Sir Edward Montague Compton Mackenzie, (17 January 1883 – 30 November 1972) was a Scottish writer of fiction, biography, histories and a memoir, as well as a cultural commentator, raconteur and lifelong

Scottish nationalist Scottish nationalism promotes the idea that the Scottish people form a cohesive nation and national identity. Scottish nationalism began to shape from 1853 with the National Association for the Vindication of Scottish Rights, progressing into th ...

. He was one of the co-founders in 1928 of the National Party of Scotland along with Hugh MacDiarmid, R. B. Cunninghame Graham and John MacCormick. He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the G ...

in 1952.

Background

Edward Montague Compton Mackenzie was born in West Hartlepool,

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

, England, into a theatrical family of Mackenzies, many of whose members used Compton as their stage surname, starting with his English grandfather Henry Compton, a well-known

Shakespearean William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

actor of the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwa ...

. His father, Edward Compton Mackenzie, and mother, Virginia Frances Bateman, were actors and theatre company managers; his sister, Fay Compton, (whose son was Anthony Pelissier, Compton's nephew), starred in many of J. M. Barrie's plays, including ''

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythi ...

''. He was educated at St Paul's School, London, and

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the ...

, from where he graduated with a degree in Modern History.

Writing

Mackenzie is perhaps best known for two comic novels set in Scotland: '' Whisky Galore'' (1947) set in the

Hebrides The Hebrides (; gd, Innse Gall, ; non, Suðreyjar, "southern isles") are an archipelago off the west coast of the Scottish mainland. The islands fall into two main groups, based on their proximity to the mainland: the Inner and Outer Hebri ...

, and '' The Monarch of the Glen'' (1941) set in the

Scottish Highlands The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland S ...

. They were the sources of a successful

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmospher ...

and a

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

respectively. He published almost a hundred books on different subjects, including ten volumes of autobiography: ''My Life and Times'' (1963–71). He wrote history (on the Battle of Marathon and the

Battle of Salamis The Battle of Salamis ( ) was a naval battle fought between an alliance of Greek city-states under Themistocles and the Persian Empire under King Xerxes in 480 BC. It resulted in a decisive victory for the outnumbered Greeks. The battle was ...

), biography (''Mr Roosevelt'', a 1943 biography of FDR), literary criticism, satires, apologia (''Sublime Tobacco'' 1957), children's stories, poetry and so on. Of his fiction, '' The Four Winds of Love'' is sometimes considered his '' magnum opus''. He was admired by F. Scott Fitzgerald, whose first book, '' This Side of Paradise'', was written under the literary influence of Compton. ''

Sinister Street ''Sinister Street'' is a 1913–1914 novel by Compton Mackenzie. It is a kind of ''Bildungsroman'' or novel about growing up, and concerns two children, Michael Fane and his sister Stella. Both of them are born out of wedlock, something which ...

'', his lengthy 1913–14 ''

Bildungsroman In literary criticism, a ''Bildungsroman'' (, plural ''Bildungsromane'', ) is a literary genre that focuses on the psychological and moral growth of the protagonist from childhood to adulthood (coming of age), in which character change is import ...

'', influenced

George Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950), better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to totalit ...

and

Cyril Connolly Cyril Vernon Connolly CBE (10 September 1903 – 26 November 1974) was an English literary critic and writer. He was the editor of the influential literary magazine '' Horizon'' (1940–49) and wrote ''Enemies of Promise'' (1938), which comb ...

, who both read it as schoolboys.

Max Beerbohm Sir Henry Maximilian Beerbohm (24 August 1872 – 20 May 1956) was an English essayist, Parody, parodist and Caricature, caricaturist under the signature Max. He first became known in the 1890s as a dandy and a humorist. He was the drama critic ...

praised Mackenzie's writing for vividness and emotional reality. Frank Swinnerton, a literary critic, comments on Mackenzie's "detail and wealth of reference".

John Betjeman Sir John Betjeman (; 28 August 190619 May 1984) was an English poet, writer, and broadcaster. He was Poet Laureate from 1972 until his death. He was a founding member of The Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture ...

said of it, "This has always seemed to me one of the best novels of the best period in English novel writing."

