William Leonard Courtney (1850 – 1 November 1928) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

author, philosopher and journalist whose 38-year career encompassed work on the ''

Daily Telegraph Daily or The Daily may refer to: Journalism * Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks * ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times'' * ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...

'' and ''

Fortnightly Review ''The Fortnightly Review'' was one of the most prominent and influential magazines in nineteenth-century England. It was founded in 1865 by Anthony Trollope, Frederic Harrison, Edward Spencer Beesly, and six others with an investment of £9,000; ...

''.

Early life and education

Courtney was born at Poona, India, the youngest of three sons and three daughters born to William Courtney, of the Indian Civil Service, and Ann Edwardes, daughter of Captain Edward Scott, RN. He was educated at

Merton College Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, ch ...

, Oxford, where he was a contemporary of

F H Bradley Francis Herbert Bradley (30 January 1846 – 18 September 1924) was a British idealist philosopher. His most important work was ''Appearance and Reality'' (1893). Life Bradley was born at Clapham, Surrey, England (now part of the Grea ...

.Matheson, PE. 'Courtney, William Leonard', in the ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''
/ref>

Career

In 1873, he became headmaster of Somersetshire College,

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

. Returning to New Oxford in 1876 he became a tutor in philosophy at New College, where his essays on

Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...

gained attention. Philosophical studies such as ''The Metaphysics of John Stuart Mill'' (1879), ''Studies in Philosophy'' (1882), and ''Constructive Ethics'' (1886) were written during this period. With Benjamin Jowett he helped with the foundation of the New Theatre.Obituary, ''The Times'', 2 November, 1928 In 1890 Courtney joined the ''Daily Telegraph'', beginning a 38 year career on

Fleet Street Fleet Street is a major street mostly in the City of London. It runs west to east from Temple Bar at the boundary with the City of Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the London Wall and the River Fleet from which the street was na ...

, writing general articles as well as drama and literary criticism. From 1894 he became editor of the ''Fortnightly Review''. Books during this time included ''The Feminine Note in Fiction'' (1904). His plays were not commercially successful.

Personal life

In 1874, he married Cordelia Blanche Place; they later had seven children. Cordelia died in 1907. In 1911, William married Janet Elizabeth Hogarth (

Janet E. Courtney Janet Elizabeth Courtney (born Barton-upon-Humber, 27 November 1865; died London, 24 September 1954) was an English scholar, writer and feminist. Early life She was a daughter of the Revd George Hogarth and Jane Elizabeth Uppleby; sister of the ...

). Janet (27 November 1865 - 24 September 1954), who was born in Barton-on-Humber, was a scholar, writer, and early feminist. A grandson, through his son Geoffrey Stuart Courtney, a diplomat and soldier, was the actor Nicholas Courtney.

Works

*''Studies on Philosophy'' (1882) *''Constructive Ethics'' (1886) *''Studies New and Old'' (1888) *''Life of

John Stuart Mill John Stuart Mill (20 May 1806 – 7 May 1873) was an English philosopher, political economist, Member of Parliament (MP) and civil servant. One of the most influential thinkers in the history of classical liberalism, he contributed widely to ...

'' (1889) * ''Kit Marlowe's Death'' (1890)
''Studies at Leisure''
(1892) *''The Idea of Tragedy'' (1900) *''The Development of

Maeterlinck Maurice Polydore Marie Bernard Maeterlinck (29 August 1862 – 6 May 1949), also known as Count (or Comte) Maeterlinck from 1932, was a Belgian playwright, poet, and essayist who was Flemish but wrote in French. He was awarded the Nobel Prize i ...

'' (1904)
''The Feminine Note in Fiction''
(1904) *''Rosemary's Letter Book'' (1909) *''In Search of Egeria'' (1911) * ''Armageddon - and After'' (1914) *''Pillars of Empire'' (1918)

References

External links

* * * English non-fiction writers 1850 births 1928 deaths English male non-fiction writers Writers from Pune {{UK-nonfiction-writer-stub