Ernest Rhys
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Ernest Percival Rhys ( ; 17 July 1859 – 25 May 1946) was a Welsh-English writer, best known for his role as founding editor of the
Everyman's Library Everyman's Library is a series of reprints of classic literature, primarily from the Western canon. It is currently published in hardback by Random House. It was originally an imprint of J. M. Dent (itself later a division of Weidenfeld & N ...
series of affordable classics. He wrote essays, stories, poetry, novels and plays.


Early life

Rhys was born in Islington in north
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, the son of John Rees (his spelling) and his English wife Emma Percival of Hockerill. Shortly afterwards his father set up in the wine and spirits trade, working for
Walter Gilbey Sir Walter Gilbey, 1st Baronet, (2 May 1831 – 12 November 1914) was an English wine-merchant, horse-breeder, author, and philanthropist. Early life Gilbey was born at 11, Windhill, Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire to Henry Gilbey (1789– ...
in premises in Nott Square,
Carmarthen Carmarthen (, RP: ; cy, Caerfyrddin , "Merlin's fort" or "Sea-town fort") is the county town of Carmarthenshire and a community in Wales, lying on the River Towy. north of its estuary in Carmarthen Bay. The population was 14,185 in 2011, ...
, where before marriage he had been in training for the ministry. The family was in Carmarthen for a number of years, and had a Welsh-speaking maid. In 1865 John Rees was transferred to another Gilbey shop, in
Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...
. After home education with a governess, Rhys spent two years at Bishop's Stortford Grammar School as a boarder, leaving in poor health. He then attended a Newcastle school run by a German master, acquiring some German and French. He then spent a desultory period working in his father's office. In 1876 he took up an apprenticeship as a mining engineer, or "coal viewer". Against the wishes of his father, Rhys did not apply to the University of Oxford. Rhys worked through his apprenticeship in the
Durham coalfield The Durham Coalfield is a coalfield in north-east England. It is continuous with the Northumberland Coalfield to its north. It extends from Bishop Auckland in the south to the boundary with the county of Northumberland along the River Tyne in the ...
. He passed his mining engineer examination. At this period he lived in a pit village in Lower Weardale, and wrote extensively, poetry and prose, without being published. He set up a library, a book group and a programme of lectures. He described the miners' life in his story collection ''Black Horse Pit'' (1925). On his own account, Rhys owed his first literary commission, and his interest in poetry, to Joseph Skipsey, whom he knew in Newcastle in the early 1880s. He was employed by the
Walter Scott Publishing Co. Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet of Beauclerc (17 August 1826 – ) was an English building contractor and publisher. Based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Scott began his profession as a mason, before setting up his own building firm, completing many major ...
of Newcastle. Initially he edited the works of
George Herbert George Herbert (3 April 1593 – 1 March 1633) was an English poet, orator, and priest of the Church of England. His poetry is associated with the writings of the metaphysical poets, and he is recognised as "one of the foremost British devoti ...
for its Canterbury Poets series. After that he was employed doing editorial work on its Camelot Series, of reprints and translations. Rhys later wrote that the approach was based on the mistaken idea that he was the academic
John Rhys John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...
.


Early associations

Rhys had connections to the
Fabian Society The Fabian Society is a British socialist organisation whose purpose is to advance the principles of social democracy and democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist effort in democracies, rather than by revolutionary overthrow. T ...
, and the Socialist League led by
William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was a British textile designer, poet, artist, novelist, architectural conservationist, printer, translator and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts Movement. He ...
, though he did not join the League. He was a friend of Percival Chubb (1860–1960), eventually President of the American Ethical Union. In his early life, Chubb was a disciple of Thomas Davidson, founder of the
Fellowship of the New Life The Fellowship of the New Life was a British organisation in the 19th century, most famous for a splinter group, the Fabian Society. It was founded in 1883, by the Scottish intellectual Thomas Davidson. Fellowship members included the poet Edwa ...
, and indirectly of the Fabian Society. Chubb with Rhys at the start of the 1880s mixed in these circles, and also with the Social Democratic Federation. Rhys kept up during the decade with socialists such as
Edward Carpenter Edward Carpenter (29 August 1844 – 28 June 1929) was an English utopian socialist, poet, philosopher, anthologist, an early activist for gay rightsWarren Allen Smith: ''Who's Who in Hell, A Handbook and International Directory for Human ...
. Rhys was one of a number of British socialists who visited
Walt Whitman Walter Whitman (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among ...
; it followed a postal introduction in 1885 by
William Michael Rossetti William Michael Rossetti (25 September 1829 – 5 February 1919) was an English writer and critic. Early life Born in London, Rossetti was a son of immigrant Italian scholar Gabriele Rossetti and his wife Frances Rossetti ''née'' Polidor ...
.