Henry James Henry James ( – ) was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the ...

thought it to be the most remarkable book written by a young author in his lifetime. After his conversion to Roman Catholicism in 1914, Mackenzie explored religious themes in a trilogy of novels, ''The Altar Steps'' (1922), ''The Parson's Progress'' (1923) and ''The Heavenly Ladder'' (1924). In 1922

Robin Legge Robin Humphrey Legge (28 June 1862 - 6 April 1933) was an English music writer, the chief music critic of ''The Daily Telegraph'' between 1906 and 1931.chief music critic of ''The Daily Telegraph'', encouraged Mackenzie to write some of the earliest gramophone record reviews. In 1923 he and his brother-in-law Christopher Stone founded ''

Gramophone A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...

'', the still-influential

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" al ...

magazine. Mackenzie continued to edit the magazine until 1961. He was also the literary critic for the London-based national newspaper ''

Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper and news websitePeter Wilb"Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail: The man who hates liberal Britain", ''New Statesman'', 19 December 2013 (online version: 2 January 2014) publish ...

''. Following his time on

Capri Capri ( , ; ; ) is an island located in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrento Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples in the Campania region of Italy. The main town of Capri that is located on the island shares the name. It has be ...

, socialising with the gay exiles there, he treated the homosexuality of a politician sensitively in '' Thin Ice'' (1956). ''

The Lunatic Republic ''The Lunatic Republic'' is a 1959 comedy novel by the British writer Compton Mackenzie.Dooley p.97 It parodies the ongoing Space Race The Space Race was a 20th-century competition between two Cold War rivals, the United States and the So ...

'' (1959) is a political satire. For the version of English spoken by the inhabitants of Lunamania on the far side of the moon, Mackenzie invented over 150 new words.

''Greek Memories''

Mackenzie worked as an actor, political activist and broadcaster. He served with British Intelligence in the

Eastern Mediterranean Eastern Mediterranean is a loose definition of the eastern approximate half, or third, of the Mediterranean Sea, often defined as the countries around the Levantine Sea. It typically embraces all of that sea's coastal zones, referring to commun ...

during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, later publishing four books on his experiences. According to these books, he was commissioned in the

Royal Marines The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious warfare, amphibious light infantry and also one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighti ...

, rising to the rank of captain. His ill-health making front-line service impractical, he was assigned counter-espionage work during the Gallipoli campaign, and in 1916 built up a considerable counter-intelligence network in Athens, Greece then being neutral. He is alleged to have taken part in an attempt to assassinate the King by poison in August 1916, during which the royal palace was to be surrounded by fire to prevent him escaping. While his secret service work seems to have been valued highly by his superiors, including Sir Mansfield Smith-Cumming, his passionate political views, especially his support for the

Venizelists Venizelism ( el, Βενιζελισμός) was one of the major political movements in Greece from the 1900s until the mid-1970s. Main ideas Named after Eleftherios Venizelos, the key characteristics of Venizelism were: *Greek irredentism: T ...

, made him a controversial figure and he was expelled from

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...

following the

Noemvriana The ''Noemvriana'' ( el, Νοεμβριανά, "November Events") of , or the Greek Vespers, was a political dispute which led to an armed confrontation in Athens between the royalist government of Greece and the forces of the Allies over t ...

. In 1917, he founded the Aegean Intelligence Service, and enjoyed considerable autonomy for some months as its director. He was offered the Presidency of the Republic of Cerigo, which was briefly independent while Greece was split between Royalists and

, but declined the office. He was recalled in September 1917. Smith-Cumming considered appointing him as his deputy, but withdrew the suggestion after opposition from within his own service, and Mackenzie played no further active role in the war. In 1919, he was appointed an Officer of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(OBE), and was also honoured with the French

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleo ...

, the

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia ( Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hu ...

n Order of the White Eagle, and the Greek

Order of the Redeemer The Order of the Redeemer ( el, Τάγμα του Σωτήρος, translit=Tágma tou Sotíros), also known as the Order of the Saviour, is an order of merit of Greece. The Order of the Redeemer is the oldest and highest decoration awarded by the ...

. After the publication of his ''Greek Memories'' in 1932, he was prosecuted the following year at the Old Bailey under the

Official Secrets Act An Official Secrets Act (OSA) is legislation that provides for the protection of state secrets and official information, mainly related to national security but in unrevised form (based on the UK Official Secrets Act 1911) can include all infor ...

for quoting from supposedly secret documents. His account of the trial, vividly described, is in Octave Seven (1931–38) of his autobiography: the result was a fine of £100 and (prosecution) costs of £100. His own costs were over £1,000. Mackenzie states that a plea-bargain (described in the text as "an arrangement") had been reached with the judge prior to the trial: in exchange for his pleading guilty, he would be fined £500 with £500 costs. However

Sir Thomas Inskip Thomas Walker Hobart Inskip, 1st Viscount Caldecote, (5 March 1876 – 11 October 1947) was a British politician who served in many legal posts, culminating in serving as Lord Chancellor from 1939 until 1940. Despite legal posts dominating his ...

