William Money Hardinge (1854-1916) was an English poet and author. The son of Dr Henry Hardinge of London, William received his education at

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

and

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. During his time at Balliol, he gained a reputation as a romantic homosexual and aesthete, acquiring the nickname of the 'Balliol Bugger'. He had a controversial relationship with the essayist

Walter Pater Walter Horatio Pater (4 August 1839 – 30 July 1894) was an English essayist, art critic and literary critic, and fiction writer, regarded as one of the great stylists. His first and most often reprinted book, ''Studies in the History of the Re ...

, for which he was sent down for nine months. In 1876, at the age of 21, he won the Newdigate Prize for his work ''Troy'' and recited his poem at the

Sheldonian Theatre Sheldonian Theatre, located in Oxford, England, was built from 1664 to 1669 after a design by Christopher Wren for the University of Oxford. The building is named after Gilbert Sheldon, chancellor of the University at the time and the project's ...

, June 21, 1876. In the 1880s he turned to writing novels with heterosexual romantic themes.

Bibliography

* ''Out of the Fog'' (1888) * ''The Willow-Garth'' (1886) * ''Eugenia: an Episode'' (1883) * ''Clifford Gray: A Romance of Modern Life'' (1881) * ''Chrysanthema: Gathered from the Greek Anthology'' (1878)

References

1854 births 1916 deaths English male poets Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford English LGBT poets English LGBT novelists English male novelists English gay writers {{UK-writer-stub