Charles William Daniel (23 April 1871 – 15 January 1955) was an English publisher and writer who did much to disseminate

Tolstoyan The Tolstoyan movement () is a social movement based on the philosophical and religious views of Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy (1828–1910). Tolstoy's views were formed by rigorous study of the ministry of Jesus, particularly the Sermon on the ...

and

pacifist Pacifism is the opposition to war or violence. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaigner Émile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress in Glasgow in 1901. A related term is ''a ...

ideas, and ideas about food reform and

alternative medicine Alternative medicine refers to practices that aim to achieve the healing effects of conventional medicine, but that typically lack biological plausibility, testability, repeatability, or supporting evidence of effectiveness. Such practices are ...

, in the first half of the twentieth century. During the First World War he was twice prosecuted for works that he published. The first prosecution was for his own pamphlet, ''The Knock-Out Blow''; when fined he refused to pay and was imprisoned. Later he was prosecuted for publishing the controversial novel ''Despised and Rejected'' by Rose Allatini, and was again fined. The magazines that he edited and published included work by many of the advanced thinkers of the time.

Early life

Charles William Daniel was born on 23 April 1871 at 35 Kings Cross Road, London. His father, an employee of the publishing house Frederick Warne & Co., died when he was 12 years old. Young Charles had to earn his living from the age of fourteen, first as an office boy in

Hatton Garden Hatton Garden is a street and commercial zone in the Holborn district of the London Borough of Camden, abutting the narrow precinct of Saffron Hill which then abuts the City of London. It takes its name from Sir Christopher Hatton, a favourit ...

, and then in the office of an advertising agency. Eventually he became an employee of the Walter Scott publishing company in

Paternoster Row Paternoster Row is a street in the City of London that was a centre of the London publishing trade, with booksellers operating from the street. Paternoster Row was described as "almost synonymous" with the book trade. It was part of an area call ...

. The manager of the company was F. R. Henderson, who later ran the left-wing bookshop on

Charing Cross Road Charing Cross Road is a street in central London running immediately north of St Martin-in-the-Fields to St Giles Circus (the intersection with Oxford Street), which then merges into Tottenham Court Road. It leads from the north in the direc ...

popularly nicknamed ' The Bomb Shop'. This company published the works of

Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy Tolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; ,Throughout Tolstoy's whole life, his name was written as using pre-reform Russian orthography. ; ), usually referr ...

, a thinker in whom Charles was already interested. He was strongly influenced by the Tolstoyan lecturer J. C. Kenworthy, and eventually he started the Sunday discussion group that eventually became the London Tolstoyan Society. One of the visitors to these meetings was Florence Worland, whom he married some years later.

Publisher

In 1902 Charles Daniel started his own small publishing business in Cursitor Street (off

Chancery Lane Chancery Lane is a one-way street that forms part of the City of London#Boundary, western boundary of the City of London. The east side of the street is entirely within the City,Emerson,

Aristotle Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...

Socrates Socrates (; ; – 399 BC) was a Ancient Greek philosophy, Greek philosopher from Classical Athens, Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and as among the first moral philosophers of the Ethics, ethical tradition ...

Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher ('' philosophe''), writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects ...

and others. In the early 1900s the firm of C. W. Daniel began publishing magazines. One of these was at first called ''The Tolstoyan'', but later ''The Crank'', a name chosen by

Mary Everest Boole Mary Everest Boole (11 March 1832 in Wickwar, Gloucestershire – 17 May 1916 in Middlesex, England) was a self-taught mathematician who is best known as an author of Didacticism, didactic works on mathematics, such as ''Philosophy and Fun of A ...

, because, she said, quoting

Henry George Henry George (September 2, 1839 – October 29, 1897) was an American political economist, Social philosophy, social philosopher and journalist. His writing was immensely popular in 19th-century America and sparked several reform movements of ...

