Ernest Raymond (31 December 1888 – 14 May 1974) was a British novelist, best known for his first novel, '' Tell England'' (1922), set in

World War I 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, ...

. His next biggest success was ''

We, the Accused ''We, the Accused'' is a 1935 crime novel by the British writer Ernest Raymond. It is inspired by the Edwardian era Doctor Crippen case. The novel is written to engage the reader's sympathy for the murderous protagonists. Synopsis Schoolteacher ...

'' (1935), generally thought to be a reworking of the Crippen case. Raymond was a highly prolific writer, with an output of forty-six novels, two plays and ten non-fiction works.

Early life

Ernest Raymond was born in

Argentières Argentières () is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. Demographics The inhabitants are called ''Argentiers''. See also *Communes of the Seine-et-Marne department The following is ...

, France, the illegitimate son of a

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gur ...

officer. He lived with his abusive aunt as a child. Her sister, his undisclosed mother, lived nearby with her family.Drewey Wayne Gunn (2014) ''Gay Novels of Britain, Ireland and the Commonwealth, 1881–1981'', McFarland & Co., Jefferson, North Carolina Raymond was educated at

St Paul's School, London St Paul's School is a Selective school, selective Independent school (United Kingdom), independent Day school, day and boarding school for boys aged 13–18, founded in 1509 by John Colet and located on a 43-acre site by River Thames, the Thames i ...

and at Chichester Theological College, before moving on to Durham University to read for a degree in Theology. At Durham he did not join any of the colleges and studied as an 'unattached' member. He was ordained in the

Anglican Church Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of t ...

in 1914 after graduating from Durham with first-class honours. Attending the same September graduation ceremony was the future conductor Malcolm Sargent, there to receive his Music degree. With the outbreak of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

, Raymond immediately applied to the chaplain-general for service overseas with the army. He had an eventful war and served as chaplain to the 10th battalion of the

Manchester Regiment The Manchester Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1958. The regiment was created during the 1881 Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 63rd (West Suffolk) Regiment of Foot and the 96t ...

(1915–1917), to the 9th battalion of the

Worcestershire Regiment The Worcestershire Regiment was a line infantry regiment in the British Army, formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 29th (Worcestershire) Regiment of Foot and the 36th (Herefordshire) Regiment of Foot. The regiment ...

(1917 and 1919), to the East Lancashire territorials in Gallipoli in August 1915, and on five other fronts: Sinai, France and Belgium,

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the F ...

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkme ...

, and Russia.

Career

He resigned Holy Orders in 1923, having published his first novel, ''Tell England'', the previous year. According to

Peter Preston Peter John Preston (23 May 1938 – 6 January 2018) was a British journalist and author. He was editor of ''The Guardian'' for twenty years, from 1975 to 1995. Early life Peter Preston was born in Barrow upon Soar, Leicestershire, the son of J ...

, the book received mixed reviews. Its title was a deliberate echo of an epitaph made by

Simonides of Ceos Simonides of Ceos (; grc-gre, Σιμωνίδης ὁ Κεῖος; c. 556–468 BC) was a Greek lyric poet, born in Ioulis on Ceos. The scholars of Hellenistic Alexandria included him in the canonical list of the nine lyric poets esteeme ...

after the

Battle of Thermopylae The Battle of Thermopylae ( ; grc, Μάχη τῶν Θερμοπυλῶν, label= Greek, ) was fought in 480 BC between the Achaemenid Persian Empire under Xerxes I and an alliance of Greek city-states led by Sparta under Leonidas I. Las ...

, and the sentimental nature of the work made it very popular with the public if not the literary establishment. He wrote many books, including the novels ''Damascus Gate'' (1923), ''

A Chorus Ending ''A Chorus Ending'' is a 1951 crime novel by the British writer Ernest Raymond. Like his most celebrated work ''We, the Accused'' it was inspired by the Doctor Crippen Hawley Harvey Crippen (September 11, 1862 – November 23, 1910), usually ...

'' (1951), ''The City and the Dream'' (1958, which concluded his ''London Gallery'' series of novels portraying

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

life in the first half of the twentieth century), ''

Mr Olim ''Mr Olim'' is a novel by Ernest Raymond, published in 1961 to critical acclaim by Cassell. It is often used by teacher training colleges to encourage students to analyse successful teaching. In his retirement, Davey La Tour looks back to his ...

'' (1961), and ''The Bethany Road'' (1967). Other titles include ''Two Gentlemen of Rome: the Story of Keats and Shelley'' (1952), and ''Paris, City of Enchantment'' (1961). His 1929 play ''

The Berg The Berg was a proposed landscaping project by German architect Jakob Tigges to build the world's largest artificial mountain at the location of the present Tempelhof airport in Berlin, Germany.

'' based on the sinking of the ''

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, Unite ...

