Christopher Sclater Millard
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Christopher Sclater Millard (7 November 1872 – 21 November 1927) was the author of the first bibliography of the works of
Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...
as well as several books on Wilde. Millard's bibliography was instrumental in enabling Wilde's literary executor,
Robert Baldwin Ross Robert Baldwin Ross (25 May 18695 October 1918) was a British journalist, art critic and art dealer, best known for his relationship with Oscar Wilde, to whom he was a devoted friend, lover and literary executor. A grandson of the Canadian r ...
, to establish copyright on behalf of his estate.


Early life and first imprisonment

Millard was born in
Basingstoke Basingstoke ( ) is a town in Hampshire, situated in south-central England across a valley at the source of the River Loddon on the western edge of the North Downs. It is the largest settlement in Hampshire without city status in the United King ...
,
Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...
,
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
, on 7 November 1872. He was the second son of Dr James Elwin Millard, an Anglican clergyman and Fellow of
Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and ...
, and Dora Frances Sclater. He was educated at
Bradfield College Bradfield College is a coeducational public school (independent boarding and day school) for pupils aged 13–18, in the village of Bradfield, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It is noted for its open-air Greek theatre and its trien ...
and St Mary's Basingstoke before matriculating at
Keble College, Oxford Keble College () is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its main buildings are on Parks Road, opposite the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, University Museum a ...
. At Keble Millard read theology in accordance with his father's ambition that he follow him into the Church. He became a committed Jacobite during his time at university. He moved on to Salisbury Theological College but then converted to Roman Catholicism. After graduating, Millard taught at Ladycross Preparatory School in
Bournemouth Bournemouth ( ) is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest ...
and then at his own school—a Catholic establishment in
Woodford Wells Woodford Wells is a small settlement on the edge of Epping Forest, in Woodford, East London. The area lies about north-east of Charing Cross. The name is shown in the Chapman and Andre 1777 map of Essex, and shortly after on an Ordnance Surve ...
,
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 ...
, which he left during 1904 for reasons that remain obscure. However, he continued working as a tutor first in
Wadhurst Wadhurst is a market town in East Sussex, England. It is the centre of the civil parish of Wadhurst, which also includes the hamlets of Cousley Wood and Tidebrook. Wadhurst is twinned with Aubers in France. Geography Wadhurst is situated o ...
in
Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...
and then at
Iffley Iffley is a village in a designated Conservation area (United Kingdom), conservation area in Oxfordshire, England. It lies within the boundaries of the city of Oxford, between Cowley, Oxfordshire, Cowley and the estates of Rose Hill, Oxford, Rose ...
, near Oxford. At the same time, he began writing articles on Jacobitism and developing his interest in socialism and the Labour Party. He joined the
Legitimist Jacobite League of Great Britain and Ireland The Legitimist Jacobite League of Great Britain and Ireland was a Jacobite society founded in 1891 by Herbert Vivian, Melville Henry Massue and Ruaraidh Erskine following a split from the earlier Order of the White Rose. The League was conside ...
the leading group in the
Neo-Jacobite Revival The Neo-Jacobite Revival was a political movement active during the 25 years before the First World War in the United Kingdom. The movement was monarchist, and had the specific aim of replacing British parliamentary democracy with a restored monar ...
of the 1890s. In April 1906, Millard was arrested at Iffley and charged with two counts of gross indecency under the 1885
Labouchere Amendment Labouchere or Labouchère may refer to: * Labouchere (paddle steamer) * François de Labouchère (1917–1942), French aviator * Henry Labouchere, 1st Baron Taunton (1798–1869), British politician * Henry Labouchère (1831–1912), British politi ...
to the Criminal Law Act which criminalised all sexual acts between men. He pleaded guilty to avoid a third more serious charge of sodomy, which carried a maximum penalty of ten years' penal servitude, and was sentenced to three months' imprisonment with hard labour. After his release Millard went to live with his brother, the Rev. Elwin Millard, at St Edmund's vicarage in
Forest Gate Forest Gate is a district of West Ham in the London Borough of Newham, East London, England. It is located northeast of Charing Cross. The area's name relates to its position adjacent to Wanstead Flats, the southernmost part of Epping Forest. ...
, East London and Robert Ross helped him obtain a position at ''
The Burlington Magazine ''The Burlington Magazine'' is a monthly publication that covers the fine and decorative arts of all periods. Established in 1903, it is the longest running art journal in the English language. It has been published by a charitable organisation s ...
'', edited by
More Adey William More Adey (1858 – 29 January 1942) was an English art critic, editor and aesthete. He was a co-editor of ''The Burlington Magazine'', but is perhaps best known for having been a friend and member of the inner circle of Oscar Wilde ...
and
Roger Fry Roger Eliot Fry (14 December 1866 – 9 September 1934) was an English painter and art critic, critic, and a member of the Bloomsbury Group. Establishing his reputation as a scholar of the Old Masters, he became an advocate of more recent ...
. Shortly afterwards he met Charles Scott Moncrieff, later the translator of
Proust Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust ( ; ; 10 July 1871 – 18 November 1922) was a French novelist, literary critic, and essayist who wrote the novel (in French language, French – translated in English as ''Remembrance of Things Pas ...
, then a pupil at
Winchester College Winchester College is an English Public school (United Kingdom), public school (a long-established fee-charging boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) with some provision for day school, day attendees, in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It wa ...
, who became a lifelong friend. Millard was unhappy in England and spent several months during 1907 in France, though he then returned to London where he spent the rest of his life.


