Bernard Edward Joseph Capes (30 August 1854 – 2 November 1918) was an English author.

Biography

Capes was born in London, one of eleven children: his elder sister, Harriet Capes, was a noted translator and author of more than a dozen children's books.Lamb, Hugh. "Introduction", ''The Black Reaper'', 1998 His uncle, John Moore Capes, was

President of the Oxford Union Past elected presidents of the Oxford Union are listed below, with their college and the year/term in which they served. ''Iterum'' indicates that a person was serving a second term as president (which is not possible under the current Union rule ...

while attending

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and aro ...

and published a semi-autobiographical novel. His grandfather, John Capes, had converted to

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, so Capes was brought up a Catholic, and educated at the Catholic college

Beaumont College Beaumont College was between 1861 and 1967 a Public school (UK), public school in Old Windsor, Old Windsor in Berkshire. Founded and run by the Society of Jesus, it offered a Roman Catholic public school education in rural surroundings, while l ...

. However, he rapidly 'gave this up'.Renalt Capes, son Capes was a prolific

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

author, publishing more than forty volumes – romances, mysteries, poetry, history – together with many articles for the magazines of the day. His early writing career was as a journalist, later becoming editor of the monthly magazine ''

The Theatre The Theatre was an Elizabethan playhouse in Shoreditch (in Curtain Road, part of the modern London Borough of Hackney), just outside the City of London. Built in 1576, after the Red Lion, it was the first permanent theatre built exclusiv ...

'', the most highly regarded British dramatic periodical of its time. Other magazines for which Capes wrote included '' Blackwood's'', ''

Butterfly Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

'', '' Cassell's'', ''

Cornhill Magazine ''The Cornhill Magazine'' (1860–1975) was a monthly Victorian literature, Victorian magazine and literary journal named after the street address of the founding publisher Smith, Elder & Co. at 65 Cornhill, London, Cornhill in London.Laurel ...

'', '' Hutton's Magazine'', ''

Illustrated London News ''The Illustrated London News'', founded by Herbert Ingram and first published on Saturday 14 May 1842, was the world's first illustrated weekly news magazine. The magazine was published weekly for most of its existence, switched to a less freq ...

'', '' Lippincott's'', ''

Macmillan's Magazine ''Macmillan's Magazine'' was a monthly British magazine published 1859 to 1907 by Alexander Macmillan. The magazine was a literary periodical that published fiction and non-fiction works primarily by British authors. Thomas Hughes convinced Mac ...

'', ''

Literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

'', ''

New Witness ''G.K.'s Weekly'' was a British publication founded in 1925 (with its pilot edition surfacing in late 1924) by writer G. K. Chesterton, continuing until his death in 1936. Its articles typically discussed topical cultural, political, and socio- ...

'', ''

Pall Mall Magazine ''The Pall Mall Magazine'' was a monthly British literary magazine published between 1893 and 1914. Begun by William Waldorf Astor as an offshoot of '' The Pall Mall Gazette'', the magazine included poetry, short stories, serialized fiction, a ...

'', ''

Pearson's Magazine ''Pearson's Magazine'' was a monthly periodical that first appeared in Britain in 1896. A US version began publication in 1899. It specialised in speculative literature, political discussion, often of a socialist bent, and the arts. Its contribu ...

'', '' The Idler'', '' The New Weekly'', and '' The Queen''. Capes wrote numerous

ghost stories A ghost story is any piece of fiction, or drama, that includes a ghost, or simply takes as a premise the possibility of ghosts or characters' belief in them."Ghost Stories" in Margaret Drabble (ed.), ''Oxford Companion to English Literature''. ...

, which were later rediscovered by anthologist Hugh Lamb in the 1970s. His 1899 story "The Black Reaper" features a supernatural personification of

Death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...

. Capes also wrote historical novels. ''Love Like A Gipsy'' (1901) is set during the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

. Capes' ''Bembo: A Tale of Italy'' is a novel which takes place during the reign of

Galeazzo Sforza Gian Galeazzo Sforza (20 June 1469 – 21 October 1494), also known as Giovan Galeazzo Sforza, was the sixth Duke of Milan. He was the father of Bona Maria Sforza, who later became Queen of Poland. He died in 1494 aged 25 and was succeeded by h ...

, the fifteenth-century

Duke of Milan Milan was ruled by dukes from the 13th century to 1814, after which it was incorporated into the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia by the Congress of Vienna. List of dukes of Milan House of Visconti In 1395, Gian Galeazzo Visconti was titled Duke ...

. He finally committed to writing novels full-time, taking around four months for each novel. On several occasions he had two or three novels published in the same year – and even four in 1910. His first success came in 1897, when he entered a $30,000 competition for new authors sponsored by the ''

Chicago Record The ''Chicago Record-Herald'' was a newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois from 1901 until 1914. It was the successor to the '' Chicago Morning Herald,'' the '' Chicago Times Herald'' and the ''Chicago Record''. H. H. Kohlsaat, owner of the ...

''. He was awarded second prize for ''The Mill of Silence'', published by Rand, McNally that year. The following year the ''Chicago Record'' ran the competition again, and this time Capes won it with ''The Lake of Wine'', published by Heinemann. He died in the 1918 'flu epidemic. A memorial plaque commemorating his life is in

Winchester Cathedral The Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity,Historic England. "Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity (1095509)". ''National Heritage List for England''. Retrieved 8 September 2014. Saint Peter, Saint Paul and Saint Swithun, commonly known as Winches ...

(where he worked in the years leading up to his death), affixed to the wall by the door which leads to the crypt. Capes' son Renalt Capes (1905-1983), and grandsons, also (Dr) Renalt Capes (1956-), Ian Bernard and Graham Burns, are also published authors.

