Joseph Peter de Fonseka (1897–1948) was a Sri Lankan essayist and editor. His essays were noted for their trenchant humour and defence of

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

values, in the style of G. K. Chesterton and

Hilaire Belloc Joseph Hilaire Pierre René Belloc (, ; 27 July 187016 July 1953) was a Franco-English writer and historian of the early twentieth century. Belloc was also an orator, poet, sailor, satirist, writer of letters, soldier, and political activist. H ...

. He was a friend and collaborator of the former. Fonseka worked as a teacher of English in St. Joseph's Catholic College, Ceylon (as Sri Lanka was then known), a school he had attended as a youth, when he captained the cricket team. He trained as a lawyer, but did not practice, preferring to teach and write.

Chesterton

In 1927 Fonseka moved to Britain, becoming a close friend of G. K. Chesterton. Fonseka edited the book ''G. K. C. as M. C.'', a collection of Chesterton's introductory essays to books by other authors.Edmund J. Cooray, "The Genius of Gilbert Keith Chesterton, A Review of "G. K. C. as M. C." edited by J. P. de Fonseka, ''Blue and White'' 1948. Chesterton paid tribute to Fonseka, whose "excess of enthusiasm has inspired this collection". Fonseka's own introduction was described as "running over with wit and wisdom" by one reviewer. Fonseka wrote essays on a variety of topics, including many on the culture and history of Ceylon. His essays also addressed aspects of Catholic belief and life. He occasionally published verse. He contributed regularly to Chesterton's magazine '' G. K.'s Weekly''. In one ''G. K.'s Weekly'' essay, "The Plays of Mrs. Shakespeare", he proposed that Shakespeare's wife

Anne Hathaway Anne Jacqueline Hathaway (born November 12, 1982) is an American actress. The recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award, she was among the world's highest-paid actresses in 2 ...

was the real author of his works.R. C. Churchill, ''Shakespeare and His Betters: A History and a Criticism of the Attempts Which Have Been Made to Prove That Shakespeare's Works Were Written by Others'', Max Reinhardt, London, 1958, p. 54 According to R. C. Churchill, Fonseka appears to present the case "that Mrs. Shakespeare wrote the plays at Stratford and her husband edited them for the stage." However, Churchill is not clear whether or not the essay is intended as "burlesque" (it contains satirical references to

Virginia Woolf Adeline Virginia Woolf (; ; 25 January 1882 28 March 1941) was an English writer, considered one of the most important modernist 20th-century authors and a pioneer in the use of stream of consciousness as a narrative device. Woolf was born i ...

's feminist booklet '' A Room of One's Own'', in which Shakespeare's sister is portrayed as an oppressed literary genius).

Later life

Fonseka returned to live in Ceylon and to work at St. Joseph's school. He also established a newspaper to promote

Distributism Distributism is an economic theory asserting that the world's productive assets should be widely owned rather than concentrated. Developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, distributism was based upon Catholic social teaching pri ...

, the Catholic economic theory espoused by Chesterton and Belloc. According to Maisie Ward and Andrew Greeley the paper had "considerable effect" in both Ceylon and India. In 1946 he was given the honorary position of "Chamberlain of Honour of the Swords and Cape" by Pope Pius XII, but was unable to leave Ceylon to officially receive the investment in Rome due to illness. He died in 1948.

Influence as a teacher

Fonseka was much praised for his inspiring teaching and dedication to his work. Among his pupils was the novelist Ambalavener Sivanandan, who recalled that Fonseka "really stimulated me...De Fonseka gave me a taste for language: English sat on my tongue, I could taste it together with the Tamil I spoke at home." He also mentored the Sri Lankan artist and advertising mogul Reggie Candappa, getting him his first work as an illustrator.Reggie Candappa: advertising life
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Notes

External links

''J. P. de Fonseka, the literary giant'' at "De Fonseka.com"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fonseka, Joseph Peter de Alumni of Saint Joseph's College, Colombo 1897 births 1948 deaths Sri Lankan essayists Roman Catholic writers Sri Lankan people of Portuguese descent Sri Lankan poets Shakespeare authorship theorists Sri Lankan Roman Catholics 20th-century essayists Distributism