, 'a crank was a little thing that made revolutions'; in 1907 the magazine was renamed ''The Open Road''. Another magazine published by the Daniel company was ''The Healthy Life''. 'The Cranks' Table' was an unofficial luncheon club that met in a Bride Street vegetarian restaurant, and discussed the problems facing the world. Members included journalists from the Liberal papers the Daily News and The Star.

'A philosophical anarchist'

In 1908 Daniel opened a small bookshop in Amen Corner, off

Ludgate Hill Ludgate Hill is a street and surrounding area, on a small hill in the City of London, England. The street passes through the former site of Ludgate, a city gate that was demolished – along with a gaol attached to it – in 1760. Th ...

. In 1909 he published his book ''Instead of Socialism'', which attacked the authoritarian tendencies of socialist thinkers, and was based on the teachings of

Proudhon Pierre-Joseph Proudhon (, ; ; 1809 – 19 January 1865) was a French anarchist, socialist, philosopher, and economist who founded mutualist philosophy and is considered by many to be the "father of anarchism". He was the first person to ca ...

, and on the economic theories of

. He called himself a 'philosophical anarchist', was strictly

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the Eating, consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects as food, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slau ...

and a convinced pacifist, on Tolstoyan lines. He would never vote or serve on a jury, and was a convinced opponent of all war.

Tolstoy

Tolstoy occasionally provided articles for ''The Crank''. Charles Daniel wrote articles under the pseudonym of 'The Odd Man'; Tolstoy included some of Daniel's sayings in his anthology, ''The Circle of Reading''. Other contributors to Daniel's magazines included

Dorothy Richardson Dorothy Miller Richardson (17 May 1873 – 17 June 1957) was a British author and journalist. Author of ''Pilgrimage'', a sequence of 13 semi-autobiographical novels published between 1915 and 1967—though Richardson saw them as chapters of o ...

Cecil Chesterton Cecil Edward Chesterton (12 November 1879 – 6 December 1918) was an English journalist and political commentator, known particularly for his role as editor of '' The New Witness'' from 1912 to 1916, and in relation to its coverage of the Marco ...

G. K. Chesterton Gilbert Keith Chesterton (29 May 1874 – 14 June 1936) was an English author, philosopher, Christian apologist, journalist and magazine editor, and literary and art critic. Chesterton created the fictional priest-detective Father Brow ...

and the educational reformer

.Charles Daniel's admiration for Tolstoy was enhanced by a visit to see him at

Yasnaya Polyana Yasnaya Polyana ( rus, Я́сная Поля́на, p=ˈjasnəjə pɐˈlʲanə, ) is a writer's house museum, the former home of the writer Leo Tolstoy.#Bartlett, Bartlett, p. 25 It is southwest of Tula, Russia, Tula, Russia, and from Moscow. ...

. He was deeply impressed by the Russian genius, and after Tolstoy's death wrote an account of him that took the writer's side in the controversy about Tolstoy's marriage.

The firm of C. W. Daniel

The firm of C. W. Daniel published many books that promoted vegetarian, pacifist, Tolstoyan ideals. Most of these books were published on a subsidy basis, with the author underwriting the costs of publication, or guaranteeing to buy a set number of copies.

The First World War

During the Great War, Daniel published pacifist writings such as Theodora Wilson Wilson's ''The Last Weapon'' (1916), ''The Feet of the Young Men'' (1917) by 'Herbert Tremaine' (pseudonym of Maude Deuchar) and works by Walter Walsh, G.T. Sadler, J. Scott Duckers, whose ''Handed Over'' (1917) told of his experiences in the Army. Daniel was prosecuted twice under the Defence of the Realm Act. The first prosecution was for his own pamphlet ''The Knock-Out Blow'', an attack on Lloyd George's war policy which depicted the horrors of war, mostly by extensive quotations from ''The Great Push'' by

Patrick MacGill Patrick MacGill (24 December 1889 – 22 November 1963) was an Ireland, Irish journalist, poet and novelist, known as "The Navvy Poet" because he had worked as a navvy before he began writing. Personal life MacGill was born in Glenties, Count ...