, then attorney general who prosecuted the case, succeeded in annoying the trial judge to such an extent that he then reduced the penalties to a token amount. Even so, the costs of his defence and the withdrawal from sale of ''Greek Memories'' left Mackenzie out of pocket and an attempt was made to ask the authorities exactly which passages in the book they objected to so it could be re-issued with the offending material removed. This approach was rebuffed. In Octave Eight, covering the years 1939–45, Mackenzie recounts that the matter was raised in Parliament and a new version of ''Greek Memories'' was eventually published in 1939. However, in spite of the withdrawal of the 1st edition a copy had already been deposited at the British MuseumThe official stamp in the book is dated 22 November 1932 (which then contained what is now the independent British Library) but was not given a general catalogue reference making it effectively impossible to access. In 1994 ''The Guardian'' newspaper published an article about this anomaly ''The muzzling of Compton Mackenzie – 62 years on''.The Guardian 8 January 1994, page 6. Available on microfiche at the British Library and via ProQuest Following this the 1932 edition was entered in the British Library's public catalogue.Shelfmark Cup.410.f.383 In 2011 Biteback published the original 1932 edition of ''Greek Memories'', including the

Secret Intelligence Service The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6 ( Military Intelligence, Section 6), is the foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom, tasked mainly with the covert overseas collection and analysis of human intellige ...

memo detailing the offending passages of the book. He was president of the Croquet Association from 1953–66. He was president of the Siamese Cat Club. He was the subject of ''

This Is Your Life This Is Your Life may refer to: Television * ''This Is Your Life'' (American franchise), an American radio and television documentary biography series hosted by Ralph Edwards * ''This Is Your Life'' (Australian TV series), the Australian versio ...

'' in 1956 when he was surprised by

Eamonn Andrews Eamonn Andrews, (19 December 1922 – 5 November 1987) was an Irish radio and television presenter, employed primarily in the United Kingdom from the 1950s to the 1980s. From 1960 to 1964 he chaired the Radio Éireann Authority (now the RTÉ A ...

at the King's Theatre,

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London ...

, London. A strong supporter of

Edward VIII Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire and Emperor of India from 20 January 1 ...

, Mackenzie was a leading member of the Octavians, a minor society that campaigned in support of Edward VIII and for his return to the UK after he became the Duke of Windsor. According to a 1938 ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and event (philosophy), events that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various me ...

'' article Mackenzie had intended to write a book in support of Edward but abandoned the plan when the Duke asked him not to publish.

Capri

Between 1913 and 1920 he lived with his wife,

Faith Faith, derived from Latin ''fides'' and Old French ''feid'', is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or In the context of religion, one can define faith as "belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion". Religious people ofte ...

, on

at Villa Solitaria, and returned to visit in later years. This Italian island near

Sorrento Sorrento (, ; nap, Surriento ; la, Surrentum) is a town overlooking the Bay of Naples in Southern Italy. A popular tourist destination, Sorrento is located on the Sorrentine Peninsula at the south-eastern terminus of the Circumvesuviana rail ...

was known to be tolerant not just of foreigners in general, but of artists and homosexuals in particular. He became friends with the writer Somerset Maugham, a frequent visitor to the island. Faith had an affair with the Italian pianist

Renata Borgatti Renata Borgatti''(March 2, 1894 – March 8, 1964) was an Italian classical musician who performed in Europe and the United States. Early life She was a daughter of the great Richard Wagner, Wagnerian tenor Giuseppe Borgatti (1871–1950), whos ...

, who was connected to

Romaine Brooks Romaine Brooks (born Beatrice Romaine Goddard; May 1, 1874 – December 7, 1970) was an American painter who worked mostly in Paris and Capri. She specialized in portrait painting, portraiture and used a subdued tonal Palette (painting), palette ...

. Compton Mackenzie's observations on the local life of the Italian islanders and foreign residents led to at least two novels, '' Vestal Fire'' (1927) and '' Extraordinary Women'' (1928). The latter, a roman à clef about a group of lesbians arriving on the island of Sirene, a fictional version of Capri, was published in Britain in the same year as two other ground-breaking novels with lesbian themes,

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 ...

