Christopher Derrick
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Christopher Hugh Derrick (12 June 1921 – 2 October 2007) was an English author, reviewer,
publisher's reader A publisher's reader or first reader is a person paid by a publisher or book sales club to read manuscripts from the slush pile In publishing, a slush pile is a set of unsolicited query letters or manuscripts that have either been directly sent ...
and lecturer. All his works are informed by wide interest in contemporary problems and a lively commitment to Catholic teaching.


Life

Christopher Derrick was born at
Hungerford Hungerford is a historic market town and civil parish in Berkshire, England, west of Newbury, east of Marlborough, northeast of Salisbury and 60 miles (97 km) west of London. The Kennet and Avon Canal passes through the town alongside the ...
, the son of the artist, illustrator and
cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and ...
Thomas Derrick Thomas Derrick was an English executioner ''c.'' 1608.A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, Francis Grose In English history, executioner was not a commonly chosen career path because of the risk of friends and families of the deceased kno ...
and his wife Margaret ( Clausen) Derrick. His elder brother was
Michael Derrick John Michael Derrick (3 January 1915 – 5 August 1961) was a leading figure in Roman Catholic journalism in mid-20th-century England. Life Derrick was the son of the cartoonist Thomas Derrick, and older brother of the writer Christoph ...
, both were educated at
Douai School Douai School was a public (independent) school run by the Douai Abbey Benedictine community at Woolhampton, England, until it closed in 1999. History 1615–1818 The monastic community was founded in Paris in 1615 and moved to Douai aft ...
(1934–39). Christopher Derrick attended
Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...
(1940; 1945–47), his studies being interrupted by service in the
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
during 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 opposin ...
. In 1943, he married Katharine Helen Sharratt, who graduated from Bedford College the same year. They had nine children, eight sons and a daughter. From 1953 to 1965 he was Printing Officer of the
University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...
, as well as working as a reader for
Macmillan MacMillan, Macmillan, McMillen or McMillan may refer to: People * McMillan (surname) * Clan MacMillan, a Highland Scottish clan * Harold Macmillan, British statesman and politician * James MacMillan, Scottish composer * William Duncan MacMillan ...
. Thereafter he worked independently as a literary adviser to various publishers, as a book reviewer, and as a writer and lecturer. He died on 2 October 2007 at the age of 86. His surviving literary papers have been deposited in the archive at
Douai Abbey Douai Abbey is a Benedictine Abbey at Upper Woolhampton, near Thatcham, in the English county of Berkshire, situated within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portsmouth. Monks from the monastery of St. Edmund's, in Douai, France, came to Woolhampton ...
, Berkshire.


Literary career

Most interest in Derrick has been in his memories of
G. K. Chesterton Gilbert Keith Chesterton (29 May 1874 – 14 June 1936) was an English writer, philosopher, Christian apologist, and literary and art critic. He has been referred to as the "prince of paradox". Of his writing style, ''Time'' observed: "Wh ...
, who was a friend of his father, and more especially
C. S. Lewis Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Oxford University (Magdalen College, 1925–1954) and Cambridge Univers ...
, who was Derrick's tutor at Magdalen. He was constantly being asked by Lewis's
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
admirers – such as the German
Neo-Thomist Neo-scholasticism (also known as neo-scholastic Thomism Accessed 27 March 2013 or neo-Thomism because of the great influence of the writings of Thomas Aquinas on the movement) is a revival and development of medieval scholasticism in Catholic the ...
,
Josef Pieper Josef Pieper (; 4 May 1904 – 6 November 1997) was a German Catholic philosopher and an important figure in the resurgence of interest in the thought of Thomas Aquinas in early-to-mid 20th-century philosophy. Among his most notable works are ''The ...
, two of whose works Derrick had reviewed – why Lewis himself never became a Catholic. He provided as definitive an answer as possible in his 1981 book ''C. S. Lewis and the Church of Rome''. Another friend was the economist
E. F. Schumacher Ernst Friedrich Schumacher (16 August 1911 – 4 September 1977) was a German-British statistician and economist who is best known for his proposals for human-scale, decentralised and appropriate technologies.Biography on the inner dustjacket ...
, whose interest in
Catholic social teaching Catholic social teaching, commonly abbreviated CST, is an area of Catholic doctrine concerning matters of human dignity and the common good in society. The ideas address oppression, the role of the state (polity), state, subsidiarity, social o ...
he shared. Besides working as a literary adviser to a number of British publishing houses, Derrick was also a prolific book reviewer, among other publications for ''
The Times Literary Supplement ''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp. History The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to ''The Times'' but became a separate publication i ...
'' as well as for ''
The Tablet ''The Tablet'' is a Catholic international weekly review published in London. Brendan Walsh, previously literary editor and then acting editor, was appointed editor in July 2017. History ''The Tablet'' was launched in 1840 by a Quaker convert ...
'', where his brother
Michael Derrick John Michael Derrick (3 January 1915 – 5 August 1961) was a leading figure in Roman Catholic journalism in mid-20th-century England. Life Derrick was the son of the cartoonist Thomas Derrick, and older brother of the writer Christoph ...
was the assistant editor 1938–1961. For a time he was himself the editor of '' Good Work'', the journal of the
Catholic Art Association The Catholic Art Association (CAA) was founded in 1937 by Esther Newport, Sister Esther Newport as an organization of artists, art educators and others interested in Catholic art and its philosophy. The CAA published the ''Catholic Art Quarterly'' ...
. His daily occupation as a publisher's reader and a book reviewer meant constant engagement with the emerging trends of literary culture. He drew on this in many ways, including the writing of a book of advice for aspiring novelists: ''Reader's Report on the Writing of Novels''. Most of Derrick's writings, however, draw less on such literary reminiscences than on reflection on matters of pressing public concern within and outside the
Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
in the 1960s, 70s and 80s: the environment, social relations, sexual relations, population, liturgy, ecumenism, inter-religious dialogue, education, and the current state of language and literature. One of the more successful of these books was ''Escape from Scepticism'', a work inspired by the
great books A classic is a book accepted as being exemplary or particularly noteworthy. What makes a book "classic" is a concern that has occurred to various authors ranging from Italo Calvino to Mark Twain and the related questions of "Why Read the Cl ...
programme at
Thomas Aquinas College Thomas Aquinas College is a Private Roman Catholic liberal arts college with its main campus in Ventura County, California. A second campus opened in Northfield, Massachusetts in 2018. Its education is based on the Great Books and seminar meth ...
in California.