Scholarship on Oscar Wilde

Around 1900, Millard began his compilation and collection of Wildeana in earnest, collaborating with Robert Ross and another scholar of Wilde's works,
Walter Edwin Ledger Walter may refer to: People and fictional characters * Walter (name), including a list of people and fictional and mythical characters with the given name or surname * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–19 ...
, and he continued to acquire material on and off from much of his life. In 1904 he travelled to Bagneux, south of Paris, with Wilde's friend and biographer
Robert Sherard Robert Harborough Sherard (3 December 1861 – 30 January 1943) was an English writer and journalist. He was a friend, and the first biographer, of Oscar Wilde, as well as being Wilde's most prolific biographer in the first half of the twentiet ...
to visit Wilde's grave there. It was, he wrote, "a pilgrimage of love when we watered with our tears the roses and lilies with which we covered the poet's grave". (Wlide's remains were later removed to
Père Lachaise Cemetery Père Lachaise Cemetery (, , formerly , ) is the largest cemetery in Paris, France, at . With more than 3.5 million visitors annually, it is the most visited necropolis in the world. Buried at Père Lachaise are many famous figures in the ...
in Paris.) In 1905, Millard published his first book, a translation of ''Prétextes'',
André Gide André Paul Guillaume Gide (; 22 November 1869 – 19 February 1951) was a French writer and author whose writings spanned a wide variety of styles and topics. He was awarded the 1947 Nobel Prize in Literature. Gide's career ranged from his begi ...
's study of Wilde, under the pseudonym Stuart Mason. In November 1907, he published the first volume of his bibliography, a comprehensive catalogue of Wilde's poetic works, with a dedication to Charles Scott Moncrieff. In 1908, Millard released ''Oscar Wilde: Art and Morality'', a defence of ''
The Picture of Dorian Gray ''The Picture of Dorian Gray'' is an 1890 philosophical fiction and Gothic fiction, Gothic horror fiction, horror novel by Irish writer Oscar Wilde. A shorter novella-length version was published in the July 1890 issue of the American period ...
''. This was followed in the same year by a privately printed bibliography of Oscar Wilde and, in 1910, by ''The Oscar Wilde Calendar'' with a "quotation from the works of Oscar Wilde for every day in the year with some unrecorded sayings selected by Stuart Mason". In early 1912, he published ''Oscar Wilde: Three Times Tried'', the first complete account of the trials which later became the basis for the 1960 film ''
The Trials of Oscar Wilde ''The Trials of Oscar Wilde'', also known as ''The Man with the Green Carnation'' and ''The Green Carnation'', is a 1960 British drama film based on the libel and subsequent criminal cases involving Oscar Wilde and the Marquess of Queensberry. I ...
'' starring
Peter Finch Frederick George Peter Ingle Finch (28 September 191614 January 1977) was an English-Australian actor of theatre, film and radio. Born in London, he emigrated to Australia at the age of ten and was raised in Sydney, where he worked in vaudevi ...
as Wilde. In July 1914, Millard's ''Bibliography of Oscar Wilde'' appeared to wide acclaim. "It is my life's work", he wrote to Walter Ledger, "and the only thing I am likely to be remembered for to my merit." Ross called it "an astonishing and ingenious compilation", claiming that in ten minutes of turning the proofs he had learned "more about Wilde's writings than Wilde himself ever knew". In 1920, Millard published his last work on Wilde—''Oscar Wilde and the Aesthetic Movement''—which dealt with the caricatures of Wilde in the music of the 1880s. Throughout his career, Millard sought to defend Wilde and to expose works incorrectly or fraudulently attributed to Wilde. In 1926 he was sued for
libel Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions ...
by Messrs. Hutchinson and Methuen publishers for a letter he had circulated among the bookselling trade claiming that Methuen had knowingly "succeeding in foisting on an unsuspecting public" a play called ''For Love of the King'' allegedly by Wilde, but according to Millard, in fact a forgery authored by Mrs. Wodehouse Pearse, also known as ''Princess Chantoon''. Although the play was agreed to be a fake, the jury found in favour of Methuen.