's love letter to

Vita Sackville-West Victoria Mary, Lady Nicolson, Order of the Companions of Honour, CH (Birth name, née Sackville-West; 9 March 1892 – 2 June 1962), usually known as Vita Sackville-West, was an English author and garden designer. Sackville-West was a su ...

, '' Orlando'', and Radclyffe Hall's controversial polemic, ''

The Well of Loneliness ''The Well of Loneliness'' is a lesbian novel by British author Radclyffe Hall that was first published in 1928 by Jonathan Cape. It follows the life of Stephen Gordon, an Englishwoman from an upper-class family whose " sexual inversion" (homo ...

'', but Mackenzie's satire did not attract legal attention. He was a friend of

Axel Munthe Axel Martin Fredrik Munthe (31 October 1857 – 11 February 1949) was a Swedish-born medical doctor and psychiatrist, best known as the author of '' The Story of San Michele'', an autobiographical account of his life and work. He spoke several l ...

, who built

Villa San Michele The Villa San Michele was built about the end of the 19th century on the isle of Capri, Italy, by the Swedish physician and author Axel Munthe. Description The villa's gardens have panoramic views of the town of Capri and its harbour, the Sorr ...

, and Edwin Cerio, who later became mayor of Capri.

Scottish identity

GraveOfComptonMacKenzieEolaigearraidhBarra(PaddyHeron)Jun2001

Mackenzie went to great lengths to trace the steps of his ancestors back to his spiritual home in the Highlands, and displayed a deep and tenacious attachment to

Gaelic culture The Gaels ( ; ga, Na Gaeil ; gd, Na Gàidheil ; gv, Ny Gaeil ) are an ethnolinguistic group native to Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man in the British Isles. They are associated with the Goidelic languages, Gaelic languages: a branch o ...

throughout his long and very colourful life. As his biographer, Andro Linklater, commented, "Mackenzie wasn't born a Scot, and he didn't sound like a Scot. But nevertheless his imagination was truly Scottish." He was an ardent Jacobite, the third Governor-General of the Royal Stuart Society, and a co-founder of the National Party of Scotland. He became a member of the Scottish Arts Club in 1929. He was rector of

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

from 1931 to 1934, defeating Oswald Mosley, who later led the

British Union of Fascists The British Union of Fascists (BUF) was a British fascist political party formed in 1932 by Oswald Mosley. Mosley changed its name to the British Union of Fascists and National Socialists in 1936 and, in 1937, to the British Union. In 1939, f ...

, in his bid for the job. From 1920–23, Mackenzie was the Tenant of Herm and

Jethou Jethou ( ) is a small island that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey in the Channel Islands. It is privately leased from the Crown, and not open to the public. Resembling the top of a wooded knoll it is immediately south of Herm and covers a ...

. He built a house on Barra, in the Western Isles (Outer Hebrides) of Scotland, in the 1930s. On Barra, he gained inspiration and found creative solitude, and befriended a great number of people that he described as "the aristocrats of democracy". He was a founding member of the short-lived secret organisation Clann Albain.

Private life

Mackenzie was married three times. On 30 November 1905 (aged 22), he married Faith Stone in St Saviour's, Pimlico: they remained married for more than 50 years, until her death. In 1962 (aged 79), he married Christina MacSween, who died the following year. Lastly, he married his deceased wife's sister, Lilian MacSween in 1965 (aged 82). Mackenzie was a keen supporter of

West Bromwich Albion F.C. West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...

Although from the north east of England, he "was influenced in the choice of Albion as 'my' team by the fact that their ground was romantically called The Hawthorns and that they were nicknamed the Throstles". He was also a keen fan of

snooker Snooker (pronounced , ) is a cue sport played on a rectangular table covered with a green cloth called baize, with six pockets, one at each corner and one in the middle of each long side. First played by British Army officers stationed in ...

, and gave an account of the origin of the game's name in ''The Billiard Player'' magazine of 1939, describing how young lieutenant

Neville Chamberlain Arthur Neville Chamberlain (; 18 March 18699 November 1940) was a British politician of the Conservative Party who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from May 1937 to May 1940. He is best known for his foreign policy of appeaseme ...

