Henry Festing Jones (30 January 1851 – 23 October 1928) was an English

solicitor A solicitor is a lawyer who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and enabled to p ...

and writer, known as the friend and posthumous biographer of Samuel Butler.

Life

He was the son of Thomas Jones

Q.C. QC may refer to: Places * Quebec, a Canadian province ** Quebec City, its capital * Quezon City, Philippines * The Quad Cities, an American metropolitan area along the Mississippi River * QualiEd College, a Hong Kong high school Arts and entert ...

, and entered

Trinity Hall, Cambridge Trinity Hall (formally The College or Hall of the Holy Trinity in the University of Cambridge, colloquially "Tit Hall" ) is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1350, it is th ...

, in 1870. Graduating B.A. in 1873, he was articled to a solicitor. He qualified in the profession in 1876. Jones met Samuel Butler through Edward Hall, a college friend; they became close in 1876. From 1887, he was Butler's paid companion and musical collaborator. Two of the musical works they worked on together were the cantatas ''Narcissus'' (private rehearsal 1886, published 1888), and ''Ulysses'', both for solo voices, chorus and orchestra, in imitation of

Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel ( ; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concerti. Born in Halle, Germany, H ...

. Butler had settled in 1864 in

Clifford's Inn Clifford's Inn is the name of both a former Inn of Chancery in London and a present mansion block on the same site. It is located between Fetter Lane and Clifford's Inn Passage (which runs between Fleet Street and Chancery Lane) in the City of ...

, London, where he lived for the rest of his life, dying in 1902; Jones lived in

Barnard's Inn Barnard's Inn is a former Inns of Chancery, Inn of Chancery in Holborn, London. It is now the home of Gresham College, an institution of higher learning established in 1597 that hosts public lectures. Over the centuries, it has served as a sch ...

and

Staple Inn Staple Inn is a part-Tudor period, Tudor building on the south side of High Holborn street in the City of London, London, England. Located near Chancery Lane tube station, it is used as the London venue for meetings of the Institute and Faculty ...

during Butler's lifetime. After Butler's death, Jones moved within London to

Maida Vale Maida Vale ( ) is an affluent residential district in North West London, England, north of Paddington, southwest of St John's Wood and south of Kilburn, on Edgware Road. It is part of the City of Westminster and is northwest of Charing C ...

, where his sister kept house for him. He advised Butler's executors (Reginald Worsley, and

R. A. Streatfeild Richard Alexander Streatfeild (22 June 1866 – 6 February 1919) was an English musicologist and critic. His career was spent at the British Museum, although not in its music department. His publications included books on opera, George Frideric Han ...

, his

literary executor The literary estate of a deceased author consists mainly of the copyright and other intellectual property rights of published works, including film rights, film, translation rights, original manuscripts of published work, unpublished or partially ...

). He organised annual "Erewhon Dinners" in Butler's memory, from 1908 to 1914, at the suggestion of

Marcus Hartog Marcus Manuel Hartog (19 August 1851, London – 21 January 1924, Paris) was an English educator, natural historian, philosopher of biology and zoologist in Cork, Ireland. He contributed to multiple volumes of the ''Cambridge Natural History''. ...

P. N. Furbank Philip Nicholas Furbank FRSL (; 23 May 1920 – 27 June 2014) was an English biographer, critic and academic. His most significant biography was the well-received life of his friend E. M. Forster. Career Born in Cranleigh in 1920, Furbank, aft ...

has criticised the editorial stance Jones took, and the effort to make Butler "respectable".

Work on Samuel Butler's legacy

In 1910 Jones met

Francis Darwin Sir Francis Darwin (16 August 1848 – 19 September 1925) was a British botanist. He was the third son of the naturalist and scientist Charles Darwin. Biography Francis Darwin was born at Down House, Downe, Kent in 1848. He was the third s ...

, in an attempt to close the feud between Butler and

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English Natural history#Before 1900, naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all speci ...

that had arisen around 1880; the result was a pamphlet, ''Charles Darwin and Samuel Butler: A Step toward Reconciliation'' (1911). Jones published a well-regarded selection, ''The Note-Books of Samuel Butler'' (1912), after

Desmond MacCarthy Sir Charles Otto Desmond MacCarthy (20 May 1877 – 7 June 1952) was a British writer and literary and dramatic critic. He was a member of the Cambridge Apostles, the intellectual secret society, from 1896. Early life and education The son ...

had seen the originals and published extracts in the ''New Quarterly Review''. The editing of this work has been seen as involving false emphasis and polishing of the originals, producing an effect of a "cross between Oscar Wilde and Dr Johnson". In 1919, his biography of Butler, entitled ''Samuel Butler, Author of Erewhon (1835–1902): A Memoir'', won the inaugural

James Tait Black Memorial Prize The James Tait Black Memorial Prizes are literary prizes awarded for literature written in the English language. They, along with the Hawthornden Prize, are Britain's oldest literary awards. Based at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, Un ...

for a biography. Jones edited Butler's works with Augustus Theodore Bartholomew, known as Theo and a librarian and bibliographer in Cambridge, in 20 volumes, which appeared in 1923–1926. On Bartholomew's death in 1933,

Geoffrey Keynes Sir Geoffrey Langdon Keynes ( ; 25 March 1887, Cambridge – 5 July 1982, Cambridge) was a British surgeon and author. He began his career as a physician in World War I, before becoming a doctor at St Bartholomew's Hospital in London, where he ...

became his literary executor, also taking on the papers of Jones and Butler, acting with Brian Hill.

Later life

Through Theo Bartholomew, Jones came to know

Siegfried Sassoon Siegfried Loraine Sassoon (8 September 1886 – 1 September 1967) was an English war poet, writer, and soldier. Decorated for bravery on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front, he became one of the leading poets of the First World ...

, meeting after

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

; Sassoon and others knew him as "Enrico". They corresponded, and Sassoon found Jones a sympathetic audience. Bartholomew and

Mansfield Forbes Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of the Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area and the second largest settlement in Nottinghamshire (following the city ...

visited Jones, and gave him "guru" status. Geoffrey Keynes and his wife were good friends.

Other works

*''Diversions in Sicily'' (1909) *''Castellinaria, and Other Sicilian Diversions'' (1911) *''Mont Eryx, and Other Diversions of Travel'' (1921) Jones was a student of the ''

Opera dei Pupi The Opera dei Pupi ( in Palermo, in Catania; ''"Opera of the Puppets"'') is a marionette theatrical representation of Frankish romantic poems traditionally performed in Sicily, Italy. Inscribed in the UNESCO's List of the Oral and Intangible ...

''. Butler had visited Sicily almost annually in the last decade of his life, usually with Jones.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Henry Festing 1851 births 1928 deaths English biographers James Tait Black Memorial Prize recipients