Books by Christopher Derrick

* ''The Moral and Social Teaching of the Church''. New Library of Catholic Knowledge vol. 8. London:
Burns & Oates Burns & Oates was a British Roman Catholic publishing house which most recently existed as an imprint of Continuum. Company history It was founded by James Burns in 1835, originally as a bookseller. Burns was of Presbyterian background and he g ...
. 1964. * ''Cosmic Piety: Modern Man and the Meaning of the Universe'', edited by Christopher Derrick. New York: P. J. Kennedy & Sons, 1965. * ''Light of Revelation and Non-Christians'', edited by Christopher Derrick. Staten Island, NY: Alba House. 1965. * ''Trimming the Ark: Catholic Attitudes and the Cult of Change''. London: Hutchinson. 1969. * ''Reader's Report on the Writing of Novels: a publisher's reader examines the pitfalls facing the aspiring novelist''. London: Gollancz. 1969. * ''Honest Love and Human Life: Is the Pope Right about Contraception?''. London: Hutchinson. 1969. * ''The Delicate Creation: Towards a Theology of the Environment''. London: Tom Stacey Ltd. 1972. Reviewed in ''TLS'', 29 June 1973. * ''Escape from Scepticism: Liberal Education as if Truth Mattered''. LaSalle, Ill.: Sherwood Sugden. 1977. . Reissued by Ignatius Press. 2001. * ''Joy Without a Cause: Selected Essays of Christopher Derrick''. La Salle, Ill.: Sherwood Sugden. 1979. * ''The Rule of Peace: St. Benedict and the European Future''. Still River, Mass.: St. Bede's Publications. 1980. . Reissued 2002. * ''C. S. Lewis and the Church of Rome: A Study in Proto-Ecumenism''. San Francisco:
Ignatius Press Ignatius Press is a Catholic publishing house based in San Francisco, California, US. It was founded in 1978 by Father Joseph Fessio, a Jesuit priest and former pupil of Pope Benedict XVI. Ignatius Press also produces ''Catholic World Report'', ' ...
. 1981. * ''Church Authority and Intellectual Freedom''. San Francisco: Ignatius Press. 1981. * ''Sex and Sacredness: A Catholic Homage to Venus''. San Francisco: Ignatius Press. 1982. * ''That Strange Divine Sea: Reflections on Being a Catholic''. San Francisco: Ignatius Press. 1983. * ''Too Many People? A Problem in Values''. San Francisco: Ignatius Press. 1985. * ''Words and the Word: Notes on our Catholic vocabulary''. San Francisco: Ignatius Press. 1987.


References


External links


"The Desacralization of Venus" by Christopher Derrick, from ''America'', 12 Sept. 1981





Derrick's report to the publisher Geoffrey Bles on the manuscript of an edition of C. S. Lewis's Letters


* ttp://insightscoop.typepad.com/2004/2007/10/christopher-der.html Communication of Derrick's death to Ignatius Press, his publisher since 1981, with links to bibliography and comments {{DEFAULTSORT:Derrick, Christopher 1921 births 2007 deaths 20th-century essayists Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford Converts to Roman Catholicism English essayists English people of Danish descent English Roman Catholics Military personnel from Berkshire People associated with the University of London People educated at Douai School People from Hungerford Roman Catholic writers Royal Air Force personnel of World War II