(not the former British Prime Minister) was experimenting on the officers' mess table with the existing game of 'Black Pool' featuring 15 red balls and a black. He presented the World Championship trophy to

Joe Davis Joseph Davis (15 April 190110 July 1978) was an English professional snooker and English billiards player. He was the dominant figure in snooker from the 1920s to the 1950s, and has been credited with inventing aspects of the way the game is ...

at the 1939 Championships. After his retirement, Mackenzie sold the entire copyright in 20 of his books for a lump sum of £10,000 arguing that this was a capital receipt and not the proceeds of the business. The Court of Appeal held that this was assessable income as part of the proceeds of his business: Mackenzie v Arnold (1952) 33 TC 363. Mackenzie died on 30 November 1972, aged 89, in Edinburgh and was interred in St Barr's churchyard cemetery at Eoligarry on the Isle of Barra.

Select bibliography

A list based on Kenneth Young's ''Compton Mackenzie'', 1968:

Novels and romances

* ''The Passionate Elopement'' (1911), a revision of the play ''The Gentleman in Grey'' * ''

Carnival Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival t ...

'' (1912), an early best-seller, filmed as '' The Ballet Girl'' (1916), ''

Dance Pretty Lady ''Dance Pretty Lady'' is a 1931 British drama film directed by Anthony Asquith and starring Ann Casson, Carl Harbord, Michael Hogan, Moore Marriott and Flora Robson. It was based on the 1912 novel '' Carnival'' by Compton Mackenzie. The novel ...

'' (1932) and ''

'' (1946) * ''

'' (1914), 2 volumes, a

* '' Guy and Pauline'' (1915), a sequel to ''Sinister Street'', also published as Plashers Mead. * '' The Early Life and Adventures of Sylvia Scarlett'' (1918), a sequel to ''Sinister Street'', filmed in 1935 as ''

Sylvia Scarlett ''Sylvia Scarlett'' is a 1935 American romantic comedy film starring Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant, based on '' The Early Life and Adventures of Sylvia Scarlett'', a 1918 novel by Compton MacKenzie. Directed by George Cukor, it was notorious a ...

'' * '' Sylvia and Michael'' (1919), a sequel to ''Sylvia Scarlett'' * '' Poor Relations'' (1919) * '' The Vanity Girl'' (1920) * '' Rich Relatives'' (1921) * ''The Altar Steps'' (1922) * ''The Seven Ages of Woman'' (1923) * ''The Parson's Progress'' (1923), a sequel to ''The Altar Steps'' * ''The Heavenly Ladder'' (1924), a sequel to ''The Parson's Progress'' * ''The Old Men of the Sea'' (1924) * ''

Coral Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and se ...

'' (1925), a sequel to ''Carnival'' * ''

Fairy Gold ''Fairy Gold'' is a 1926 novel by the British writer Compton Mackenzie.Linklater p.219 A Cornish knight living on an island, who has lost his son during the First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated ...

'' (1926) * '' Rogues and Vagabonds'' (1927) * '' Vestal Fire'' (1927) * '' Extremes Meet'' (1928) * '' Extraordinary Women'' (1928) * '' The Three Couriers'' (1929) * '' April Fools'' (1930), a sequel to ''Poor Relations'' * '' Buttercups and Daisies'' (1931) * '' Our Street '' (1931) * '' Water on the Brain'' (1933), an absurdist spy novel parody * ''

The Darkening Green ''The Darkening Green'' is a 1934 novel by the British writer Compton Mackenzie Sir Edward Montague Compton Mackenzie, (17 January 1883 – 30 November 1972) was a Scottish writer of fiction, biography, histories and a memoir, as well as a ...

'' (1934) * '' Figure of Eight'' (1936) * '' The Four Winds of Love'' (6 volumes 1937–45) * '' The Red Tapeworm'' (1941) * '' The Monarch of the Glen'' (1941) * ''

Keep the Home Guard Turning ''Keep the Home Guard Turning'' is a 1943 comedy novel by the British writer Compton Mackenzie.Linklater p.295 It portrays the activities of the Home Guard Home guard is a title given to various military organizations at various times, with the ...

'' (1943) * '' Whisky Galore'' (1947), filmed in 1948 as '' Whisky Galore!'' * ''

Hunting the Fairies ''Hunting the Fairies'' is a 1949 comedy novel by the British writer Compton Mackenzie.Dooley p.118 It features some of the characters who had previously appeared in ''The Monarch of the Glen (novel), The Monarch of the Glen''. References Bibl ...

'' (1949) * '' The Rival Monster'' (1952) * ''

Ben Nevis Goes East ''Ben Nevis Goes East'' is a 1954 comedy novel by the British writer Compton Mackenzie.Dooley p.119 It features characters introduced in Mackenzie's '' The Monarch of the Glen''. Donald MacDonald of Ben Nevis and his friend Kilwhillie head to Bri ...