'', was staged in the

West End West End most commonly refers to: * West End of London, an area of central London, England * West End theatre, a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London, England West End may also refer to: Pl ...

and adapted into the film ''

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

''. Many of his 1930s–1940s novels included clerics, the characters' religious life, and spiritual philosophy. ''The Autobiography of David'' (1946) was "as told to" him by the pseudonymous "David" who was an

agoraphobia Agoraphobia is a mental and behavioral disorder, specifically an anxiety disorder characterized by symptoms of anxiety in situations where the person perceives their environment to be unsafe with no easy way to escape. These situations can in ...

c as well as a convicted sexual exhibitionist who had spent time in a prison institution for the mentally ill. ''

'' was made into a well-received TV drama of the same title starring

Ian Holm Sir Ian Holm Cuthbert (12 September 1931 – 19 June 2020) was an English actor who was knighted in 1998 for his contributions to theatre and film. Beginning his career on the British stage as a standout member of the Royal Shakespeare Company ...

Angela Down Angela Down (born 15 June 1946) is an English actress. She is known for her role in the BBC drama programme '' Take Three Girls'' portraying cockney art student Avril for the first series before being replaced in the second. Career Down pla ...

and

Elizabeth Spriggs Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...

in 1980.

Assessment

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 totalita ...

in 1945 praised Raymond as a "natural novelist" who could portray convincingly the lives of ordinary people. In particular, he admired ''We, the Accused'' for its emotional power, while criticising the clumsy and long-winded way in which it is written.

Personal life

Raymond was married twice, firstly in Brighton, 1922 to Zoe Irene Maude Doucett (1897–1964) of

Southampton Southampton () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire, S ...

(two children), secondly in Hampstead, 1941 to Diana Joan Young (1916–2009) of Woolwich (one child, Peter John Francis Raymond). From 1941 until his death Raymond resided at 22 The Pryors in Hampstead.

Bibliography

''Tell England: A Study in a Generation''
(1922) * ''Rossenal'' (1922) * ''Damascus Gate'' (1923) * ''The Shout of the King'' (1924) * ''Wanderlight'' (1924) * ''The Fulfilment of Daphne Bruno'' (1926) * ''Morris in the Dance'' (1927) * ''The Old Tree Blossomed'' (1928) * ''Through Literature to Life; An Enthusiasm and an Anthology'' (1928) * ''A Family That Was'' (1930) * ''The Jesting Army'' (1931) * ''Mary Leith'' (1932) * ''Child of Norman's End'' (1934) * ''

'' (1935) * ''Don John's Mountain Home'' (1936) * ''The Marsh'' (1937) * ''In the Steps of St. Francis'' (1939) * ''The Miracle of Brean'' (1939) * ''A Song of the Tide'' (1940) * ''The Last to Rest'' (1941) * ''Was there Love Once'' (1942) * ''The Corporal of the Guard'' (1944) * '' For Them That Trespass'' (1944) * ''Back to Humanity'' (1945) * ''The Autobiography of David'' (1946) * ''Five Sons of Le Faber'' (1946) * ''Kilburn Tale'' (1947) * ''In the Steps of the Brontes'' (1948) * ''Gentle Greaves'' (1949) * ''Witness of Canon Welcome'' (1950) * ''

'' (1951) * ''Chalice and the Sword'' (1952) * ''Two Gentlemen of Rome: The Story of Keats And Shelley'' (1952) * ''The Bronte Legend: Its Cause And Treatment'' (1953) * ''The Nameless Places'' (1954) * ''To the Wood No More'' (1954) * ''Lord of Wensley'' (1956) * ''The Old June Weather'' (1957) * ''The City and the Dream'' (1958) * ''

The Quiet Shore ''The Quiet Shore'' is 1958 war novel by the British writer Ernest Raymond. It returns to the subject of one of his best-known works ''Tell England'', set during the Gallipoli campaign during the First World War. It addresses the theme of homose ...

'' (1958) * ''The Visit of Brother Ives'' (1960) * ''

'' (1961) * ''Paris, City of Enchantment'' (1961) * ''The Chatelaine'' (1962) * ''One of Our Brethren'' (1963) * ''Late in the Day'' (1964) * ''Tree of Heaven'' (1965) * ''The Mountain Farm'' (1966) * ''Bethany Road'' (1967) * ''A Song of the Tide'' (1967) * ''The Story of My Days: An Autobiography 1888–1922'' (1968) * ''Please You, Draw Near: Autobiography 1922–1968'' (1969) * ''Gentle Greaves'' (1970) * ''Good Morning, Good People: an autobiography – past and present'' (1970) * ''A Georgian Love Story'' (1971) * ''Our Late Member'' (1972) * ''Miryam's Guest House'' (1973) * ''Under Wedgery Down'' (1974)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Raymond, Ernest 1888 births 1974 deaths Alumni of Chichester Theological College People educated at St Paul's School, London British male novelists 20th-century British novelists 20th-century British male writers Alumni of Durham University British expatriates in France