William Alexander Gerhardie OBE FRSL (21 November 1895 – 15 July 1977) was an Anglo-Russian novelist and playwright. His first novel, ''Futility'' (1922), drew on his experiences of fighting the Bolsheviks in pre-revolutionary Russia.

Life and career

Gerhardie (or Gerhardi – he added the "e" in later years) was born at St Petersburg,

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

, the fifth of six children of Charles Alfred Gerhardi (1864–1925), a British expatriate industrialist, and his wife Clara Annie (1869–1948), daughter of John Wadsworth. He was educated at the Sankt Annenschule and Deutsche Reformierte Kirchenschule in St Petersburg, before completing his education in England at Worcester College, Oxford.Article by Michael Holroyd. In 1915, during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he enlisted in the Royal Scots Greys and trained in England while applying for a commission as an officer. After commissioning in 1916 he was posted to the staff of the British Military Attaché at Petrograd (as his birth city was then renamed) until 1918. During that period he witnessed the development of the

1917 Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of governm ...

which ruined his father who escaped Russia to exile in England having been allowed out through being identified with the (already dead) British socialist

Keir Hardie James Keir Hardie (15 August 185626 September 1915) was a Scottish trade unionist and politician. He was a founder of the Labour Party, and served as its first parliamentary leader from 1906 to 1908. Hardie was born in Newhouse, Lanarkshire. ...

. During the

Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War or Allied Powers intervention in the Russian Civil War consisted of a series of multi-national military expeditions which began in 1918. The Allies first had the goal of helping the Czechoslovak Leg ...

following the revolution he was attached to the 3rd Battalion of the

Scots Guards The Scots Guards (SG) is one of the five Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. Its origins are as the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland. Its lineage can be traced back to 1642, although it was only placed on the E ...

and served on the British Military Mission to the White Russian forces in

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive region, geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a ...

. He was demobilised with the rank of captain in 1920, having been mentioned in despatches, appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), and awarded the Imperial Russian Order of St Stanislaus and the Czechoslovak War Cross. Gerhardie was one of the most critically acclaimed English novelists of the 1920s (

Evelyn Waugh Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires '' Decl ...

told him, "I have talent, but you have genius.")

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells"Wells, H. G."
Revised 18 May 2015. ''

Oxford University 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 th ...

and drew on his experiences in Russia fighting (or attempting to fight) the

Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

, along with his childhood experiences visiting pre-revolutionary Russia. Some say that it was the first work in English to explore fully the theme of "waiting", later made famous by Samuel Beckett in '' Waiting for Godot'', but it is probably more apt to recognize a common comic nihilism between those two figures. His next novel, ''The Polyglots'', is probably his masterpiece (although some argue for ''Doom''). Again it deals with Russia (Gerhardie was strongly influenced by the tragi-comic style of Russian writers such as Anton Chekhov, about whom he wrote a study while in college). He collaborated with

Hugh Kingsmill Hugh Kingsmill Lunn (21 November 1889 – 15 May 1949), who dropped his surname for professional purposes, was a versatile British writer and journalist. The writers Arnold Lunn and Brian Lunn were his brothers. Life Hugh Kingsmill Lunn was born ...

on the biography ''The Casanova Fable'', his friendship with Kingsmill being both a source of conflict over women and a great intellectual stimulus. In the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, Gerhardie served in the Officers Emergency Reserve and from 1942 to 1945 he worked with the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

in its European Division, where he was first editor of the "English by Radio" language programme. After that war Gerhardie's star waned, and he became unfashionable. Although he continued to write, he published no new work after 1939. After a period of poverty-stricken oblivion, he lived to see two "definitive collected works" published by Macdonald in 1947–49, revised in 1970–74 with prefaces by Michael Holroyd who consistently championed his work. He was made a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1975. After his death, an idiosyncratic study of world history between 1890 and 1940 was discovered among his papers, which was edited by Holroyd and

