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Thomas Edward Brown (5 May 183029 October 1897), commonly referred to as T. E. Brown, was a late-
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scholar, schoolmaster, poet, and theologian from the
Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...
. Having achieved a double first at
Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...
, and election as a fellow of Oriel in April 1854, Brown served first as headmaster of
The Crypt School The Crypt School is a grammar school with academy status for boys and girls located in the city of Gloucester. Founded in the 16th century, it was originally an all-boys school, but it made its sixth form co-educational in the 1980s, and moved ...
,
Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...
, then as a young master at the fledgling
Clifton College ''The spirit nourishes within'' , established = 160 years ago , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent boarding and day school , religion = Christian , president = , head_label = Head of College , head ...
, near
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(influencing, among others, poet
W. E. Henley William Ernest Henley (23 August 184911 July 1903) was an English poet, writer, critic and editor. Though he wrote several books of poetry, Henley is remembered most often for his 1875 poem " Invictus". A fixture in London literary circles, the ...
at The Crypt School. Writing throughout his teaching career, Brown developed a poetry corpus—with ''Fo'c's'le Yarns'' (1881), ''The Doctor'' (1887), ''The Manx Witch'' (1889), and ''Old John'' (1893)—of narrative poetry in
Anglo-Manx Manx English (Manks English), or Anglo-Manx (Anglo-Manks; gv, Baarle Ghaelgagh), is the historic dialect of English spoken on the Isle of Man, though today in decline. It has many borrowings from Manx, a Goidelic language, and it differs wid ...
, the historic dialect of English spoken on the Isle of Man that incorporates elements of
Manx Gaelic Manx ( or , pronounced or ), also known as Manx Gaelic, is a Gaelic language of the insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, itself a branch of the Indo-European language family. Manx is the historical language of the Manx peo ...
. It was Brown's role in creating the verse, with scholarly use of language shaping a distinct regional poetic form—featuring a fervour of patriotism and audacious and naturally pious philosophy of life unique to the islands, and interspersing pauses and irregularity of rhythm, an emotive admixture of mirth and sorrow, and a tenderness described by
Quiller-Couch Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch (; 21 November 186312 May 1944) was a British writer who published using the pseudonym Q. Although a prolific novelist, he is remembered mainly for the monumental publication '' The Oxford Book of English Verse 1 ...
as rugged—that earned him the appellation of "Manx national poet". Retiring in 1892 to focus on writing, Brown died in 1897 (age 67), while again at the rostrum during a return visit to Clifton.


Life

Brown was born on 5 May 1830 at
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, Isle of Man, the sixth of ten children born to Reverend Robert Brown and his wife, Dorothy. His elder brother became the Baptist preacher, pastor and reformer
Hugh Stowell Brown Hugh Stowell Brown (10 August 1823 – 24 February 1886) was a Manx Christian minister and renowned preacher. Hugh Stowell Brown was a preacher, pastor and social reformer in Liverpool in the nineteenth century. His public lectures and work am ...
(10 August 182324 February 1886). The family moved to Kirk Braddan when Thomas was two years old.Simpson, Selwyn George. ''Thomas Edward Brown, the Manx Poet: An Appreciation'', London, U.K.: Walter Scott Publishing, 1906, p. 6
/ref> Brown's father is described as a rather "stern, undemonstrative, evangelical preacher". As Rev. Brown was partially blind, he employed his sons in reading to him from a wide variety of works, excepting novels. Brown undertook the boy's education, assisted by the parish schoolmaster. Young Brown was a shy and timid boy; the family gardener instilled in him a love of nature, and introduced him to Scott's Waverley Novels. At the age of fifteen, Thomas went to
King William's College King William's College (nicknamed KWC or King Bill's; gv, Colleish Ree Illiam) is an independent school for pupils aged 3 to 18, located near Castletown on the Isle of Man. It is a member of the International Baccalaureate and Headmasters' and ...
in Castletown. It was at this time that he began to write poetry. Arthur Quiller-Couch writes: Brown left the Isle soon afterward, c. 1857, to accept the position of headmaster of
The Crypt School The Crypt School is a grammar school with academy status for boys and girls located in the city of Gloucester. Founded in the 16th century, it was originally an all-boys school, but it made its sixth form co-educational in the 1980s, and moved ...
, in
Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...
, where a commission had, through the hiring and other efforts, been attempting to revive the school.John Connell, 1949, ''W. E. Henley'', London: Constable, page numbers as indicated inline. Brown was viewed as brilliant and academically distinguished; while his tenure at the school was relatively brief (c. 1857–1863)—he reportedly found the burden of administration at the school intolerable—he made a profound impact in this period, including on William Ernest Henley with whom he overlapped from 1861 to 1863. Years later, after becoming a successful published poet (e.g., of ''
Invictus "Invictus" is a short poem by the Victorian era British poet William Ernest Henley (1849–1903). It was written in 1875 and published in 1888 in his first volume of poems, ''Book of Verses'', in the section ''Life and Death (Echoes)''. Backgr ...
'' and other works), Henley would recall Headmaster Brown as a "revelation" and "a man of genius ... the first I'd ever seen", and would eulogise his passing as one "singularly kind … at a moment … I needed kindness even more than I needed encouragement." Quiller-Couch continues: Hence, Brown created a distinct regional poetic form close to its native language, with scholarly use of the language, unique pacing and irregularity of rhythm, and a ruggedly tender admixture of mirth and sorrow that exhibited a fervent island patriotism and an audacious, naturally pious philosophy of life, a combination of man and art that earned him the
appellation An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication primarily used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown, although other types of food often have appellations as well. Restrictions other than geographical boun ...
of "Manx national poet".


