J K Stephen
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James Kenneth Stephen (25 February 1859 – 3 February 1892) was an English poet, and tutor to
Prince Albert Victor Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale (Albert Victor Christian Edward; 8 January 1864 – 14 January 1892) was the eldest child of the Prince and Princess of Wales (later King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra). From the time of his ...
, eldest son of
Albert Edward, Prince of Wales Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second child ...
(later Edward VII).


Early life

James Kenneth Stephen was the second son of Sir James Fitzjames Stephen, barrister-at-law, and his wife Mary Richenda Cunningham. Known as 'Jem' among his family and close friends, he was first cousin to
Virginia Woolf Adeline Virginia Woolf (; ; 25 January 1882 28 March 1941) was an English writer and one of the most influential 20th-century modernist authors. She helped to pioneer the use of stream of consciousness narration as a literary device. Vir ...
(née Stephen), and shared with his cousin symptoms of
bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder (BD), previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of Depression (mood), depression and periods of abnormally elevated Mood (psychology), mood that each last from days to weeks, and in ...
that would affect him increasingly in later life. As a youth attending
Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...
as a
King's Scholar A King's Scholar, abbreviated KS in the United Kingdom, is the recipient of a scholarship from a foundation created by, or under the auspices of, a British monarch. The scholarships are awarded at certain Public school (United Kingdom), public ...
, Stephen's prodigious size and physical strength helped him prove himself an outstanding player of the Eton Wall Game, representing the Collegers (King's Scholars) on
St. Andrew's Day Saint Andrew's Day, also called the Feast of Saint Andrew or Andermas, is the feast day of Andrew the Apostle. It is celebrated on 30 November, during Scotland's Winter Festival. Saint Andrew is the disciple in the New Testament who introduc ...
from 1874 to 1877 and leading the team to victory as Keeper of the College Wall in his final two years. He has been commemorated in a toast raised by College Wall on the eve of St Andrew's Day every year for over a century: "''In Piam Memoriam J.K.S.''" Stephen developed a reputation as an intellectual, and it was said that he spoke in a pedantic, but highly articulate and entertaining manner. At
King's College, Cambridge King's College, formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, is a List of colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college lies beside the River Cam and faces ...
, again as a King's Scholar, he continued a flourishing academic career: he was a member of the
Apostles An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary. The word is derived from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", itself derived from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to se ...
intellectual society, and President of the
Cambridge Union Society The Cambridge Union Society, also known as the Cambridge Union, is a historic Debate, debating and free speech society in Cambridge, England, and the largest society in the University of Cambridge. The society was founded in 1815 making it the ...
in the Michaelmas term of 1880, and was made a Fellow of King's College in 1885.


Relationship with Prince Albert Victor

In 1883, Stephen was chosen as the tutor and companion of
Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale (Albert Victor Christian Edward; 8 January 1864 – 14 January 1892) was the eldest child of the Prince and Princess of Wales (later King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra). From the time of his ...
(nicknamed Eddy), the son of the Prince of Wales, and was expected to help raise the prince's poor academic standing before he attended
Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...
. Stephen was initially optimistic about tutoring the prince, but by the time the party were to move to Cambridge he had concluded, "I do not think he can possibly derive much benefit from attending lectures at Cambridge ... He hardly knows the meaning of the words ''to read''". Some biographers have suggested Stephen had romantic feelings for Albert Victor, but the nature of his relationship with Albert Victor is open to question. In 1972, writer Michael Harrison claimed that a sexual relationship began between tutor and pupil, ending when Prince Eddy was gazetted to the 10th Hussars on 17 June 1885 and resulted in a scandal of which, apparently, little evidence remains.


Accident

Stephen suffered a serious head injury in an accident on 29 December 1886 while staying with
Felix Cobbold Felix Thornley Cobbold (8 September 1841 – 6 December 1909) was a British banker, barrister and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party politician. He was a member of the Ipswich Cobbold family, Cobbold brewing family but not a brewer himself. Life ...
, at Felixstowe Lodge, Felixstowe. He suffered a blow to his head and although his physical injuries soon healed, he nevertheless showed signs of psychological injury, exhibiting erratic emotional and mental behaviour. The injury may have exacerbated his
bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder (BD), previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of Depression (mood), depression and periods of abnormally elevated Mood (psychology), mood that each last from days to weeks, and in ...
, a condition also affecting his cousin,
Virginia Woolf Adeline Virginia Woolf (; ; 25 January 1882 28 March 1941) was an English writer and one of the most influential 20th-century modernist authors. She helped to pioneer the use of stream of consciousness narration as a literary device. Vir ...
. Separate descriptions of the accident exist. Virginia Woolf's biographer,
Quentin Bell Quentin Claudian Stephen Bell (19 August 1910 – 16 December 1996) was an English art historian and author. Early life Bell was born in London, the second and younger son of the art critic and writer Clive Bell and the painter and interior ...
, says that the family tradition was that Stephen was struck in the head by some object from a moving train. Others claim that Stephen was injured when a horse he was riding shied and backed him into the moving vane of a windmill. While Stephen originally appeared to have made a complete recovery, it was later discovered that his brain had been permanently damaged and his behaviour became increasingly erratic. Bell relates incidents of Stephen plunging the blade from a sword stick into bread; becoming deluded that he was a painter of great genius; rushing about dangerously in a
hansom cab The hansom cab is a kind of horse-drawn carriage designed and patented in 1834 by Joseph Hansom, an architect from York. The vehicle was developed and tested by Hansom in Hinckley, Leicestershire, England. Originally called the Hansom safet ...
; and "'on another occasion he appeared at breakfast and announced, as though it were an amusing incident, that the doctors had told him that he would either die or go completely mad.'" Stephen became a patient of physician Sir William Gull, but his rapid mental and physical decline saw him drift from one project to the next with little focus or interest – outside of completing two volumes of poetry – before he was finally committed to a mental asylum.


Poetry

In 1891, Stephen became a published poet under the initials ''J.K.S.'' with the collections ''Lapsus Calami'' and ''Quo Musa Tendis'' both released that year.
Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English journalist, novelist, poet, and short-story writer. He was born in British Raj, British India, which inspired much ...
called him "that genius" and told how he "dealt with
Haggard Haggard may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Haggard (band), a German symphonic metal group * ''Haggard'' (TV series), a British comedy television series * '' Haggard: The Movie'', a 2003 film by Bam Margera * King Haggard, a fictiona ...
and me in some stanzas which I would have given much to have written myself". Those stanzas, in which Stephen deplores the state of contemporary writing, appear in his poem 'To R. K.': "The Last Ride Together (From Her Point of View)" parodies
Robert Browning Robert Browning (7 May 1812 – 12 December 1889) was an English poet and playwright whose dramatic monologues put him high among the Victorian literature, Victorian poets. He was noted for irony, characterization, dark humour, social commentar ...
's "Last Ride Together";
Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824) was an English poet. He is one of the major figures of the Romantic movement, and is regarded as being among the greatest poets of the United Kingdom. Among his best-kno ...
is parodied in "A Grievance"; and
William Wordsworth William Wordsworth (7 April 177023 April 1850) was an English Romantic poetry, Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romanticism, Romantic Age in English literature with their joint publication ''Lyrical Balla ...
in "A Sonnet": Stephen also took a satirical and occasionally nostalgic approach to his academic life and colleagues. Stephen wrote a satirical pastiche of
Thomas Gray Thomas Gray (26 December 1716 – 30 July 1771) was an English poet, letter-writer, and classics, classical scholar at Cambridge University, being a fellow first of Peterhouse then of Pembroke College, Cambridge, Pembroke College. He is widely ...
's "
Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College "Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College" is an 18th-century ode by Thomas Gray. It is composed of ten 10-line stanzas, rhyming ABABCCDEED, with the B lines and final D line in iambic trimeter and the others in iambic tetrameter Iambic tetrame ...
" pillorying Eton for being
Tory A Tory () is an individual who supports a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalist conservatism which upholds the established social order as it has evolved through the history of Great Britain. The To ...
. Stephen was at Cambridge at the same time as the distinguished antiquarian and writer of ghost stories,
M. R. James Montague Rhodes James (1 August 1862 – 12 June 1936) was an English medievalist scholar and author who served as provost of King's College, Cambridge (1905–1918), and of Eton College (1918–1936) as well as Vice-Chancellor of the Univers ...
, and mentions him at the end of a curious
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
celebration of then-current worthies of 'Coll. Regale' (King's College): Stephen's poem "The Old School List" from ''Quo Musa Tendis'' is included in the front pages of H.E.C. Stapleton's ''Eton School Lists 1853-1892'', and the author refers to him in the preface as "an Etonian of great promise, who died only too early for his numerous friends". During his time at Eton, Stephen was a friend of
Harry Goodhart Harry Chester Goodhart (17 July 1858 – 21 April 1895) was an English amateur footballer who played as a forward in four FA Cup Finals for Old Etonians, before going on to become Professor of Humanity at the University of Edinburgh. Early li ...
(1858–1895), who became an
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 ...
international
footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...
and later a professor at the
University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...
. Goodhart is referred to as "one of them's wed" in the last verse of "The Old School List": A poem which gave him a reputation as a
misogynist Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women or girls. It is a form of sexism that can keep women at a lower social status than men, thus maintaining the social roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been widely practised ...
is "Men and Women," where he describes two people, a man and a woman, whom he does not know but to whom he takes a violent dislike. The first part, subtitled "In the Backs" (
The Backs The Backs is a picturesque area to the east of Queen's Road in the city of Cambridge, England, where several colleges of the University of Cambridge back on to the River Cam with their grounds covering both banks of the river. In 2013, Nationa ...
is a riverside area of Cambridge), concludes