. Daniel refused to pay a fine of £80, and was imprisoned for two months at Wormwood Scrubs. The second prosecution was for the novel ''Despised and Rejected'' by 'A. T. Fitzroy' (a pseudonym of Rose Allatini).

''Despised and Rejected''

This novel explores theme of homosexuality, and some of its characters express strongly pacifist views. The journalist James Douglas, who had previously incited prosecution for indecency of

The Rainbow ''The Rainbow'' is a novel by British author D. H. Lawrence, first published by Methuen & Co. in 1915. It follows three generations of the Brangwen family living in Nottinghamshire, focusing particularly on the individual's struggle for growt ...

D. H. Lawrence David Herbert Lawrence (11 September 1885 – 2 March 1930) was an English novelist, short story writer, poet, playwright, literary critic, travel writer, essayist, and painter. His modernist works reflect on modernity, social alienation ...

, wrote in the magazine

London Opinion ''London Opinion and Today'', often known as ''London Opinion'', was a British magazine published from 1903 until 1954, when it was merged with Pearson's ''Men Only''. It ran weekly from 26 December 1903 to 27 June 1931, and was then published mo ...

A thoroughly poisonous book, every copy of which ought to be put on the fire forthwith, is Despised and Rejected, by A. T. Fitzroy – probably a pen-name. Of its hideous immoralities the less said the better; but concerning its sympathetic presentation, in the mouths of its ‛hero' and of other characters of pacifism and conscientious objection, and of sneering at the English as compared with the Hun, this needs to be asked: What is the use of our spending hundreds of thousands of pounds on propaganda, and tens of thousands more on Censorship, while pestiferous filth like this remains unsuppressed? The book is published by C. W. Daniel, Ltd., of Graham House, Tudor Street; and I imagine that it will not be long, after the authorities have examined this literary fungus, before he is a Daniel brought to judgment.

The book was tried at the City of London court at the Mansion House, on October 10, 1918, and Daniel was fined £420 with £40 costs. Friends and supporters raised the money to pay the fine for him. After the trial, Daniel published a pamphlet defending himself against charges of immorality, and claiming that he had not realised the sexual implications of Allatini's book.

I was assured by the author that the love between the hero and his friend was analogous to that between David and Jonathan. I did not see what has since been pointed out – that certain passages are open to an immoral interpretation. Personally, I would rather that any book were burnt than that I should be party to lending support to depravity of either the homo-sexual or the contra-sexual types.

After World War I

In the twenties and thirties Daniel's firm published a wide range of the advanced thinkers of his time. These included

Søren Kierkegaard Søren Aabye Kierkegaard ( , ; ; 5 May 1813 – 11 November 1855) was a Danes, Danish theologian, philosopher, poet, social critic, and religious author who is widely considered to be the first existentialist philosopher. He wrote critical tex ...

and the psychologists

Alfred Adler Alfred Adler ( ; ; 7 February 1870 – 28 May 1937) was an Austrian medical doctor, psychotherapist, and founder of the school of individual psychology. His emphasis on the importance of feelings of belonging, relationships within the family, a ...

and

Georg Groddeck Georg Walther Groddeck (; 13 October 1866 – 10 June 1934) was a German physician and writer regarded as a pioneer of psychosomatic medicine. Early life Groddeck was born in Bad Kösen, Saxony, to a Lutheran family. His works before World War ...

, as well as a range of British high-thinkers and simple-lifers. He published plays by

and

Douglas Goldring Douglas Goldring (7 January 1887 – 9 April 1960) was an English writer and journalist.Glenn Hooper,''The Tourist's Gaze : travellers to Ireland, 1800–2000''. Cork University Press, Cork, Ireland, 2001. (pp. 171–5). Stanley J. Kunitz and ...