Private secretary to Robert Ross

In 1911, he became private secretary to Robert Ross. In 1914 he gave testimony on Ross's behalf in a libel suit against
Lord Alfred Douglas Lord Alfred Bruce Douglas (22 October 1870 – 20 March 1945), also known as Bosie Douglas, was an English poet and journalist, and a lover of Oscar Wilde. At Oxford University he edited an undergraduate journal, ''The Spirit Lamp'', that carr ...
and Thomas William Hodgson Crosland, who were charged with conspiring to falsely accuse Ross with acts of gross indecency with a young man called Charles Garratt. Millard had met Garratt in 1913 and been intrigued by his "Votes for Women" badge. Garratt later visited him at his flat and they began a sexual relationship. When Garratt was arrested for importuning, Millard appeared in court to speak on his behalf, and a report of the trial in ''Reynolds Newspaper'' linking their names attracted the attention of Douglas. When Garratt was imprisoned, solicitors acting for Douglas and Crosland visited him and attempted to convince him to admit to sexual relations with Ross. He initially refused, but later signed a statement to that effect, later claiming that he had been tricked. On learning of his relationship with Garratt, Ross dismissed Millard from his post as secretary. However, although his libel case was ultimately unsuccessful, Ross was impressed by Millard's loyalty in testifying despite the risk to himself and later reinstated him.


Second imprisonment

In 1916, to avoid a second charge of gross indecency, Millard fled from
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
and spent several months on a farm in
Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...
before enlisting as a private in the
Royal Fusiliers The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in continuous existence for 283 years. It was known as the 7th Regiment of Foot until the Childers Reforms of 1881. The regiment served in many war ...
. He was sent to France though he was invalided back to England and discharged from the army in July 1917, whereupon he worked in the
War Office The War Office has referred to several British government organisations throughout history, all relating to the army. It was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, at ...
as a decipherer of
telegram Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas pi ...
. In January 1918, he was arrested and charged with gross indecency. He was found guilty and sentenced to a twelve-month sentence in
Wormwood Scrubs Wormwood Scrubs, known locally as The Scrubs (or simply Scrubs), is an open space in Old Oak Common located in the north-eastern corner of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in west London. It is the largest open space in the borough ...
though the judge spared him hard labour on account of his ill health. Millard's second conviction emboldened Douglas to publicly denounce Ross in court during
Maud Allan Maud Allan (born as either Beulah Maude Durrant or Ulah Maud Alma Durrant;Birthname given as Ulah Maud Alma DurrantMcConnell, Virginia A. ''Sympathy for the Devil: The Emmanuel Baptist Murders of Old San Francisco'', University of Nebraska Pr ...
's libel trial against the right-wing conspiracy theorist
Noel Pemberton Billing Noel Pemberton Billing (31 January 1881 – 11 November 1948), sometimes known as Noel Pemberton-Billing, was a British aviator, inventor, publisher and Member of Parliament for Hertford. He founded the firm that became Supermarine and promoted ...
. Ross died that October while Millard was still in prison.