In London

Turning to writing in London as a profession from 1886, Rhys built up a steady reputation as a reviewer for periodicals. The American journey on which the meeting with Walt Whitman occurred is described in ''Everyman Remembers'', Rhys's autobiography. It was also the occasion of his encounter with
Edmund Clarence Stedman Edmund Clarence Stedman (October 8, 1833January 18, 1908) was an American poet, critic, essayist, banker, and scientist. Early life Edmund Clarence Stedman was born in Hartford, Connecticut, on October 8, 1833; his father, Major Edmund B ...
in New York, and dates to 1887/8. He and Stedman became correspondents. In 1890, he was sharing rooms in Hampstead with Arthur Symons. Rhys married his wife
Grace Grace may refer to: Places United States * Grace, Idaho, a city * Grace (CTA station), Chicago Transit Authority's Howard Line, Illinois * Little Goose Creek (Kentucky), location of Grace post office * Grace, Carroll County, Missouri, an uninco ...
in 1891. She began to write herself after the marriage, which produced five children. Initially they lived in a cottage on
Moel y Gamelin : ''Both Llantysilio Mountain and Maesyrchen Mountain re-direct here.'' Moel y Gamelin is a hill in Denbighshire, North Wales, to the northwest of the town of Llangollen. It is the highest summit of a range which stretches eastwards from near th ...
near
Llangollen Llangollen () is a town and community, situated on the River Dee, in Denbighshire, Wales. Its riverside location forms the edge of the Berwyn range, and the Dee Valley section of the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Bea ...
, but it proved impractical for the literary life, and they returned to London. Their first home there was in the Vale of Health area of Hampstead, having according to Rhys a literary association with
Leigh Hunt James Henry Leigh Hunt (19 October 178428 August 1859), best known as Leigh Hunt, was an English critic, essayist and poet. Hunt co-founded '' The Examiner'', a leading intellectual journal expounding radical principles. He was the centre ...
, who moved to the unsalubrious Vale in 1816. They moved on from "Hunt Cottage", but within Hampstead so-called, to a house in Hermitage Lane, now
Childs Hill Childs Hill is one of two areas at the south end of the London Borough of Barnet along with Cricklewood which straddles three boroughs. It took its name from Richard le Child, who in 1312 held a customary house and "30 acres" of its area. It is a ...
, which they named "Derwen". The Rhyses there held a form of literary ''salon''. In 1906, Rhys persuaded J. M. Dent the publisher to start out on the ambitious ''Everyman's Library'' project. When Rhys died in 1946, 983 ''Everyman'' titles had been produced.


London associations

In 1887 Rhys met
W. B. Yeats William Butler Yeats (13 June 186528 January 1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and became a pillar of the Irish liter ...
at a Sunday political gathering called by Morris; he later introduced Yeats to the duo Michael Field. It was at a garden party held by Yeats that Rhys first met Grace Little, his future wife. In February 1890 Rhys was a founder member of the
Rhymers' Club The Rhymers' Club was a group of London-based male poets, founded in 1890 by W. B. Yeats and Ernest Rhys. Originally not much more than a dining club, it produced anthologies of poetry in 1892 and 1894.''The Oxford Companion to English Literatu ...
in London. In June of that year he met the poet John Davidson at a Sunday gathering in Hampstead held by William Sharp. Davidson became a recruit to the Rhymers' Club. In its early form, the club was for "Celtic" poets. That restriction changed in January 1891, with a meeting at the base of the Century Guild of Artists in Fitzroy Street. Rhys also attended Yeats's evenings in the Woburn Buildings, St. Pancras, meeting there
Maud Gonne Maud Gonne MacBride ( ga, Maud Nic Ghoinn Bean Mhic Giolla Bhríghde; 21 December 1866 – 27 April 1953) was an English-born Irish republican revolutionary, suffragette and actress. Of Anglo-Irish descent, she was won over to Irish nationalism ...
and the young Rupert Brooke. Chapter XIX of ''Everyman Remembers'' describes an occasion at Rhys's home attended by Yeats, Davidson, Ezra Pound, Ford Madox Hueffer and D. H. Lawrence. It has been argued that this gathering, dated to 1909, must be a conflation of events, since chronology makes it implausible that Davidson and Lawrence were both there. That year, Rhys and
Ernest Radford Ernest William Radford (1857–1919) was an English poet, critic and socialist. He was a follower of William Morris, and one of the organisers in the Arts and Crafts Movement; he acted as secretary to the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society. He w ...
were 1890s figures invited to the founding meeting of the poets' club set up by F. S. Flint and
T. E. Hulme Thomas Ernest Hulme (; 16 September 1883 – 28 September 1917) was an English critic and poet who, through his writings on art, literature and politics, had a notable influence upon modernism. He was an aesthetic philosopher and the 'father ...
. The Rhyses also knew Arthur Waugh and his family, who included the authors
Alec Waugh Alexander Raban Waugh (8 July 1898 – 3 September 1981) was a British novelist, the elder brother of the better-known Evelyn Waugh, uncle of Auberon Waugh and son of Arthur Waugh, author, literary critic, and publisher. His first wife was Bar ...
and
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 ...
; Grace became a close friend of Arthur's wife Catherine. They had settled at Hillfield Road in
West Hampstead West Hampstead is an area in the London Borough of Camden in north-west London. Mainly defined by the railway stations of the same name, it is situated between Childs Hill to the north, Frognal and Hampstead to the north-east, Swiss Cottage ...
, having earlier lived off the
Finchley Road Finchley Road is a designated arterial road in north-west London, England. The Finchley Road starts in St John's Wood near central London as part of the A41; its southern half is a major dual carriageway with high traffic levels often freque ...
. Alec Waugh was Ernest Rhys's first biographer in the ''
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
''. Evelyn Waugh, on the other hand, came to dislike the Rhys style of family and literary entertainment, by 1920.


