(John) Robert Liddell (13 October 1908 – 23 July 1992) was an English literary critic, biographer, novelist, travel writer and poet.

Life

Liddell was born at

Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in Kent, England, southeast of central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the Weald, High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Roc ...

, England, the elder son of Major John Stewart Liddell, CMG, DSO, who served with the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

and later worked for the Egyptian Government at

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

, and his first wife, Anna Gertrude, daughter of E. Morgan, of Hongershall Park, Tunbridge Wells. He was a great-grandson of Sir John Liddell, KCB, Director-General of the Medical Department of the Royal Navy, and his paternal grandmother was of the gentry family of Gibson of Shalford and Sullington. Liddell's mother died in 1914; his father remarried in 1916, to Theresa, daughter of Paul Rottenburg,

LL.D Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the earl ...

, of

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

. Poor relations developed between the two boys and their stepmother, who was the basis for the central character in Liddell's novel ''Stepsons''. Liddell was educated at

Ashdown House, East Sussex Ashdown House is a country house near Forest Row, in East Sussex, England. It is a Grade II* listed building. One of the first houses in England to be built in the Greek Revival architectural style, it was built in 1793 as the second independent ...

, at

Haileybury School Haileybury is a Public school (UK), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent Day school, day and boarding school) near Hertford in England. It is a member of the Rugby Group and, though originally a major boys' ...

and at

Corpus Christi College, Oxford Corpus Christi College (formally, Corpus Christi College in the University of Oxford; informally abbreviated as Corpus or CCC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1517, it is the 12th ...

. During the years 1933 to 1938 he was employed at the

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second- ...

as an assistant in the Department of Western Manuscripts. Liddell then lived briefly in Athens, Greece, working as a lecturer for the

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lan ...

. During the years 1941 to 1951 he was a lecturer at the Universities of Cairo and Alexandria. From 1953 to 1972 he was employed by the University of Athens, serving for part of the time as head of the English Department. He never returned to England, and died in Athens in 1992. While at Oxford he met the novelist

Barbara Pym Barbara Mary Crampton Pym FRSL (2 June 1913 – 11 January 1980) was an English novelist. In the 1950s she published a series of social comedies, of which the best known are ''Excellent Women'' (1952) and '' A Glass of Blessings'' (1958). In 1977 ...

. The character of Dr. Nicholas Parnell in Pym's novel ''

Some Tame Gazelle ''Some Tame Gazelle'' is Barbara Pym's first novel, originally published in 1950. The title of the book is taken from the poem "Something to Love" by Thomas Haynes Bayly, and the work of other English poets is frequently referenced during the co ...

'' was inspired by Liddell. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he was one of the

Cairo poets The British Army presence in Egypt in World War II had, as a side effect, the concentration of a group of Cairo poets. There had been a noticeable literary group in Cairo before the war in North Africa broke out, including university academics. Poss ...

Works

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Liddell, Robert English literary critics People educated at Haileybury and Imperial Service College Lidell, Robert 1992 deaths