Breakdown and death

On 24 November 1891, Stephen's landlady found him standing naked at the window of his rooms in 18
Trinity Street, Cambridge Trinity Street (formerly the High Street) is a street in central Cambridge, England. The street continues north as St John's Street, and south as King's Parade and then Trumpington Street. The street is named after Trinity College, which ...
. He had thrown his possessions into the street and was screaming, convinced that he was facing imminent arrest. His brothers Herbert and Harry came from London and accompanied him to
St Andrew's Hospital St Andrews Hospital is a mental health facility in Northampton, England. It is managed by St Andrew's Healthcare. History Formation The facility was founded by public subscription for "private and pauper lunatics" and opened as the Northampto ...
, a mental asylum in
Northampton Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...
, where he was committed. In January 1892, Stephen heard that his erstwhile pupil, the 28-year-old Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence, had died of
pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...
at Sandringham, after contracting
influenza Influenza, commonly known as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These sympto ...
. On hearing the news, Stephen refused to eat, and he died 20 days later, aged 32. The cause of death, according to the
death certificate A death certificate is either a legal document issued by a medical practitioner which states when a person died, or a document issued by a government civil registration office, that declares the date, location and cause of a person's death, a ...
, was mania.


Legacy

Stephen's outstanding record in the Eton Wall Game has become part of school legend: unverified accounts suggest that in his final year, he held up the whole of the opposing team single handed for five minutes until the rest of College Wall made it to the furrow. Ever after, the King's Scholars of Eton College have honoured his memory with a toast at the Christmas Sock Supper and other festive occasions – ''in piam memoriam J.K.S.'' – "to the pious memory of James Kenneth Stephen". Stephen was recalled less honourably in a play by former Eton housemaster and Old Etonian, Angus Graham-Campbell, entitled ''Sympathy for the Devil''. It premiered at the Eton Drama Festival in 1993 and was based on the notion that Stephen could have been
Jack the Ripper Jack the Ripper was an unidentified serial killer who was active in and around the impoverished Whitechapel district of London, England, in 1888. In both criminal case files and the contemporaneous journalistic accounts, the killer was also ...
. Renewed interest in the 1888 Whitechapel murders had exploded in 1970 when British physician Thomas E. A. Stowell, allegedly working from the papers of Sir William Gull, made the veiled suggestion that Stephen's former pupil Prince Albert Victor, named only as "S", was the culprit. In 1972, writer Michael Harrison, working from this sensational theory, had come to the conclusion that "S" was not the prince, but actually Stephen who was committing the murders "out of a twisted desire for revenge" because of the dissolution of an alleged homosexual relationship between the two. Harrison contends that the breakup of the relationship with Eddy, combined with his mental decline, provoked Stephen to act out his own poem "Air: Kaphoozelum", in which the protagonist kills 10 harlots.
Forensic psychiatrist Forensic psychiatry is a subspecialty of psychiatry and is related to criminology. It encompasses the interface between law and psychiatry. According to the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, it is defined as "a subspecialty of psychiatr ...
David Abrahamsen identified Stephen as matching his psychological profile of Jack The Ripper, claiming that Prince Eddy was an accomplice in his crimes and that the two enjoyed a mutually dependent relationship, with Stephen as the dominant partner. This and similar theories have been dismissed on a number of counts, with some citing that Stephen would have been unable to commit any murders in London and return to Cambridge in time for lectures the following morning. Harrison had also connected Stephen's handwriting with the Ripper letters "From Hell" and "Dear Boss", and that the internal style of some of Stephen's poems matches some of the anonymous Ripper letters. This connection was rebutted by Thomas J. Mann in an article in the ''Journal of the World Association of Document Examiners'' (June 1975) in which Mann determines that only the Lusk letter is likely to be genuine and that the connection between Stephen's handwriting and that letter was minimal: "The overwhelming evidence is that the two do not match; and if the author of the Lusk letter was indeed Jack the Ripper, then J.K. Stephen was not that man." The literary scholar Jane Marcus has suggested that Stephen was the model for the character of Percival in Virginia Woolf's 1931 novel
The Waves ''The Waves'' is a 1931 novel by English novelist Virginia Woolf. It is critically regarded as her most experimental work, consisting of ambiguous and cryptic soliloquies spoken mainly by six characters: Bernard, Susan, Rhoda, Neville, Jinny an ...
.


Collections

* ''Select Poems'' 1926 Augustan Books of Modern Poetry * ''Lapsus Calami'' JKS Cambridge 1891 * ''Quo Musa Tendis'' Cambridge 1891 * ''Lapsus Calami and other verses'' 1896


References

* Miles A H Stephen. In miles 9(10) * JKS Acad 19 Aug 1905 * Benson A C, ''In his leaves of the tree: studies in biography'', 1911 * Evans B I in his English poetry in the later 19th century 1933–1966 * Master of Light Verse – In memory of JKS;
Times Literary Supplement ''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp. History The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to ''The Times'' but became a separate publication ...
31 Jan 1941


External links

* * *
Biography on "Jack the Ripper" suspects article
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stephen, James Kenneth 1859 births 1892 deaths 19th-century English poets English-language poets British parodists People educated at Eton College Stephen–Bell family Alumni of King's College, Cambridge People with mental disorders Jack the Ripper suspects People with bipolar disorder Presidents of the Cambridge Union Suicides by starvation Younger sons of baronets 1890s suicides Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale English writers with disabilities Poets with disabilities