Works

*''The Great Cockney Tragedy'' (1891) *''A London Rose: and other rhymes'' (1894) poems *''The Fiddler of Carne'' (1896) prose fable, derivative of
Fiona Macleod William Sharp (12 September 1855 – 12 December 1905) was a Scottish writer, of poetry and literary biography in particular, who from 1893 wrote also as Fiona Macleod, a pseudonym kept almost secret during his lifetime. He was also an editor ...
, according to Sutherland, as was ''The Whistling Maid'' *''Welsh Ballads'' (1898) poems *''The Whistling Maid'' (1900), historical novel set in Wales *''The Man at Odds'' (1904), historical novel of smuggling on the Welsh coast *''Gwenevere: Lyric Play'' (1905) *''Lays of the Round Table'' (1905) poems *''The Masque of the Grail'' (1908) *''Enid: a lyric play written for music'' (1908) *''London: The Story of the City'' (1909) *''Lyric Poetry'' (1913) criticism *''English Fairy Tales'' (1913) with Grace Little Rhys *''The Leaf-Burners'' (1918) poems *''The Growth of Political Liberty'' (1921) *''Lost in France'' (1924) poems *''Black Horse Pit'' (1925) short story collection, worked up from pieces originally published in ''
The Nation ''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper t ...
'' and the '' Manchester Guardian'' *''Everyman Remembers'' (1931) autobiography *''Rhymes for Everyman'' (1933) poems *''Letters from Limbo'' (1936) *''Song of the Sun'' (1937) poems *''Wales England Wed'' (1940) autobiography


As editor

* with John Gwenogvryn Evans, ''The Text of the Bruts from the Red Book of Hergest'' (1890) editors *''Literary Pamphlets Chiefly Relating to Poetry from Sidney to Byron'' (1897) editor *''Lays of the Round Table and Other Lyric Romances'' (1905) editor *''Fairy Gold: A book of Old English Fairy Tales'' (1906) editor *''A Century of English Essays'' (1913) editor *''The New Golden Treasury of Songs and Lyrics'' (1914) editor *''Browning & His Poetry'' (1918) editor *''The Golden Treasury of Longer Poems'' (1921) editor *''The Growth of Political Liberty: A Source Book of English History'' (1921) editor *''The Haunters and the Haunted: Ghost Stories and Tales of the Supernatural'' (1921) editor *''31 Stories by Thirty and One Authors'' (1923) editor
Volume 8
of ''Library of World’s Best Literature Ancient and Modern'', Thirty Volumes, edited by Charles Dudley Warner, R. S. Peale and J. A. Hill, publishers, 1897, contains a rather long section (47 pages, pp. 3403–3450), devoted comprehensively to ''Celtic literature'', written by William Sharp and Rhys.


References


External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rhys, Ernest 1859 births 1946 deaths Welsh book editors Anglo-Welsh poets