Rolfe Arnold Scott-James (birth registered as Rolfe Arnold S James, 21 December 1878 – 3 November 1959) was a British journalist, editor and literary critic. He is often cited as one of the first people to use the word "

modernism Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...

" in his 1908 book '' Modernism and Romance'', in which he writes, "there are characteristics of modern life in general which can only be summed up, as Mr.

Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Literary realism, Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry ...

and others have summed them up, by the word, modernism" (p. ix).

Biography

Scott-James was educated under the surname James at

Brasenose College Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The library and chapel were added in the m ...

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, and graduated in 1901. The ''

Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'' states that Scott-James "possessed a strongly developed social conscience: this manifested itself at many different points in his career in activities which, if distinct from his literary gifts, at the same time enriched them" (872). His surname was recorded as James at the time of his marriage on 26 November 1905 to Violet Eleonor Brooks. His daughter, Violet Marie Livia born in July 1906 was registered with the surname Scott-James, as were subsequent children. In 1914, Scott-James, then a close friend of

Wyndham Lewis Percy Wyndham Lewis (18 November 1882 – 7 March 1957) was a British writer, painter and critic. He was a co-founder of the Vorticist movement in art and edited ''Blast (British magazine), Blast'', the literary magazine of the Vorticists. His ...

, became the editor of the ''New Weekly'', which did not survive the outbreak of war later that year. During the war, Scott-James enlisted in the

Royal Garrison Artillery The Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) was formed in 1899 as a distinct arm of the British Army's Royal Artillery, Royal Regiment of Artillery serving alongside the other two arms of the Regiment, the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) and the Royal Horse ...

and fought in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, and by the end of the war he had risen to the rank of Captain and in 1918 was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...

. In 1934, Scott-James took over the editorship of the influential magazine, the ''

London Mercury ''The London Mercury'' was the name of several periodicals published in London from the 17th to the 20th centuries. The earliest was a newspaper that appeared during the Exclusion Bill crisis; it lasted only 56 issues (1682). (Earlier periodical ...

'' from J. C. Squire, in which he published many canonically recognized authors of modernism. The last issue of the ''London Mercury'' in April 1939 contained

W. H. Auden Wystan Hugh Auden (; 21 February 1907 – 29 September 1973) was a British-American poet. Auden's poetry is noted for its stylistic and technical achievement, its engagement with politics, morals, love, and religion, and its variety in tone, ...

's "

In Memory of W. B. Yeats IN, In or in may refer to: Dans * India (country code IN) * Indiana, United States (postal code IN) * Ingolstadt, Germany (license plate code IN) * In, Russia, a town in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast Businesses and organizations * Independen ...

." In 1955 he was made an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

. His daughter

Anne Scott-James Anne Eleanor Scott-James, Lady Lancaster (5 April 1913 – 13 May 2009) was a British journalist and author. She was one of Britain's first female career journalists, editors and columnists, and latterly author of a series of gardening boo ...

also became a prominent journalist. The military historian

Max Hastings Sir Max Hugh Macdonald Hastings (; born 28 December 1945) is a British journalist and military historian, who has worked as a foreign correspondent for the BBC, editor-in-chief of ''The Daily Telegraph'', and editor of the ''Evening Standard''. ...

is his grandson.

Editorships and literary positions

* Literary editor, '' Daily News'', London (1902–1912) * ''New Weekly'', London (1914) * Lead-Writer, the ''

Daily Chronicle The ''Daily Chronicle'' was a left-wing British newspaper that was published from 1872 to 1930 when it merged with the '' Daily News'' to become the '' News Chronicle''. Foundation The ''Daily Chronicle'' was developed by Edward Lloyd out of a ...

'', London (1919–1930) * Assistant editor, the ''

Spectator ''Spectator'' or ''The Spectator'' may refer to: *Spectator sport, a sport that is characterized by the presence of spectators, or watchers, at its matches *Audience Publications Canada * '' The Hamilton Spectator'', a Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, ...

'', London (1933-1935; 1939-1945) * ''

'', London (1934–1939) * ''

Britain To-day Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

'' (1940–1954)

Bibliography

*1908
''Modernism and Romance''
New York and London: John Lane *1910
''An Englishman in Ireland: Impressions of a Journey in a Canoe by River, Lough and Canal''
*1913
''The Influence of the Press''
*1913
''Personality in Literature''
*1928:
''The Making of Literature: Some Principles of Criticism Examined in the Light of Ancient and Modern Theory''
New York: Holt and Company *1947
''The Day Before Yesterday''
London: Frederick Muller Ltd. *1951
''Thomas Hardy''
Short Study *1951: ''Fifty Years of English Literature, 1900-1950'' *1955: ''

Lytton Strachey Giles Lytton Strachey (; 1 March 1880 – 21 January 1932) was an English writer and critic. A founding member of the Bloomsbury Group and author of ''Eminent Victorians'', he established a new form of biography in which psychology, psychologic ...

'
Short Study

References

* Scott-James, R. A. ''Modernism and Romance''. New York and London: John Lane, 1908. * ''Dictionary of National Biography'', 1951-1960. Edited by E. T. Williams and Helen M. Palmer. London: Oxford UP, 1971.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Scott-James, Rolfe Arnold 1878 births 1959 deaths British male journalists English literary critics Place of birth missing Officers of the Order of the British Empire