Works


Poetry

*''Fo'c's'le Yarns''. Including the poem "Betsy Lee", First Edition, Macmillan, 1881. New Edition, Macmillan, 1889. * ''The Doctor, and Other Poems,'' contains the title poem, as well as "Kitty of the Sherragh Vane" and "The Schoolmasters".T. E. Brown, 1887, ''The Doctor, and Other Poems'', London, England:Swan Sonnenschein, Lowrey & Co., 1887, se

accessed 10 May 2015, page numbers as indicated inline.
The title poem is the source of the humorous doublet "Money is honey—my little sonny! / And a rich man's joke is allis funny!" *''The Manx Witch, and other poems'', Macmillan & Co., 1889. *''Old John: And Other Poems''. Including the poem "Indwelling" – "If thou couldst empty all thyself of self, Like to a shell dishabited, Then might He find thee on the Ocean shelf, And say—" This is not dead,"—..." *''The Collected Poems of T. E. Brown'', Macmillan & Co., 1900. * ''Poems of T. E. Brown'', 1922, a compilation of many of Brown's most important poetic works.T. E. Brown, 1922, ''Poems of T. E. Brown'', London, England: MacMillan, page numbers as indicated inline.


References and notes


Further reading

* Anon., 2015, "T E Brown – The Manx National Poet," at ''Medium'' (online), se

accessed 9 May 2015. * Neil Hultgren, 2014, ''Melodramatic Imperial Writing: From the Sepoy Rebellion to Cecil Rhodes,'' Athens, OH:Ohio University Press, pp. 5–7, 16, 24, and 93–127 ''passim,'' and corresponding notes, pp. 213–259 ''passim,'' , se

accessed 12 May 2015. * MNHL, 2007, "The Manx National Poet: Thomas Edward Brown," at ''Manx National Heritage Library'' 'Eiraght Ashoonagh Vannin'' Public Information Sheet No.10, March 2007 S: 03.07 se

accessed 9 May 2015. * Joanne Shattock, 1999, "Thomas Edward Brown 1830–97," in ''The Cambridge Bibliography of English Literature: 1800–1900,'' pp. 543f, 1989, Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, CUP, (Volume 4 of The Cambridge Bibliography of English Literature, ), se

accessed 9 May 2015. * Max Keith Sutto, 1991, ''The Drama of Storytelling in T.E. Brown's Manx Yarns,'' Newark, DE:University of Delaware Press, , se

accessed 9 May 2015. * Frederick Wilse Bateson, Ed., 1966
940 Year 940 ( CMXL) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * The tribe of the Polans begins the construction of the following fortified settlements (Gie ...
"Thomas Edward Brown (1830–1897)," in ''The Cambridge Bibliography of English Literature'', Volume 2, p. 282, Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, CUP, se

accessed 9 May 2015. * Arthur Quiller-Couch, Ed., 2015
930 Year 930 ( CMXXX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * 17 June (traditional date) – The Althing, the parliament of Iceland, is established at ...
"Thomas Edward Brown, Volumes 1830–1930," Cambridge, U.K.:Cambridge University Press, , se

accessed 9 May 2015. [Quote: "Originally published in 1930, this book contains recollections from the friends of the Manx poet and theologian Thomas Edward Brown on the occasion of the centenary of his birth. The volume includes a preface from the then Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man, Sir Claude Hill, as well as some unpublished letters written by Browne and a brief biography written by Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch."] * Brown, Theron & Hezekiah Butterworth, 1906, "Thomas E. Brown, 'Three Kings from out of the Orient'," in ''The Story of the Hymns and Tunes,'' New York, NY:American Tract Society, pp. 1555, 1616, se

an

accessed 9 May 2015. * Brown, T. E. & Irwin, Sidney Thomas, (Ed.), 1900, "Letters of Thomas Edward Brown, author of 'Fo'c'sle yarns,'" Vol. 1, Westminster:A. Constable and Co., se

accessed 9 May 2015.
Derek Winterbottom, ''T. E. Brown: his life and legacy'' (The Manx Experience, Douglas, 1997)


External links



* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Thomas Edward 1830 births 1897 deaths Manx poets Fellows of Oriel College, Oxford People educated at King William's College People from Douglas, Isle of Man Manx culture 19th-century poets 19th-century Manx writers Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford