Clifford Lea Bax (13 July 1886 – 18 November 1962)Armorial Families: A Directory of Gentlemen of Coat-Armour, A. C. Fox-Davies, T. C. & E. C. Jack, 1910, p. 106 was a versatile English writer, known particularly as a playwright, a journalist, critic and editor, and a poet, lyricist and hymn writer. He also was a translator (for example, of

Goldoni Carlo Osvaldo Goldoni (, also , ; 25 February 1707 – 6 February 1793) was an Italian playwright and librettist from the Republic of Venice. His works include some of Italy's most famous and best-loved plays. Audiences have admired the plays ...

). The composer

Arnold Bax Sir Arnold Edward Trevor Bax (8 November 1883 – 3 October 1953) was an English composer, poet, and author. His prolific output includes songs, choral music, chamber pieces, and solo piano works, but he is best known for his orchestral music ...

was his brother, and set some of his words to music.

Life

The youngest son of Alfred Ridley Bax (1844–1918) and his wife, Charlotte Ellen (1860–1940), daughter of Rev. William Knibb Lea, of Amoy, China,Foreman, Lewis
"Bax, Sir Arnold Edward Trevor"
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004, retrieved 16 September 2015 Bax was born in

Upper Tooting Tooting is a district in South London, forming part of the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is located south south-west of Charing Cross. History Tooting has been settled since pre-Saxon times. The name is of Anglo-Saxon origin but the me ...

, south London (not

Knightsbridge Knightsbridge is a residential and retail district in central London, south of Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park. It is identified in the London Plan as one of two international retail centres in London, alongside the West End of London, West End. ...

, as sometimes stated). His father was a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

of the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

, but having a private income he did not practise. In 1896 the family moved to a mansion in

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...

. He was educated at the

Slade Slade are a rock band formed in Wolverhampton, England in 1966. They rose to prominence during the glam rock era in the early 1970s, achieving 17 consecutive top 20 hits and six number ones on the UK Singles Chart. The '' British Hit Singl ...

and the Heatherley Art School. He gave up painting to concentrate on writing. Independent wealth gave Bax time to write, and social connections. He had an apartment in Albany, the apartment complex in Piccadilly, London. He was a friend of

Gustav Holst Gustav Theodore Holst (born Gustavus Theodore von Holst; 21 September 1874 – 25 May 1934) was an English composer, arranger and teacher. Best known for his orchestral suite ''The Planets'', he composed many other works across a range ...

, whom he introduced to

astrology Astrology is a range of Divination, divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that propose that information about human affairs and terrestrial events may be discerned by studying the apparent positions ...

, the critic

James Agate James Evershed Agate (9 September 1877 – 6 June 1947) was an English diarist and theatre critic between the two world wars. He took up journalism in his late twenties and was on the staff of ''The Manchester Guardian'' in 1907–1914. He late ...

, and

Arthur Ransome Arthur Michell Ransome (18 January 1884 – 3 June 1967) was an English author and journalist. He is best known for writing and illustrating the ''Swallows and Amazons'' series of children's books about the school-holiday adventures of childre ...

, among others. He met and played chess with

Aleister Crowley Aleister Crowley ( ; born Edward Alexander Crowley; 12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947) was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, novelist, mountaineer, and painter. He founded the religion of Thelema, identifying himself as the pr ...

in 1904, and kept up an acquaintance with him over the years, later in the 1930s introducing both the artist Frieda Harris and the writer

John Symonds John Symonds (12 March 1914 – 21 October 2006) was an English writer known for his biographies of Aleister Crowley, as well as novels, plays, and children's books. His literary career spanned several decades, covering a wide range of genres ...

to him. An early venture (1908–1914) was ''Orpheus'', a

theosophical Theosophy is a religious movement established in the United States in the late 19th century. Founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and based largely on her writings, it draws heavily from both older European philosophies such as Neo ...

magazine he edited. His interest in the esoteric extended to editing works of

Jakob Boehme Jakob may refer to: People * Jakob (given name), including a list of people with the name * Jakob (surname), including a list of people with the name Other * Jakob (band), a New Zealand band, and the title of their 1999 EP * Max Jakob Memorial Awa ...

, and helping

Allan Bennett Charles Henry Allan Bennett (8 December 1872 – 9 March 1923) was an English Buddhist and former member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. He was an early friend and influential teacher of occultist Aleister Crowley. Bennett received ...

, the Buddhist. His first play on the commercial stage was ''The Poetasters of Ispahan'' (1912), and he became a fixture of British drama for a generation. He was involved in the ''Phoenix Society'' (1919–1926), concerned with reviving older plays, and the ''

Incorporated Stage Society The Incorporated Stage Society, commonly known as the Stage Society, was an English theatre society with limited membership which mounted private Sunday performances of new and experimental plays, mainly at the Royal Court Theatre (whose Vedrenne- ...

''. He also edited, with

Austin Osman Spare Austin Osman Spare (30 December 1886 – 15 May 1956) was an English artist and occultism, occultist who worked as both a draughtsman and a painter. Influenced by Symbolism (arts), symbolism and Art Nouveau, his art was known for its clear use o ...

, ''Golden Hind'', an artistic and literary magazine that appeared from October 1922 to July 1924. A

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

enthusiast, he was a friend of C. B. Fry and wrote a biography of

W. G. Grace William Gilbert Grace (18 July 1848 – 23 October 1915) was an English cricketer who is widely considered one of the sport's all-time greatest players. Always known by his initials as "WG", his first-class career spanned a record-equalling 4 ...

Family

He married actress and jewellery-maker Gwendolen Daphne Bishop, née Bernhard-Smith, on 21 September 1910. Their daughter, Undine, was born 6 August 1911. In 1927, Bax married Vera, née Rawnsley, a painter and poet (1888–1974). Rawnsley was previously married to Stanley Kennedy North, an artist, and

Alexander Bell Filson Young Alexander Bell Filson Young (1876–1938) was a journalist from Northern Ireland, who published the first book about the sinking of the ''RMS Titanic'', called ''Titanic'', in 1912, only 37 days after the sinking. He was also an essayist, war cor ...

(1876–1938), a journalist with whom she had two sons: William David Loraine Filson-Young and Richard Filson-Young; they—Bax's stepsons—were both killed in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Works

*Twenty Chinese poems (1910) with Arthur Bowmar-Porter *Poems Dramatic and Lyrical (1911) ''attributed'' (also to his brother

) *The Poetasters of Ispahan (1912) play *Friendship (1913) *The Marriage of the Soul (1913) *Shakespeare (1921) play (with Harold F. Rubinstein) *The Traveller's Tale (1921) poems *Polly (1922) ballad opera adapted from

John Gay John Gay (30 June 1685 – 4 December 1732) was an English poet and dramatist and member of the Scriblerus Club. He is best remembered for ''The Beggar's Opera'' (1728), a ballad opera. The characters, including Captain Macheath and Polly Peach ...

*The Insect Play (1923) adaptation with

Nigel Playfair Sir Nigel Ross Playfair (1 July 1874 – 19 August 1934) was an English actor and director, known particularly as actor-manager of the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith, in the 1920s. After acting as an amateur while practising as a lawyer, he turned ...

*Studio Plays: Three Experiments in Dramatic Form (1924) illustrated by Dorothy Mullock *Midsummer Madness (1924) ballad opera *Inland Far. A book of thoughts and impressions (1925) *Up Stream (1925) *Mr. Pepys (1926) ballad opera *Many a Green Isle (1927) short stories *Bianca Cappello (1927) biography *Waterloo Leave (1928) play *Square Pegs: A Polite Satire (1928) One-act plays *Rasputin (1929) *

The Wandering Scholar ''The Wandering Scholar'', Op. 50 is a chamber opera in one act by the English composer Gustav Holst, composed 1929–30. The libretto, by Clifford Bax, is based on the book ''The Wandering Scholars'' by Helen Waddell. The opera received its p ...

(1929) libretto *Socrates (1930) *The Immortal Lady (1930) *'' The Venetian'' (1931) *Twelve Short Plays, serious and comic (1932) *Leonardo da Vinci (1932) *Pretty Witty Nell. An account of Nell Gwynn and her environment (1932) *Farewell, My Muse (1932) collected poems *''

The Rose Without a Thorn ''The Rose Without a Thorn'' is a 1933 historical play by the British writer Clifford Bax. It portrays the courtship and marriage of Henry VIII and his fifth wife Catherine Howard. It ran in the West End for 128 performances, debuting at the Duke ...

'' (1933) play *April in August (1934) *Ideas and People (1936) *The House of Borgia (1937) *Highways and Byways in Essex (1939) *The Life of the White Devil (1940) biography of

Vittoria Accoramboni Vittoria Accoramboni, Duchess of Bracciano (15 February 1557{{snd22 December 1585) was an Italian noblewoman. Her life became the basis for John Webster's play '' The White Devil'', several novels, and a novella by Stendhal. Biography She was bor ...

*Evenings in Albany (1942) *Time with a Gift of Tears. A modern romance (1943) novel *Vintage verse; an anthology of poetry in English (1945) *The Beauty of Women (1946) *''

Golden Eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known bird of pr ...

'' (1946) play *The Silver Casket Being love-letters and love poems attributed to Mary Stuart (1946) *All the world's a stage: theatrical portraits (1946) editor *The Buddha (1947) radio play *Day, a Night and a Morrow (1948) *The Relapse (1950) *Some I Knew Well (1951) memoirs *Hemlock for Eight (1946) radio play with

Leon M. Lion Leon Marks Lion (12 March 1879 – 28 March 1947) was an English stage and film actor, playwright, theatrical director and producer. He starred in Joseph Jefferson Farjeon's 1925 hit play '' Number 17'' as well as its subsequent 1932 film adapta ...

*Rosemary for Remembrance (1948) *Circe (1949) muse *The Distaff Muse. An anthology of poetry written by women (1949) with Meum Stewart *W.G. Grace (1952)

Notes

External links

Clifford Bax Collection
at the

Harry Ransom Center The Harry Ransom Center, known as the Humanities Research Center until 1983, is an archive, library, and museum at the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in the collection of literary and cultural artifacts from the Americas and Europe ...

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bax, Clifford 1886 births 1962 deaths English astrologers 20th-century British astrologers Cricket writers Writers from Westminster English male dramatists and playwrights English male poets 20th-century English poets 20th-century English dramatists and playwrights 20th-century English male writers