post-Mortem on the 1940–51 Tests'' (1951) (with Lyle Blair); *''Eternal Greece'' (1953) with Martin Hürlimann *''Athens'' (1956) with Martin Hürlimann *''The Greek Philosophers'' (1958) *''Look at Birds'' (1962) *''The Stories of the Greeks'' (1967) *''Athens at War'' (1970) a "retelling" of Thucydides' history of the Peloponnesian War *''Men of Athens: The Story of Fifth-Century Athens'' (vt. ''The Story of Fifth-Century Athens'') (1972) (with photographs by Dimitrios Harissiadis)


Translations from Ancient Greek

*
Aeschylus Aeschylus (, ; grc-gre, Αἰσχύλος ; c. 525/524 – c. 456/455 BC) was an ancient Greek tragedian, and is often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier Greek ...
, ''
Prometheus Bound ''Prometheus Bound'' ( grc, Προμηθεὺς Δεσμώτης, ''Promētheús Desmṓtēs'') is an Ancient Greek tragedy traditionally attributed to Aeschylus and thought to have been composed sometime between 479 BC and the terminus ante ...
'' (1947) *
Thucydides Thucydides (; grc, , }; BC) was an Athenian historian and general. His ''History of the Peloponnesian War'' recounts the fifth-century BC war between Sparta and Athens until the year 411 BC. Thucydides has been dubbed the father of "scientifi ...
, ''
History of the Peloponnesian War The ''History of the Peloponnesian War'' is a historical account of the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC), which was fought between the Peloponnesian League (led by Sparta) and the Delian League (led by Athens). It was written by Thucydides, an ...
'' (1954) *
Xenophon Xenophon of Athens (; grc, wikt:Ξενοφῶν, Ξενοφῶν ; – probably 355 or 354 BC) was a Greek military leader, philosopher, and historian, born in Athens. At the age of 30, Xenophon was elected commander of one of the biggest Anci ...
, '' A History of My Time'' and '' The Persian Expedition'' *
Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''P ...
, ''
Parallel Lives Plutarch's ''Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans'', commonly called ''Parallel Lives'' or ''Plutarch's Lives'', is a series of 48 biographies of famous men, arranged in pairs to illuminate their common moral virtues or failings, probably writt ...
'' (as ''The Fall of the Roman Republic'') and ''
Moral Essays ''Moral Essays'' (also known as ''Epistles to Several Persons'') is a series of four poems on ethical subjects by Alexander Pope, published between 1731 and 1735. The individual poems are: #''Epistle to Cobham'' (1734, addressed to Sir Rich ...
'' *
Euripides Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful e ...
, ''
Medea In Greek mythology, Medea (; grc, Μήδεια, ''Mēdeia'', perhaps implying "planner / schemer") is the daughter of King Aeëtes of Colchis, a niece of Circe and the granddaughter of the sun god Helios. Medea figures in the myth of Jason an ...
'' (1944) *
Euripides Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful e ...
, ''
Helen Helen may refer to: People * Helen of Troy, in Greek mythology, the most beautiful woman in the world * Helen (actress) (born 1938), Indian actress * Helen (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) Places * Helen, ...
'' (1958) *
Euripides Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful e ...
, '' Hippolytus'' (1958)


Translations from Latin

*''War Commentaries of Caesar'' (1960) Gallic & Civil Wars *''The Confessions of St. Augustine'' (1963)


Translation from Modern Greek

*''On the Greek Style: Selected Essays in Poetry and Hellenism'' by George Seferis, translated by Rex Warner and T. D. Frangopoulos, with an introduction by Rex Warner. (1967)


As editor

*''
The Pilgrim's Progress ''The Pilgrim's Progress from This World, to That Which Is to Come'' is a 1678 Christian allegory written by John Bunyan. It is regarded as one of the most significant works of theological fiction in English literature and a progenitor of ...
'' by
John Bunyan John Bunyan (; baptised 30 November 162831 August 1688) was an English writer and Puritan preacher best remembered as the author of the Christian allegory ''The Pilgrim's Progress,'' which also became an influential literary model. In addition ...
, (1951) *''Look Up at the Skies: Poems and Prose Chosen by Rex Warner'' (a selection of verse by
Gerard Manley Hopkins Gerard Manley Hopkins (28 July 1844 – 8 June 1889) was an English poet and Jesuit priest, whose posthumous fame placed him among leading Victorian poets. His prosody – notably his concept of sprung rhythm – established him as an innovato ...
, illustrated by Yvonne Skargon) (1972)


Film and TV adaptations

In 1983 the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
screened an adaptation of ''The Aerodrome''. It was written by
Robin Chapman Robin John Chapman (18 January 1933 – 29 July 2020) was an English novelist, playwright and screenwriter. Early life Chapman was born in Croydon, Surrey. He was educated at Selhurst Grammar School (later Selhurst High School) and Christ' ...
and directed by
Giles Foster Giles Foster has been an English television director since 1975, specialising in television dramas. He has also directed in Australia and in Germany (2012-2014). He wrote some television dramas in the 1970s. He is from Bath, Somerset and was ed ...
. The cast included
Peter Firth Peter Macintosh Firth (born 27 October 1953) is an English actor. He is best known for his role as Sir Harry Pearce in the BBC One programme '' Spooks''; he is the only actor to have appeared in every episode of the programme's ten-series lif ...
as Roy, the protagonist,
Richard Briers Richard David Briers (14 January 1934 – 17 February 2013) was an English actor whose five-decade career encompassed film, radio, stage and television. Briers first came to prominence as George Starling in ''Marriage Lines'' (1961–66), but ...
as the Rector and Jill Bennett as Eustasia.


References


Further reading

*''Politics in the Novels of Rex Warner'' (1974) James Flynn *''The Novels of Rex Warner: An Introduction'' (1989) N. H. Reeve *''Fiercer Than Tigers: The Life and Works of Rex Warner'' (2002) Stephen E. Tabachnick


External links

*
"Forgotten Authors No 59: Rex Warner"
by
Christopher Fowler Christopher Fowler (born 26 March 1953) is an English thriller writer. While working in the British film industry he became the author of fifty novels and short-story collections, including the Bryant & May mysteries, which record the adventures ...
, ''The Independent'', 14 November 2010
Review of ''The Aerodrome''
at TrashFiction.co.uk
Papers Pertaining to Rex Warner
MSS 6251; 20th Century Western and Mormon Americana; L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University * {{DEFAULTSORT:Warner, Rex 1905 births 1986 deaths People from Birmingham, West Midlands People from Gloucestershire Bowdoin College faculty English historical novelists English science fiction writers English Christians James Tait Black Memorial Prize recipients English anti-fascists 20th-century English novelists 20th-century English poets Writers of historical fiction set in antiquity