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Hubert Crackanthorpe

Hubert Crackanthorpe
Picture of Hubert Crackanthorpe.jpg
Born Hubert Montague Crackanthorpe
(1870-05-12)12 May 1870
London, England
Died 1896
Seine, France
Occupation Novelist, short story writer
Nationality British
Genre Naturalism

Signature

Hubert Montague Crackanthorpe born (12 May 1870 – c. November 1896) was a Victorian British writer who created works mainly in the genres of the essay, short story, and novella. He also wrote limited amounts of literary criticism. After dying early and under mysterious circumstances, his name is now little known and has all but vanished from conventional literary biographies of the period. Crackanthorpe is usually associated with the literary movement of naturalism. His literary legacy consists largely of three volumes of short stories he managed to publish during his lifetime; contemporary opinions of his talent as a writer varied widely, though one of his works was published with an appreciation by none other than Henry James.

Crackanthorpe was born to Montague Hughes Cookson, later Crackanthorpe (1832–1913), and his wife, Blanche Althea Elizabeth, née Holt (d. 1928). Montague Cookson took the name Crackanthorpe by Royal Licence in 1888 on inheriting the Crackanthorpe estate through his grandmother Dorothy Crackanthorpe who was also the grandmother of William and Dorothy Wordsworth.

In 1893 Hubert Crackanthorpe married Leila Macdonald, another writer. The couple shared a literary life in Chelsea and France and travelled together from France to Italy, reaching the Amalfi Coast (Salerno) but the journey ended with a litigation. Leila was financially prosperous and soon came into a large inheritance. However, the temperamental Crackanthorpes were ill-suited for the institution of marriage, and they separated in 1896 though they were again living together in Paris at the time of Crackanthorpe's death.

Crackanthorpe began his literary career as editor, with W. H. Wilkins, of a periodical entitled The Albemarle. Over the years, Crackanthorpe has been associated with another avant-garde literary magazine, The Yellow Book; Some of the pieces Crackanthorpe published in the Yellow Book were collected in Sentimental Studies and a Set of Village Tales (1895). After its publication, Crackanthorpe continued to publish short stories in various periodicals.

Crackanthorpe's literary technique is reminiscent of his contemporary, Guy de Maupassant. They both shared a passion for detailed psychological portraits. Crackanthorpe had a talent for describing scenes in a style rich with substance and texture. To create an additional layer of realism, some of Crackanthorpe's characters speak in rural British dialects.


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