William Hobart Royce (; 20 March 1878 – 28 January 1963) was an American writer and bookseller who was an expert on Honoré de Balzac. Royce published poetry under his own name and under his

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

Willie Penmore.

Early life

Born on March 20, 1878, in Springfield, Massachusetts, Royce graduated from the Springfield High School in 1897 but did not attend college. He later said that his "only university has been the New York Public Library."

Balzac

Royce lived his life in emulation of Balzac and was the founder (1940) and president of the Balzac Society of America. In 1935, Royce was awarded the Cross of the Legion of Honor and was made an honorary citizen of Issoudun, where Balzac's '' La Rabouilleuse'' was set.

Career

Royce worked first in a bookshop in Springfield, before moving to New York where he spent twelve years with the American News Company followed by seven years at Max Harzof's Lexington Book Shop. According to Harzof, Royce's "main virtue was that he could be implicitly trusted with bags of uncounted gold". Randall, David A. (1969) ''Dukedom Large Enough''. New York: Random House, p. 20. In 1917 Royce joined the

Gabriel Wells Gabriel Wells (January 24, 1861 – November 6, 1946) was a noted bookseller, historian and author. He was one of the most important antiquarian booksellers in America and Britain in the first half of the twentieth century. He was president of the ...

bookselling firm where he stayed for over 30 years. In Wells, Royce met someone with a fascination with Balzac as great as his own and the shop became a centre for the sale of all types of Balzaciana. It was Wells who prevented Balzac's house at

Passy Passy () is an area of Paris, France, located in the 16th arrondissement, on the Right Bank. It is home to many of the city's wealthiest residents. Passy was a commune on the outskirts of Paris. In 1658, hot springs were discovered around whic ...

from destruction.

Family

Royce married Eda Maria Wallin in 1908. They had two daughters, Eva Allen Qoyce and Abbie Anna Royce.

Papers

Royce's papers, including those of the Balzac Society of America, are in the library of

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

.William Hobart Royce Papers.
Syracuse University. Retrieved 25 August 2014.

Selected publications

;Balzac *''Balzac, Immortal''. 1926. *''A Balzac Bibliography''. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1929. *''Indexes to A Balzac Bibliography''. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1930. *''Balzac as he should be read.'' 1946. ;Poetry *''Remember Pearl Harbor!'' n.d. *''The Bookman's Lament.'' n.d. *''Balzac was Right, A Sonnet Sequence''. New York, A. Giraldi, 1943.

References

External links

William Hobart Royce Papers
at

1878 births 1963 deaths American booksellers Writers from Springfield, Massachusetts American male poets Recipients of the Legion of Honour Honoré de Balzac 19th-century American poets 20th-century American poets 20th-century American male writers {{US-poet-1870s-stub