Justin Huntly McCarthy (1859 – 20 March 1936) was an Irish writer, historian, and

nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

politician. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1884 to 1892, taking his seat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. He was the son of Justin McCarthy (1830–1912). Since both father and son were writers, historians, and Members of Parliament, they are sometimes confused in lists and compilations.

Political career

McCarthy was first elected to

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

at a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

on 12 June 1884, when he was returned unopposed as the

Home Rule League The Home Rule League (1873–1882), sometimes called the Home Rule Party, was an Irish political party which campaigned for home rule for Ireland within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, until it was replaced by the Irish Parliam ...

member for

Athlone Athlone (; ) is a town on the border of County Roscommon and County Westmeath, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located on the River Shannon near the southern shore of Lough Ree. It is the second most populous town in the Midland Region, Ir ...

, following the death of the Liberal MP Sir John James Ennis. Athlone lost its status as a

parliamentary borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

under the

Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 (48 & 49 Vict. c. 23) was an Act of Parliament (United Kingdom), act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (sometimes called the "Reform Act of 1885"). It was a piece of electoral reform legislation that r ...

, and at the 1885 general election McCarthy stood instead in the borough of Newry in

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 552,261. It borders County Antrim to the ...

, where he was returned unopposed for the

Irish Parliamentary Party The Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP; commonly called the Irish Party or the Home Rule Party) was formed in 1874 by Isaac Butt, the leader of the Nationalist Party, replacing the Home Rule League, as official parliamentary party for Irish nati ...

. He was re-elected in

1886 Events January * January 1 – Upper Burma is formally annexed to British rule in Burma, British Burma, following its conquest in the Third Anglo-Burmese War of November 1885. * January 5–January 9, 9 – Robert Louis Stevenson ...

, with a comfortable majority over the Liberal Unionist Reginald Saunders, but did not contest the 1892 election.

Writing

McCarthy wrote various novels, plays, poetical pieces and short histories. He was briefly married to the actress Cissie Loftus. They married in Edinburgh in 1894, and though they divorced in 1899, she originated the role of Katherine de Vaucelles, the heroine in ''If I Were King'' in 1901. Among other works, he wrote biographies of Sir

Robert Peel Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet (5 February 1788 – 2 July 1850), was a British Conservative statesman who twice was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1834–1835, 1841–1846), and simultaneously was Chancellor of the Exchequer (1834–183 ...

(1891),

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII (; born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2March 181020July 1903) was head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 until his death in July 1903. He had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those of Peter the Ap ...

(1896) and

William Ewart Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party. In a career lasting over 60 years, he ...

(1898). In 1889 he published prose translations of 466 quatrains of the ''

Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam ''Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám'' is the title that Edward FitzGerald (poet), Edward FitzGerald gave to his 1859 translation from Persian language, Persian to English of a selection of quatrains (') attributed to Omar Khayyam (1048–1131), dub ...

''. He also wrote: In 1893, he translated some Gazels from Divan of Hafiz, the 14th century Persian poet, which was published in a 152-page volume by David Nutt. 1000 copies were made, 800 for England and 200 for America. *'' Serapion and Other Poems'' (1883) *'' Outline of Irish History'' (1883) *'' England under Gladstone, 1880-1885'', 2nd ed. (1885) *''Doom'' (1886) *'' Our Sensation Novel'' (1886) *''Hafiz in London'' (1886) *''Lady Burton's Edition of Her Husband's Arabian Nights Translated Literally from the Arabic'' (1886-1888); Prepared for Household Reading by Justin Huntly McCarthy, MD; 6 vols.; London: Waterlow & Sons, Limited, London Wall. *'' The Case for Home Rule'' (1887) *'' Camiola, a Girl with a Fortune'' (1888) *''An outline of Irish history: from the earliest times to the present day'' (1890) *''Lily Lass'' (1890) *'' The Fate of Fenella: A Novel'', co-written in 1892. * Divan of Hafiz, ''Gazels'', translated by J H McCarthy London: D.Nutt (1893) *''Modern England'' (1898) *

Michel de Montaigne Michel Eyquem, Seigneur de Montaigne ( ; ; ; 28 February 1533 – 13 September 1592), commonly known as Michel de Montaigne, was one of the most significant philosophers of the French Renaissance. He is known for popularising the the essay ...

, '' Essayes of Montaigne'' (1899) Justin Huntly McCarthy Editor *''Cissie Loftus: An Appreciation'' (1899) *''Reminiscences'' (2 vols., 1899) *''A Short History of the United States'' (1899) *''A Woman of Impulse'' (1899) was made into a film in 1918 '' Woman of Impulse'' *''The French Revolution,'' (1890 Vols 1,2 & 1897 Vols 3,4) *''A History of the Four Georges (and of William IV)'' (1901) with Justin McCarthy *''If I Were King'' (1901) Garden Theatre (New York), (1902)

St James's Theatre The St James's Theatre was in King Street, St James's, King Street, St James's, London. It opened in 1835 and was demolished in 1957. The theatre was conceived by and built for a popular singer, John Braham (tenor), John Braham; it lost mone ...

(London)), which was named "Best Play of the 1901–02 Broadway Season", and was adapted into the 1925 operetta '' The Vagabond King'', its '' 1930 film version'', its '' 1956 film version'', and the 1938 film ''

If I Were King ''If I Were King'' is a 1938 American biographical and historical film starring Ronald Colman as medieval poet François Villon, and featuring Basil Rathbone and Frances Dee. It is based on the 1901 play and novel, both of the same name, by ...

''. *'' The Reign of Queen Anne'' (1902) *''Marjorie'' (1903) *''The Proud Prince'' (1903), the play opened at The Lyceum, Broadway, NY on 2 Nov 1903. *''The lady of Loyalty house'' (1904) *''The Dryad'' (1905) *''The flower of France'' (1906) *''The illustrious O'Hagan'' (1906) *''Needles and Pins'' (1907) *''Seraphica: A Romance'' (1907) *''The Duke's Motto: A Melodrama'' (1908) *''The god of love'' (1909) *''The gorgeous Borgia: a romance'' (1909) *''The O'Flynn: A Novel'' (1910) *''The king over the water: or, The marriage of Mr. Melancholy'' (1911) *''A health unto His Majesty'' (1912) *''Calling the Tune'' (1913) it was made into a musical film in 1936, '' Calling the Tune''. *''Fool of April'' (1914) *'' The Glorious Rascal (Pretty Maids All in a Row)'' (1915) *'' Nurse Benson'' (1919) *'' Henry Elizabeth'' (1920) *'' The Golden Shoe'' (1921) see internet catalogue for details
Justin Huntly McCarthy
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Family life

McCarthy married musical artist Cecilia Loftus in 1893 in Edinburgh, Scotland, but the marriage did not last long and was dissolved in 1899. He married again in 1908 to Loullie Killick. McCarthy died at his home in Putney on 20 March 1936."Deaths." Times ondon, England23 Mar. 1936: 1. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 31 May 2015.

References

;Secondary Sources * * * * *

External links

* Repository for ''Rubaiyat'' of Omar Khaiyyam
Trinity College Dublin Library
* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:McCarthy, Justin Huntly Irish non-fiction writers Irish male non-fiction writers Irish Parliamentary Party MPs Home Rule League MPs Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Athlone Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Newry (1801–1918) UK MPs 1880–1885 UK MPs 1885–1886 UK MPs 1886–1892 Translators of Omar Khayyám 1859 births 1936 deaths