. A new journal, ''Focus'' (later changed to ''Purpose'') was a more general cultural magazine. Its long list of contributors includes

Henry Miller Henry Valentine Miller (December 26, 1891 – June 7, 1980) was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist. He broke with existing literary forms and developed a new type of semi-autobiographical novel that blended character study, so ...

Lawrence Durrell Lawrence George Durrell (; 27 February 1912 – 7 November 1990) was an expatriate British novelist, poet, dramatist, and travel writer. He was the eldest brother of naturalist and writer Gerald Durrell. Born in India to British colonial pa ...

John Middleton Murry John Middleton Murry (6 August 1889 – 12 March 1957) was an English writer. He was a prolific author, producing more than 60 books and thousands of essays and reviews on literature, social issues, politics, and religion during his lifetime. ...

T. S. Eliot Thomas Stearns Eliot (26 September 18884 January 1965) was a poet, essayist and playwright.Bush, Ronald. "T. S. Eliot's Life and Career", in John A Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (eds), ''American National Biography''. New York: Oxford University ...

Elizabeth Bowen Elizabeth Dorothea Cole Bowen ( ; 7 June 1899 – 22 February 1973) was an Anglo-Irish people, Anglo-Irish novelist and short story writer notable for her books about "The Big House in Ireland, the Big House" of Irish Landed gentry, landed ...

Rayner Heppenstall John Rayner Heppenstall (27 July 1911 in Lockwood, Huddersfield, Yorkshire, England – 23 May 1981 in Deal, Kent, England) was a British novelist, poet, diarist, and a BBC radio producer.John Wakeman, ''World Authors 1950-1970 : a companion vol ...

and

Dylan Thomas Dylan Marlais Thomas (27 October 1914 – 9 November 1953) was a Welsh poet and writer, whose works include the poems " Do not go gentle into that good night" and " And death shall have no dominion", as well as the "play for voices" ''Un ...

among lesser-known names. Most of the editing work of this magazine was done by Daniel's associate W. T. Symons – they seem to have shared the pseudonym "John Marlow". In the thirties, Daniel was attracted to the

Social Credit Social credit is a distributive philosophy of political economy developed in the 1920s and 1930s by C. H. Douglas. Douglas attributed economic downturns to discrepancies between the cost of goods and the compensation of the workers who made t ...

economic theories of

C. H. Douglas Major (rank), Major Clifford Hugh Douglas, Institution of Mechanical Engineers, MIMechE, Institution of Electrical Engineers, MIEE (20 January 1879 – 29 September 1952), was a British engineer, economist and pioneer of the social credit economi ...

. In 1934 the company relaunched the magazine ''Healthy Life'', dedicated to 'the release of health for the joy of living'; Daniel wrote articles promoting natural cures and food reform. During the Second World War (in which Daniel's pacifism found less public expression) his business premises and his home were both hit by bombs, and he moved the business to

Ashingdon Ashingdon is a village and civil parish in Essex, England. It is located about north of Rochford and is southeast of Chelmsford. The village lies within Rochford District and the parliamentary constituency of Rayleigh. Ashingdon has a Pari ...

, in

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

Death

Daniel died in Ashingdon, on 15 January 1955, aged 83.

The fate of his publishing house

His firm continued, by now mainly notable for publishing books in the increasingly popular, though scientifically dubious, field of

. In more recent years the firm has been taken over by

Random House Random House is an imprint and publishing group of Penguin Random House. Founded in 1927 by businessmen Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer as an imprint of Modern Library, it quickly overtook Modern Library as the parent imprint. Over the foll ...

, whose website states:

We are pleased to now be publishing the complete catalogue of CW Daniel Books. Highly respected for its broad spectrum of remedial titles including, aromatherapy, homeopathy and Bach Flower remedies, CW Daniel has made a unique contribution to Mind, Body and Spirit publishing.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Daniel, Charles 1871 births 1955 deaths Alternative medicine activists English vegetarianism activists English anarchists English pacifists Publishers (people) from London Tolstoyans 20th-century British publishers (people) 20th-century English writers