Norman Douglas
| Norman Douglas | |
|---|---|
Norman Douglas in 1935
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| Born | George Norman Douglass 8 December 1868 Thüringen, Austria-Hungary |
| Died | 7 February 1952 (aged 83) Capri, Italy |
| Resting place |
Cimitero acattolico ("Non-Roman-Catholic cemetery"), Capri 40°33′05″N 14°14′04″E / 40.5514°N 14.2345°E |
| Pen name | Normyx Pilaff Bey |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Language | English |
| Nationality | British |
| Ethnicity | Scottish-Austrian |
| Notable works |
South Wind Old Calabria Some Limericks |
| Spouse | Elizabeth Louisa Theobaldina FitzGibbon (1898–1903) |
George Norman Douglas (8 December 1868 – 7 February 1952) was a British writer, now best known for his 1917 novel South Wind. His travel books such as his 1915 Old Calabria were also appreciated for the quality of their writing.
Norman Douglas was born in Thüringen, Austria (his surname was registered at birth as Douglass). His mother was Vanda von Poellnitz. His father was John Sholto Douglas (1845–1874), manager of a cotton mill, who died in a climbing accident when Douglas was about six. He spent the first years of his life on the family estate, Villa Falkenhorst, in Thüringen.
Douglas was brought up mainly in Scotland at Tilquhillie, Deeside, his paternal home. He was educated at Yarlet Hall and Uppingham School in England, and then at a grammar school in Karlsruhe. Douglas's paternal grandfather was the 14th Laird of Tilquhillie. Douglas's maternal great-grandfather was General James Ochoncar Forbes, 17th Lord Forbes.
He started in the diplomatic service in 1894 and from then until 1896 was based in St. Petersburg, but was placed on leave following a sexual scandal. In 1897 he bought a villa (Villa Maya) in Posillipo, a maritime suburb of Naples. The next year he married a cousin Elizabeth Louisa Theobaldina FitzGibbon (their mothers were sisters, daughters of Baron Ernst von Poellnitz). They had two children, Louis Archibald (Archie) and Robert Sholto (Robin), but divorced in 1903 on grounds of Elizabeth's infidelity. Norman's first book publication, (Unprofessional Tales (1901)) was written under the pseudonym Normyx, in collaboration with Elizabeth.
He moved to Capri, spending time there (at the Villa Daphne) and in London, and became a more committed writer. Nepenthe, the fictional island setting of South Wind, is Capri in light disguise. There he was friends with the eccentric community and opium addict Baron Jacques d'Adelswärd-Fersen. In 1912–1914 he worked for The English Review. He met D. H. Lawrence through this connection. This led to a feud, after Lawrence in his 1922 novel, Aaron's Rod based a character on Douglas. In late 1916 he jumped bail in London on a charge of indecent assault on a sixteen-year-old boy, and effectively then lived in exile. He himself wrote of this in self-exculpation: 'Norman Douglas of Capri, and of Naples and Florence, was formerly of England, which he fled during the war to avoid persecution for kissing a boy and giving him some cakes and a shilling'. (The boy in fact complained to the police).
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