'' (1954) * '' Thin Ice'' (1956) * '' Rockets Galore'' (1957), a sequel, filmed in 1958 as '' Rockets Galore!'' * ''

'' (1959) * '' Mezzotint'' (1961) * '' The Stolen Soprano'' (1965) * '' Paper Lives'' (1966), a sequel to ''The Red Tapeworm''

Plays

* ''The Gentleman in Grey'' (1907) * ''Columbine'' (1920) * ''The Lost Cause'' (1931)

Verse

* ''Poems'' (1907) * ''Kensington Rhymes'' (1912)

History and biography

* ''Gallipoli Memories'' (1929) * ''First Athenian Memories'' (1931) * ''Greek Memories'' (1932), a continuation of ''First Athenian Memories'' * ''Prince Charlie'' (1932), biography * ''Marathon and Salamis'' (1934), history * ''Prince Charlie and His Ladies'' (1934), history * ''Catholicism and Scotland'' (1934), history * ''The Book of Barra'' (1936), (with J.L. Campbell) * ''Pericles'' (1937), history * ''The Windsor Tapestry'' Being a study of the life, heritage and abdication of HRH The Duke of Windsor (1938) * ''Aegean Memories'' (1940) * ''Calvary'' (with F.C. Mackenzie) (1942) * ''Wind of Freedom: The history of the invasion of Greece by the

Axis powers The Axis powers, ; it, Potenze dell'Asse ; ja, 枢軸国 ''Sūjikukoku'', group=nb originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis, was a military coalition that initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were ...

, 1940–1941'' (1943) * ''Mr Roosevelt'' (1943), biography * ''Brockhouse'' (1944), history * ''Dr Benes'' (1946), biography * ''The Vital Flame'' (1946) (on the gas industry) * ''All over the Place'' (1949), diary * ''Eastern Epic'', an account of the part played by the Indian Army in the Second World War, Vol. I (1951) * ''I Took a Journey ... A tour of the National Trust Properties'' (1951) * ''The House of Coalport 1750–1950'' (1951), history * ''The Queen's House. A history of Buckingham Palace'' (1953), history * ''Realms of Silver. One Hundred Years of Banking in the East'' (1954), a history of the Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China. * ''The Savoy of London'' (1953), history * ''My Record of Music'' (1955), musical autobiography * ''Sublime Tobacco'' (1957) * ''Cats' Company'' (1960) with photos by Harrison Marks * ''Greece in My Life'' (1960), essays * ''Catmint'' (1961), imaginary conversations * ''Look at Cats'' (1964) * ''Little Cat Lost'' (1965)

Essays and criticism

* ''Gramophone Nights'' (1923), (with Archibald Marshall) * ''Unconsidered Trifles'' (1932), collected essays. * ''Literature in My Time'' (1933), criticism * ''Reaped and Bound'' (1933), collected essays * ''A Musical Chair'' (1939), essays * ''Echoes'' (1954), broadcast talks * ''On Moral Courage'' (1962)

Children's stories

* ''Santa Claus in Summer'' (1924) * ''Told'' (1930), tales and verses * ''The Stairs That Kept Going Down'' (1967) * ''The Strongest Man on Earth'' (1967), mythology for young people

Autobiography

* ''My Life and Times'' in ten volumes each covering eight years, published as "Octave One" to "Octave Ten"(1963–1971)

Biographies of Compton Mackenzie

* Linklater, Andro ''Compton Mackenzie: A Life'' The Hogarth Press (1992, London) * Mackenzie, Lady Faith Compton ''More than I should'', Collins (1940)

Filmography

References

External links

* * * * * *
Glossary of words invented for The Lunatic Republic
* Compton Mackenzie Papers. General Collection, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. {{DEFAULTSORT:Mackenzie, Compton 1883 births 1972 deaths People educated at Colet Court People educated at St Paul's School, London Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford Scottish autobiographers British comedy writers People from West Hartlepool British publishers (people) 20th-century Scottish male actors Scottish National Party politicians Scottish novelists Scottish spies Anglo-Scots Tenants of Herm Officers of the Order of the British Empire Knights Bachelor Rectors of the University of Glasgow Converts to Roman Catholicism Scottish Renaissance Scottish croquet players 20th-century Scottish novelists Scottish male novelists 20th-century British male writers 20th-century British businesspeople Military personnel from County Durham Royal Marines personnel of World War I Royal Marines officers