Works

(Information supplied by Capes's grandson Ian Bernard Graham Burns) *''The Haunted Tower'' (as 'Bevis Cane'), Spencer Blackett, London, 1888 *''The Missing Man'' (as 'Bevis Cane'), Eglington & Co, 1889 *''The Mill of Silence'', Rand, McNally & Company, Chicago, 1897 *''The Lake of Wine'', Heinemann, 1897, 8 editions published between 1898 and 1931 and held by 23 libraries worldwide *''Adventures of the Comte de Muette'', William Blackwood and Sons, Edinburgh, 1898, 9 editions published in 1898 and held by 35 libraries worldwide *''The Mysterious Singer'', J.W. Arrowsmith, *''Our Lady of Darkness'', Wm Blackwood, 1898 *''At a Winter's Fire'', Arthur Pearson, 1899, Short Stories, 13 editions published between 1899 and 2006 and held by 173 libraries worldwide, (e-issued, 1978, by Ayer Co Publishing (USA) *''From Door to Door'', Wm Blackwood, 1900, Short Stories *''Joan Brotherhood'', C. A. Pearson, London, 1900 *''Love Like a Gypsy'', Archibald Constable & Co, Westminster, 1901 *''Plots'', Methuen & Co, London, 1902, Short Stories *''A Castle in Spain'', Smith, Elder & Co, London, 1903 *''The Secret in the Hill'', Smith, Elder & Co, London, 1903 *''The Extraordinary Confessions of Diana Please'', Methuen & Co, 1904 *''A Jay of Italy'', Methuen, 1905, 7 editions published between 1905 and 1995 and held by 22 libraries worldwide *''The Romance of Lohengrin'', Dean and Son, 1906(?) *''Bembo: A Tale of Italy'', Dutton & Co., NY, 1906, 2 editions published in 1906 and held by 33 libraries worldwide *''Loaves and Fishes'' (2nd edition 1906), 1906, Short Stories *''A Rogue's Tragedy'', Methuen & Co, London 1906 *''The Green Parrot'', Smith, Elder & Co, 1908 *''Amaranthus: A Book of Little Songs'', T. Fisher Unwin, 1908 *''The Love Story of St Bel'', 1909 *''The Great Skene Mystery'', Methuen & Co, 1909 *''Why Did He Do It?'', 1910 *''Historical Vignettes'', 1st Series, T. Fisher Unwin, 1910, 13 editions published between 1904 and 1965 in English and Czech and held by 57 libraries worldwide *''Jemmy Abercraw'', Methuen, 1910 *''The Will and the Way'', John Murray, London, 1910 *''The Will and the Way'', John Murray, London, 1910*''Gilead Balm'', T. Fisher Unwin, 1911, 4 editions published in 1911 and held by 28 libraries worldwide *''The House of Many Voices'', T. Fisher Unwin, London, 1911 *''Jessie Bazley'', Constable and Company, London, 1912 *''Historical Vignettes'', 2nd Series, Sidgwick & Jackson, 1912 *''Bag and Baggage'', Constable, 1912 *''The Pot of Basil'', Constable and Company, 1913 *''The Story of Fifine'', Constable, 1914 (re-issued 1919) *''The Fabulists'', Mills & Boon, London, 1915, Short Stories *''Moll Davis'', George Allen & Unwin, 1916 *''If Age Could'', Duckworth and Co, London, 1916 *''Where England Sets Her Feet'', 1918 *''A Fool’s Passion and Other Poems'' *''The Skeleton Key'', W. Collins Sons, London, 1919, 8 editions published between 1919 and 1929 in English and held by 30 libraries worldwide. Re-issued as ''The Mystery of the Skeleton Key'', HarperCollins, London, September 2015 *''The Black Reaper'', ed Hugh Lamb, Equation, Wellingborough, 1989, held by 25 libraries worldwide *''The Black Reaper'', ed Hugh Lamb, Ash-Tree Press, Ashcroft, British Columbia, 1998 *''Dancing Shadows'', Coachwhip Publications, Landisville, Pennsylvania, 2011 *''Twists and Turns: Tales of Mystery, Adventure, Crime, and Humor'', Coachwhip Publications, 2011

Uncollected Stories

The following stories are not included in the six short story collections:- *Wanted—A Bicycle. ''The Strand Magazine'' Vol. 17, June 1899 *Dunberry Bells. @ Papers Past New Zealand Newspapers, 26 July 1902 *As a Fly in Amber. ''The Illustrated London News'', 9 December 1905. Also @ Papers Past *The Diamond George. ''The Illustrated London News'', 14–21 July 1906. Also @ Trove Australia Newspapers *Love and the Belt. ''The London Magazine'' Vol.17, 1906. Also @ Trove *The Vanishing Cheques. ''The London Magazine'' Vol.18, 1907. First published separately 1904 London: Daily Mail *Norah's Secret. Cardiff Times, 15 February 1908. Also @ Trove *Forfeits. @ Papers Past, 9 January 1909 *The Tell-Tale Hall-Mark. @ Trove, 21 December 1912 *St. Sigebert's Chimney. @ Trove, 6 September 1913 *A Popular Success. @ Trove, 12 March 1914

Notes

References

*''The Black Reaper'', ed. Hugh Lamb, Equation, Wellingborough, 1989 *''The Black Reaper'', ed. Hugh Lamb, Ash-Tree Press, Ashcroft, British Columbia

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Capes, Bernard 1854 births 1918 deaths Deaths from the Spanish flu pandemic in the United Kingdom English male journalists 19th-century English novelists 20th-century English novelists English short story writers English horror writers British ghost story writers English historical novelists Writers of historical fiction set in the Middle Ages Writers of historical fiction set in the early modern period English male short story writers English male novelists 19th-century English short story writers 19th-century English male writers 20th-century English short story writers 20th-century English male writers