The Oxford and Cambridge Review
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Charles Granville was an English book publisher, publishing in the 1900s and early 1910s as Stephen Swift or Stephen Swift Ltd. He published two literary magazines, the ''Oxford and Cambridge Review'' and the ''Eye Witness'', which carried works by "up and coming" literary authors, and also a third, ''
Rhythm Rhythm (from Greek , ''rhythmos'', "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a " movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions". This general meaning of regular re ...
''. In October 1912 he was wanted for embezzlement and bigamy, and fled the country. He was brought back, tried, and imprisoned for bigamy. His publishing company was liquidated. Granville was dining at a London dinner party when a London magistrate (who said that he never forgot a face) asked him for a private word. The magistrate said that they were fellow guests that night, but next morning he would inform the authorities that some years earlier Granville had earlier appeared before him for bigamy, was given bail, and absconded. Granville then fled to Algiers with his secretary and a large cheque from the ''Oxford and Cambridge Review''. He was extradited for embezzlement, but subsequently charged only with bigamy, and was imprisoned although his wives were willing to give him testimonials as a good husband. The story was heard by Arthur Ransome from
Ashley Dukes Ashley Dukes (29 May 1885 – 4 May 1959) was an English playwright/dramatist, critic, theatre manager. Biography Personal life Ashley Dukes was born one of five children in 1885. He was the son of the Congregationalist clergyman, Rev. Edwin J ...
at the
Garrick Club The Garrick Club is a gentlemen's club in the heart of London founded in 1831. It is one of the oldest members' clubs in the world and, since its inception, has catered to members such as Charles Kean, Henry Irving, Herbert Beerbohm Tree, Ar ...
forty years later.


Stephen Swift Ltd

Granville published literary and general books and magazines as Stephen Swift Ltd, from offices in St John Street, London; and may have used Stephen Swift as an alias. He was described as an “expansive, munificent sort of publisher”. and as a “wealthy entrepreneur and would-be poet” with “plenty of capital .... and a knack .... for making his authors feel that they were sitting at the centre of the universe”. He published two magazines, the ''Oxford and Cambridge Review''; and the ''Eye Witness''. Works published in the ''Oxford and Cambridge Review'' included ''On Social Freedom'' by John Stuart Mill (posthumously, 1907), ''Milton and his Age'' by G. K. Chesterton (1909), ''The Machine Stops'' by
E. M. Forster Edward Morgan Forster (1 January 1879 – 7 June 1970) was an English author, best known for his novels, particularly ''A Room with a View'' (1908), ''Howards End'' (1910), and ''A Passage to India'' (1924). He also wrote numerous short stori ...
(1909), and ''Prince Roman'' by Joseph Conrad (1911). The ''Eye Witness'', later called the ''New Witness'' and then G. K.'s Weekly, was a literary and political periodical described as Catholic, radical and broadly tolerant, with a circulation of "over 100,000". It was edited by
Hilaire Belloc Joseph Hilaire Pierre René Belloc (, ; 27 July 187016 July 1953) was a Franco-English writer and historian of the early twentieth century. Belloc was also an orator, poet, sailor, satirist, writer of letters, soldier, and political activist. H ...
and
Cecil Chesterton Cecil Edward Chesterton (12 November 1879 – 6 December 1918) was an English journalist and political commentator, known particularly for his role as editor of '' The New Witness'' from 1912 to 1916, and in relation to its coverage of the Marco ...
. Belloc also wrote a series of booklets on British battles, starting with Blenheim, Malplaquet, Waterloo and Tourcoing. Other books Granville published included books by and about Henri Bergson,
Katherine Mansfield Kathleen Mansfield Murry (née Beauchamp; 14 October 1888 – 9 January 1923) was a New Zealand writer, essayist and journalist, widely considered one of the most influential and important authors of the modernist movement. Her works are celebra ...
s short story ''In a German Pension'' and various novels, books of poems and belles lettres. Arthur Ransome had left his previous publisher
Martin Secker Martin Secker (6 April 1882 – 6 April 1978), born Percy Martin Secker Klingender, was a London publisher who was responsible for producing the work of a distinguished group of literary authors, including D. H. Lawrence, Thomas Mann, Norman Doug ...
for Granville, who promised him better returns and a guaranteed and steady income. He recalled that Granville “had a magnificent way with him”. He transferred his works of the last five years, including ''
Bohemia in London ''Bohemia in London'' (1907) was Arthur Ransome's seventh published book, and his first success. The book is about literary and artistic London in the 1900s, and the area of London covered is Chelsea, Soho, and Hampstead. He had moved to London in ...
'' and literary works on
Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wid ...
and Oscar Wilde. The work on Wilde went into eight editions; it had attracted public notoriety because of an (unsuccessful) libel case by Lord Alfred Douglas, who was by now a “vexatious” “semi-professional” (and indigent) litigant. Ransome had translated ''Une Nuit au Luxembourg'' by the French Symbolist poet and novelist
Remy de Gourmont Remy de Gourmont (4 April 1858 – 27 September 1915) was a French symbolist poet, novelist, and influential critic. He was widely read in his era, and an important influence on Blaise Cendrars and Georges Bataille. The spelling ''Rémy'' de Gour ...
into English for Granville as ''A Night in the Luxembourg''. His works held by Granville represented all his work worth republishing. When he heard on 8 October (from
Cecil Chesterton Cecil Edward Chesterton (12 November 1879 – 6 December 1918) was an English journalist and political commentator, known particularly for his role as editor of '' The New Witness'' from 1912 to 1916, and in relation to its coverage of the Marco ...
) that Granville had fled and his company had gone into liquidation, Ransome went and sat in Granville's chaotic office day after day to establish his interest as a leading creditor of the bankrupt firm. He sacrificed control of some earlier works, but kept the most valuable, Poe and Wilde, which were subsequently taken over by Methuen; and a collection of essays, ''Portraits and Speculations'' which went to Macmillan.Chambers p 63


References

*''The Autobiography of Arthur Ransome'' by Arthur Ransome pp 145–150 (1976, Jonathan Cape, London) *''The Life of Arthur Ransome'' by
Hugh Brogan Denis Hugh Vercingetorix Brogan (20 March 1936 – 26 July 2019) known as Hugh Brogan, was a British historian and biographer. Early life The son of Sir Denis Brogan and Olwen Phillis Francis (Lady Brogan), OBE, archaeologist and authority on R ...
pp 77–83 (1984, Jonathan Cape, London) *''The Last Englishman'' by Roland Chambers pp 59–63 (2009, faber and faber, London) *''The Life of Katherine Mansfield'' by Anthony Alpers p151 (1980, Oxford University Press & Viking Press, New York) *


External links


Works published by Stephen Swift, from ''In a German Pension''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Granville, Charles Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown British book publishers (people) 20th-century English businesspeople