Samuel Levy Bensusan (29 September 1872 – 11 December 1958) was a British author, musician, traveller, playwright, recorder of declining Essex dialects, and expert on country matters. He was born in

Dulwich Dulwich (; ) is an area in south London, England. The settlement is mostly in the London Borough of Southwark, with parts in the London Borough of Lambeth, and consists of Dulwich Village, East Dulwich, West Dulwich, and the Southwark half of ...

and died aged 86 at

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...

, and was the son of a Jewish feather merchant, Jacob Samuel Levy Bensusan (1846–1917) and Miriam Bensusan (1848–1926).

Early life

Samual Bensusan was the eldest son of Jacob Samuel Levy Bensusan (1846–1917), an ostrich feather merchant, and his wife Miriam Levy Bensusan (1848–1926). The family were of Orthodox Sephardic heritage, with ancestors giving distinguished service in Spain. Following his education at the

City of London School , established = , closed = , type = Public school Boys' independent day school , president = , head_label = Headmaster , head = Alan Bird , chair_label = Chair of Governors , chair = Ian Seaton , founder = John Carpenter , speciali ...

and the Greater Ealing School he was articled to a London firm of solicitors. He was horrified at the harsh sentences imposed by the courts (a sensivity which he later expressed in a horror of cruelty to animals), and left the law to pursue a writing career. He had musical abilities and training, and became the music and drama critic for the '' Gentleman's Journal'' in 1893 and then ''

The Illustrated London News ''The Illustrated London News'' appeared first on Saturday 14 May 1842, as the world's first illustrated weekly news magazine. Founded by Herbert Ingram, it appeared weekly until 1971, then less frequently thereafter, and ceased publication in ...

''. He was soon gaining commissions for articles published in other well known and successful journals including '' Vanity Fair'' and the ''

Daily Sketch The ''Daily Sketch'' was a British national tabloid newspaper, founded in Manchester in 1909 by Sir Edward Hulton. It was bought in 1920 by Lord Rothermere's Daily Mirror Newspapers, but in 1925 Rothermere sold it to William and Gomer Berry ...

''. The article Bensusan wrote in 1896 on the mistreatment of performing animals for the ''English Illustrated Magazine'' created a storm and, ultimately, led to the enactment of an

Act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...

to prevent cruelty to performing animals. In 1897, in addition to his own writing, he took on the editorship of the ''Jewish World''. In 1899 he started visiting and staying at a farmhouse in

Asheldham Asheldham is a village and civil parish in Essex, England. It is located about southeast of Maldon and is east-southeast from the county town of Chelmsford. The village is in the district of Maldon and the parliamentary constituency of Maldon & ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

in order to engage in country pursuits. Even though Bensusan wrote about the cultures and artists of many foreign lands, his engagement with the East Anglian land and people was to have a dramatic influence on his writing and research interests. Bensusan was to become an expert on the

Essex dialect Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

spoken in the area which only persisted because of the remoteness of the settlements. At this point in his career, Bensusan's writings were dominated by studies of famous artists, playwrights and foreign countries. His brother-in-law, the artist

Lucien Pissarro Lucien Pissarro (20 February 1863 – 10 July 1944) was a landscape painter, printmaker, wood engraver and designer and printer of fine books. His landscape paintings employ techniques of Impressionism and Neo-Impressionism, but he also exhib ...

who was married to his sister

Esther Esther is the eponymous heroine of the Book of Esther. In the Achaemenid Empire, the Persian king Ahasuerus seeks a new wife after his queen, Vashti, is deposed for disobeying him. Hadassah, a Jewess who goes by the name of Esther, is chosen ...

, authored one, and Bensusan authored seven, of the 38 volumes of the illustrated works of artists in the series Masterpieces in Colour published in 1907.

Essex

In 1900 Bensusan had a relationship with Fanny Barfoot, and a son was born to her on 14 December 1900. The boy was named Paul ernardSelby (based on Bensusan's initials), and Bensusan accepted responsibility for his education and care. In 1906, Bensusan cemented his connection with the county by acquiring a 50 acre farm near Great Easton, not far from

Easton Lodge Easton Lodge was a Victorian Gothic style stately home in Little Easton and north-west from Great Dunmow, Essex, England. Once famous for its weekend society gatherings frequented by the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII), it was one of man ...

the home of Lord and Lady Warwick. Near neighbours also included

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells"Wells, H. G."
Revised 18 May 2015. ''

Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry of William Word ...

and

R. D. Blumenfeld Ralph David Blumenfeld (pen-name R.D.B., 7 April 1864 – 17 July 1948) was an American-born journalist, writer and newspaper editor who is chiefly notable for having been in charge of the British newspaper '' Daily Express'' from 1902 to 1932. ...

(editor of the ''

Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet i ...

'') and

Gustav Holst Gustav Theodore Holst (born Gustavus Theodore von Holst; 21 September 1874 – 25 May 1934) was an English composer, arranger and teacher. Best known for his orchestral suite ''The Planets'', he composed many other works across a range ...

who lived for a time at

Thaxted Thaxted is a town and civil parish in the Uttlesford district of north-west Essex, England. The town is in the valley of the River Chelmer, not far from its source in the nearby village of Debden, and is 97 metres (318 feet) above sea level (whe ...

and developed an interest in

folksong Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

there. Bensusan was in contact, not only with these luminaries, but many others as is evident in letters to people such as

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work. ...

Adrian Bell Adrian Hanbury Bell (4 October 1901 – 5 September 1980) was an English ruralism, ruralist journalist and farmer, and the first compiler of ''The Times'' crossword. Early life Bell was born at Stretford, Lancashire, son of Robert Bell (1865 ...

Sidney Olivier Captain Sidney Richard Olivier CMG (1 March 1870 – 21 January 1932) was an English cricketer. Olivier's batting style is unknown, though it is known he fielded as a wicket-keeper. He was born at Wilton, Wiltshire. Naval career Olivier wa ...

and others who had an interest in land use, agriculture and country issues. In 1909 he married Marian Lallah Prichard.(born 23 Apr 1883), nicknaming her "The Local Authority". They had no children. Being close to the Essex home of the Countess of Warwick, the Bensusans were part of the social scene associated with that lady including the theatrical, agrarian and horticultural interests she also had in common with Bensusan. Bensusan was said to be the ghost writer of some of the Countess's books. He was to write at least 25 books on agricultural matters and was briefly employed in the press department of the

Board of Agriculture The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) was a United Kingdom government department created by the Board of Agriculture Act 1889 (52 & 53 Vict. c.30) and at that time called the Board of Agriculture, and then from 1903 the Board ...

between 1919 and 1921. In the 1930s he and his wife lived at "Godfrey's", a gamekeeper's cottage at Langham, near Colchester. Bensusan developed an interest in recording the local East Anglian dialects and incorporated such diction in some of the plays and novels he wrote, for example, ''Joan Winter'' (1933), ''Right Forward Folk'' (1949) and ''Marshland Voices'' (1955).

Later years

Bensusan died in

St Leonards-on-Sea St Leonards-on-Sea (commonly known as St Leonards) is a town and seaside resort in the Borough of Hastings in East Sussex, England. It has been part of the borough since the late 19th century and lies to the west of central Hastings. The origina ...

astingsin 1958, after a long illness; Marian survived him by six years.

Publications

The OCLC World Catalogue lists almost 200 titles authored by Bensusan a sample of titles available to view online include: * ''Morocco'', 1904 * ''Charles Lamb: His homes and haunts'', 1910 * ''Tintoretto'', 1907 * ''William Shakespeare: His homes and haunts'', 1912

References

External links

* Bensusan's entry at ''

Who's Who ''Who's Who'' (or ''Who is Who'') is the title of a number of reference publications, generally containing concise biography, biographical information on the prominent people of a country. The title has been adopted as an expression meaning a gr ...

'' * Bensusan's entry at ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Bensusan, Samuel L 1872 births 1958 deaths People from Dulwich People educated at the City of London School 19th-century English novelists 20th-century English novelists English male journalists English Jews 20th-century English dramatists and playwrights 19th-century English dramatists and playwrights 19th-century English male writers 20th-century English male writers English journalists