Reginald Turner (2 June 1869 – 7 December 1938) was an English author, an

aesthete Aestheticism (also known as the aesthetic movement) was an art movement in the late 19th century that valued the appearance of literature, music, fonts and the arts over their functions. According to Aestheticism, art should be produced to b ...

and a member of the circle 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 ...

. He worked as a journalist, wrote twelve novels, and his correspondence has been published, but he is best known as one of the few friends who remained loyal to Wilde when he was imprisoned and who supported him after his release. In

Rupert Everett Rupert James Hector Everett (; born 29 May 1959) is an English actor. He first came to public attention in 1981 when he was cast in Julian Mitchell's play and subsequent film '' Another Country'' (1984) as a gay pupil at an English public scho ...

‘s biopic of Wilde, '' The Happy Prince'', he is portrayed by

Colin Firth Colin Andrew Firth (born 10 September 1960) is an English actor and producer. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Colin Firth, several accolades, including an Academy Award, two British Academy Film Awards, BAFTA Aw ...

Biography

Turner never knew who his parents were, but was an illegitimate member of, and raised by, the Levy-Lawson family, owners of the newspaper, ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

.'' He was educated at

Hurstpierpoint College Hurstpierpoint College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Private schools in the United Kingdom, private boarding school, boarding and day school), located just north of the village of Hurstpierpoint, West Sussex. The Co ...

West Sussex West Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Surrey to the north, East Sussex to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Hampshire to the west. The largest settlement is Cr ...

and

Merton College, Oxford Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 126 ...

. On leaving Oxford he trained briefly as 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 ...

under Travers Humphreys, but was too lazy for the Law; having a leaning towards writing he joined ''The Daily Telegraph'', where he inaugurated the paper's gossip column.Muggeridge, Malcolm, "Max's Dearest Reg", ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

'', 5 June 1966, p. 26 Between 1901 and 1911 he published a dozen novels.Morchard, Bishop, "Gentlemanly Game", ''

The 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 ...

'', 16 June 1966, p. 536 None of them made a great impression – Turner observed that it was not his first editions that were scarce, but his second ones,Epstein, Joseph
"The Beerbohm Cult"
''

The Weekly Standard ''The Weekly Standard'' was an American neoconservative political magazine of news, analysis, and commentary that was published 48 times per year. Originally edited by founders Bill Kristol and Fred Barnes, the ''Standard'' was described as a ...

'', 11 November 2002 although at least three of his novels were reprinted.Weintraub, Stanley, "Reggie Turner, Forgotten Edwardian Novelist", ''English Literature in Transition, 1880–1920'', Volume 48, Number 1, 2005, pp. 3–37 His biographer,

Stanley Weintraub Stanley Weintraub (April 17, 1929 – July 28, 2019) was an American historian and biographer and an expert on George Bernard Shaw. Early life Weintraub was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on April 17, 1929. He was the eldest child of Benjam ...

, comments that the circumstances of Turner's birth, reminiscent of ''

H.M.S. Pinafore ''H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It opened at the Opera Comique in London on 25 May 1878, and ran for 571 performances, w ...

'' and ''

The Importance of Being Earnest ''The Importance of Being Earnest, a Trivial Comedy for Serious People'' is a play by Oscar Wilde, the last of his four drawing-room plays, following ''Lady Windermere's Fan'' (1892), ''A Woman of No Importance'' (1893) and ''An Ideal Husban ...

,'' are reflected in his fiction, sometimes humorously and sometimes seriously. Turner numbered among his friends

Max Beerbohm Sir Henry Maximilian Beerbohm (24 August 1872 – 20 May 1956) was an English essayist, Parody, parodist and Caricature, caricaturist under the signature Max. He first became known in the 1890s as a dandy and a humorist. He was the theatre crit ...

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 ...

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells (21 September 1866 – 13 August 1946) was an English writer, prolific in many genres. He wrote more than fifty novels and dozens of short stories. His non-fiction output included works of social commentary, politics, hist ...

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Somerset Maugham William Somerset Maugham ( ; 25 January 1874 – 16 December 1965) was an English writer, known for his plays, novels and short stories. Born in Paris, where he spent his first ten years, Maugham was schooled in England and went to a German un ...

D. H. Lawrence David Herbert Lawrence (11 September 1885 – 2 March 1930) was an English novelist, short story writer, poet, playwright, literary critic, travel writer, essayist, and painter. His modernist works reflect on modernity, social alienation ...

Osbert Sitwell Sir Francis Osbert Sacheverell Sitwell, 5th Baronet CH CBE (6 December 1892 – 4 May 1969) was an English writer. His elder sister was Edith Sitwell and his younger brother was Sacheverell Sitwell. Like them, he devoted his life to art and l ...

and others of the London literary scene during the late 19th and early 20th century.

S. N. Behrman Samuel Nathaniel Behrman (; June 9, 1893 – September 9, 1973) was an American playwright, screenwriter, biographer, and longtime writer for ''The New Yorker''. His son is the composer David Behrman. Biography Early years Behrman's parents, Z ...

said of him, "He was one of those men who talk like angels and write like pedestrians". Harold Acton agreed, writing of Turner's conversation, "One forgot to eat while he spun his fantasies." Beerbohm said, "He would be eloquent even were he dumb," and Maugham wrote, "Reggie Turner was, on the whole, the most amusing man I have known."Behrman, p. 186 Turner's novels contain portraits of his contemporaries and of himself ("Reginald Cobbler," in ''Castles in Kensington''). Others whom he sketched in his novels were

Henry James Henry James ( – ) was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the ...

Ada Leverson Ada Esther Leverson (née Beddington; 10 October 1862 – 30 August 1933) was a British writer who is known for her friendship with Oscar Wilde and for her work as a witty novelist of the fin-de-siècle. Family Leverson was born into a Jewish ...

Bernard Berenson Bernard Berenson (June 26, 1865 – October 6, 1959) was an American art historian specializing in the Renaissance. His book ''The Drawings of the Florentine Painters'' was an international success. His wife Mary is thought to have had a large ...

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, and

Anthony Hope Sir Anthony Hope Hawkins (9 February 1863 – 8 July 1933), better known as Anthony Hope, was a British novelist and playwright. He was a prolific writer, especially of adventure novels but he is remembered predominantly for only two books: ''T ...

. Osbert Sitwell put a comic version of Turner as "Algy Braithwaite" into his verses ''On the Continent'': "wherever he went, he carried with him / The atmosphere of London in the 1890s." Turner was also the model for the character "little Algy Constable" in Lawrence's novel ''

Aaron's Rod Aaron's rod () refers to any of the walking sticks carried by Moses' brother, Aaron, in the Torah. The Bible tells how, along with Moses's rod, Aaron's rod was endowed with miraculous power during the Plagues of Egypt that preceded the Exodus. ...

''. Turner was one of the very few of the old circle who remained with Wilde after his release from prison, and he was at his bedside when he died. Beerbohm relates how, a few days before Wilde's death, Turner had found Wilde very depressed after a nightmare. "I dreamt that I had died, and was supping with the dead!" said Wilde. "I am sure", Turner replied, "that you must have been the life and soul of the party." Turner, with

Robbie 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 ...

and

Frank Harris Frank Harris (14 February 1856 – 26 August 1931) was an Irish-American editor, novelist, short story writer, journalist and publisher, who was friendly with many well-known figures of his day. Born in Ireland, he emigrated to the United State ...

, supported Wilde to the end. After Wilde's trial Ross lost contact with

Cyril Cyril (also Cyrillus or Cyryl) is a masculine given name. It is derived from the Greek language, Greek name (''Kýrillos''), meaning 'lordly, masterful', which in turn derives from Greek (''kýrios'') 'lord'. There are various variant forms of t ...

and Vyvyan, Wilde's sons. At his first meeting with Vyvyan Holland (as Wilde's son was now named) Ross was accompanied by Beerbohm and Turner – "a highly emotional meeting," Holland later recalled. Oscar Wilde's correspondence with Reginald Turner forms the basis of The Lady Eccles Oscar Wilde Collection at the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...

, later much augmented with material from other sources. After Wilde's death, Turner, who was homosexual, felt few ties to England. Weintraub writes, "He felt alienated from an England which had driven Oscar to his death, and realised that some of the hostility toward Wilde might now continue to be directed toward those who had stood by him, and were similarly suspect." Turner thereafter lived abroad for much of the time. His royalties from his novels were modest, but together with his income from the Levy-Lawson family, they supported him in Paris and in French resorts. In his later years he lived in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

, where he died at the age of 69 and was buried in the Cimitero Evangelico degli Allori.Obituary, ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'', 8 December 1938, p. 18

Turner's novels

*''Cynthia's Damages. A story of the stage'' (1901). Greening & Co, London *''The Comedy of Progress – A novel'' (1902). Greening & Co *''Castles in Kensington'' (1904). Greening & Co *''Dorothy Raeburn – A novel'' (1905). Greening & Co *''Peace on Earth – A novel'' (1905). Alston Rivers, London *''The Steeple – A novel'' (1905). Greening & Co *''Davry's Affairs'' (1906). Greening & Co *''Uncle Peaceable'' – A comedy (1906). Greening & Co *''Imperial Brown of Brixton'' (1908).

Chapman & Hall Chapman & Hall is an imprint owned by CRC Press, originally founded as a British publishing house in London in the first half of the 19th century by Edward Chapman and William Hall. Chapman & Hall were publishers for Charles Dickens (from 1840 ...

, London *''Samson Unshorn'' (1909). Chapman & Hall *''Count Florio and Phyllis K.'' (1910). Chapman & Hall *''King Philip the Gay'' (1911). Greening & Co

Notes

References

* Berhman, Samuel Nathaniel (1960). ''Conversation with Max''. London: Hamish Hamilton. OCLC 499540234. Also published as ''Portrait of Max: An Intimate Memoir of Sir Max Beerbohm''. New York: Random House (1960). * Hart-Davis, Rupert (ed.) (1964). ''Max Beerbohm's Letters to Reggie Turner''. London: Rupert Hart-Davis. OCLC 71764566 * Weintraub, Stanley (1965). ''Reggie: A Portrait of Reginald Turner''. New York: George Braziller. OCLC 504840575

External links

Turner in 'The Beerbohm Cult' by Joseph Epstein
in ''

'' 11 November 2002
Turner and the Vyvyan Holland biography on Mr Oscar Wilde website
biography on Mr Oscar Wilde website. {{DEFAULTSORT:Turner, Reginald 1869 births 1938 deaths People educated at Hurstpierpoint College Alumni of Merton College, Oxford 20th-century English novelists English gay writers Oscar Wilde English LGBTQ poets English LGBTQ novelists British male poets English male dramatists and playwrights English male novelists