Robert Skidelsky Robert Jacob Alexander, Baron Skidelsky, (born 25 April 1939) is a British economic historian. He is the author of a three-volume award-winning biography of British economist John Maynard Keynes (1883–1946). Skidelsky read history at Jesus ...

and published as ''God's Fifth Column''. More recently, both Prion and New Directions Press have been reissuing his works. Gerhardie lived the last 37 years of his life in the West End of London in increasing seclusion. He died at the

Middlesex Hospital Middlesex Hospital was a teaching hospital located in the Fitzrovia area of London, England. First opened as the Middlesex Infirmary in 1745 on Windmill Street, it was moved in 1757 to Mortimer Street where it remained until it was finally clos ...

in June 1977 aged 81. After cremation his ashes were scattered in

Regent's Park Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies of high ground in north-west Inner London, administratively split between the City of Westminster and the Borough of Camden (and historically betwee ...

, at a gathering that included the writers

Olivia Manning Olivia Mary Manning (2 March 1908 – 23 July 1980) was a British novelist, poet, writer, and reviewer. Her fiction and non-fiction, frequently detailing journeys and personal odysseys, were principally set in the United Kingdom, Euro ...

and J. G. Farrell. Asked how to say his name, he told the ''

Literary Digest ''The Literary Digest'' was an influential American general interest weekly magazine published by Funk & Wagnalls. Founded by Isaac Kaufmann Funk in 1890, it eventually merged with two similar weekly magazines, ''Public Opinion'' and '' Current ...

'' it was "pronounced ''jer'' (as ''Ger'' in ''Gerald'') ''hardy'', with the accent on the ''a'': ''jer-har'dy''. This is the way I and my relatives pronounce it, though I am told it is incorrect. Philologists are of the opinion that it should be pronounced with the ''g'' as in ''Gertrude''. I believe they are right. I, however, cling to the family habit of mispronouncing it. But I do so without obstinacy. If the world made it worth my while I would side with the multitude." The contemporary British novelist William Boyd has identified Gerhardie, along with

Cyril Connolly Cyril Vernon Connolly CBE (10 September 1903 – 26 November 1974) was an English literary critic and writer. He was the editor of the influential literary magazine '' Horizon'' (1940–49) and wrote '' Enemies of Promise'' (1938), which comb ...

, as key inspirations for the central character (the writer Logan Mountstuart) in his 2002 novel ''

Any Human Heart ''Any Human Heart: The Intimate Journals of Logan Mountstuart'' is a 2002 novel by William Boyd, a British writer. It is written as a lifelong series of journals kept by the fictional character Mountstuart, a writer whose life (1906–1991) ...

''.Bookbrows

A television adaptation was released in the UK in 2010, and in the US in 2011.

Selected works

*''Futility'' (1922
2012
Cobden Sanderson *''The Polyglots'' (1925
2013
Cobden Sanderson *''Doom'' (1928) Duckworth. Also published as ''Jazz and Jasper'', ''Eva's Apples'', ''My Sinful Earth'' *''Memoirs of a Polyglot: The Autobiography of William Gerhardie'' (1931) *''The Memoirs of Satan'' (1932) with Brian Lunn *''Resurrection'' (1934) Cassell *''Of Mortal Love'' (1936), Revised and Republished by Macdonald & Co. (1970) *''My Wife's the Least of It'' (1938) Faber *''God's Fifth Column: A Biography of the Age 1890–1940'' (1981) Simon and Schuster

References

External links

William Gerhardie Collection
at the

Harry Ransom Center The Harry Ransom Center (until 1983 the Humanities Research Center) is an archive, library and museum at the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in the collection of literary and cultural artifacts from the Americas and Europe for the pur ...

Article from the Social Affairs Unit blog on Gerhardie
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gerhardie, William 1895 births 1977 deaths Alumni of Worcester College, Oxford British male dramatists and playwrights English male novelists 20th-century English novelists 20th-century British dramatists and playwrights 20th-century English male writers Recipients of the Czechoslovak War Cross Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United Kingdom

Life and career

Selected works

References

Further reading

External links