Later life

After his release, Millard began a new occupation as a dealer of antiquarian books and rare manuscripts, doing business from his wooden bungalow at 8
Abercorn Place Abercorn Place is a street in St John's Wood in London. Located in the City of Westminster, it runs west to east from the Edgware Road at Maida Vale until it joins Abbey Road, London, Abbey Road not far from the Abbey Road Studios to the south. ...
in
St John's Wood St John's Wood is a district in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden and the City of Westminster, London, England, about 2.5 miles (4 km) northwest of Charing Cross. Historically the northern part of the Civil Parish#An ...
. It was there that Millard first mentioned the novel ''
Hadrian the Seventh ''Hadrian the Seventh: A Romance'' (sometimes called ''Hadrian VII'') is a 1904 novel by the English novelist Frederick Rolfe, who wrote under the pseudonym "Baron Corvo". Rolfe's best-known work, this novel of wish-fulfilment developed out of a ...
'' to A. J. A. Symons, thus sparking Symons' "experiment in biography", ''The Quest for Corvo'', a celebrated study of
Frederick Rolfe Frederick William Rolfe (surname pronounced ), better known as Baron Corvo (Italian for "Crow"), and also calling himself Frederick William Serafino Austin Lewis Mary Rolfe (22 July 1860 – 25 October 1913), was an English writer, artist, ph ...
. In 1922, through a friendship with the young
Anthony Powell Anthony Dymoke Powell ( ; 21 December 1905 – 28 March 2000) was an English novelist best known for his 12-volume work '' A Dance to the Music of Time'', published between 1951 and 1975. It is on the list of longest novels in English. Powell ...
, himself a keen collector, Millard began compiling materials for a bibliography of the artist and publisher
Claud Lovat Fraser Claud Lovat Fraser (15 May 1890 London – 18 June 1921, Dymchurch) was an English artist, designer and author. Early life Claud Lovat Fraser was christened Lovat Claud; as a young man he reversed those names for euphony's sake but he was alw ...
, which appeared the following year. Millard died of an
aneurysm An aneurysm is an outward :wikt:bulge, bulging, likened to a bubble or balloon, caused by a localized, abnormal, weak spot on a blood vessel wall. Aneurysms may be a result of a hereditary condition or an acquired disease. Aneurysms can also b ...
at the
Hospital of St John and St Elizabeth The Hospital of St John and St Elizabeth in St John's Wood, London, England, is a Catholic charitable general hospital in north London. History and operations The hospital was founded in 1856 with a Catholic Church, Roman Catholic affiliation ...
, London on 21 November 1927, and was buried at
St Mary's Catholic Cemetery, Kensal Green St Mary's Catholic Cemetery is located on Harrow Road, Kensal Green in London, England. It has its own Catholic chapel. The cemetery, founded in 1858, is the resting place of over 165,000 Roman Catholics. The 29-acre cemetery has memorials fo ...
.Hyde, ''Christopher Sclater Millard''., p. 106


References

*H. Montgomery Hyde, ''Christopher Sclater Millard (Stuart Mason): Bibliographer and Antiquarian Book Dealer'' (New York: Global Academic Publishers, 1990) *Maureen Borland, ''Wilde's Devoted Friend: A Life of Robert Ross 1869 – 1918'', (Lennard, Oxford 1990) *Douglas Murray, ''Bosie: A Biography of Lord Alfred Douglas'' (Hodder and Stoughton: 2000) *Jonathan Fryer, ''Robbie Ross: Oscar Wilde's True Love'' (Constable: London) *Philip Hoare, ''Wilde's Last Stand'' (New York: Arcade, 1998) *Maria Roberts, ''Yours Loyally: A Life of Christopher Sclater Millard'' (FeedARead.com Publishing: 2014) *Robert Scoble, ''The Corvo Cult: The History of an Obsession'' (Strange Attractor, London, 2014, pp. 211–215, 266–270) *A. J. A. Symons, ''The Quest for Corvo'' (London: Cassell, 1934, pp. 1–15)


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Millard, Christopher Sclater 1872 births 1927 deaths Alumni of Keble College, Oxford English biographers English booksellers Burials at St Mary's Catholic Cemetery, Kensal Green People from Basingstoke Deaths from aneurysm English Jacobites Oscar Wilde Neo-Jacobite Revival People educated at Bradfield College