Charles Morgan
Charles Langbridge Morgan was an English writer born in 1894 in Bromley, Kent. He began his naval career as a cadet at the young age of thirteen and served in various capacities before leaving to pursue writing, only to reenlist during World War I. His experiences during the war profoundly influenced his work; while interned in Holland, he lost the manuscript for his first novel, but later rewrote it as *The Gunroom*, published in 1919, which critiqued the treatment of sailors in the British Navy. Morgan's literary career flourished in the 1920s and 1930s, during which he served as the chief drama critic for the *London Times* and published notable works, including *Portrait in a Mirror* and *The Fountain*, the latter winning the Hawthornden Prize. His novels often reflected philosophical themes and a yearning for peace, distinguishing them from contemporary modernist literature. In addition to his fiction, Morgan contributed essays that resonated with readers during and after the war, emphasizing British cultural values. He later held academic positions at the University of Glasgow and Oxford and passed away in 1958. Morgan's legacy includes a diverse body of work that explores human experience through a lens of optimism and contemplation.
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Charles Morgan
Playwright
- Born: January 22, 1894
- Birthplace: Bromley, Kent, England
- Died: February 6, 1958
- Place of death: London, England
Biography
Charles Langbridge Morgan was born in 1894 in Bromley, Kent, England. His father, Charles Morgan, was an engineer; his mother was named Mary Watkins. He entered the Royal Navy as a cadet at age thirteen, first at the Osborne Naval College, then at Dartmouth. Between 1911 and 1913, he served in China and the Atlantic, then left the navy to become a writer. However, with the outbreak of World War I, he reenlisted. His ship was soon captured and he was interned in neutral Holland until 1917.
During that time, Morgan wrote his first novel, but the ship taking him back to England was torpedoed and the manuscript was lost. He was rescued by a British destroyer and rewrote the novel, calling it The Gunroom. The story was about the traditionally cruel treatment of men in the British Navy. It was published in 1919.
Between 1918 and 1921, Morgan studied at Brasenose College, Oxford University, then took a position as drama critic on the staff of the London Times. In 1923, he married another writer, Hilda Vaughan. In 1926, he was promoted to chief drama critic at the Times but continued writing as a novelist. At the outbreak or World War II, Morgan became a naval official, and also a regular contributor of essays to the Times. After the war, he took up lecturing posts at the University of Glasgow, and then at Oxford University. He died in 1958.
The Gunroom proved to be his most realistic novel, demonstrating his fear of the power held by institutions. His following ten novels tended to be more philosophical, emphasizing the transcendent and the power of sexual love. Portrait in a Mirror (1929), for example, is a novel about first love. His next novel, The Fountain (1932), won the Hawthornden Prize for 1933. It deals with his internment experiences, and the opportunities they provided for contemplation. The Voyage (1940) was set in rural France, and won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for 1941. The River Line (1949) was later adapted as a play in 1952. Generally, Morgan’s novels received mixed reviews, as they stood apart from the mainstream of modernist literature in their optimism and desire for rural peace. The narrative line and dialogue were often overwhelmed by excess philosophizing.
Morgan’s wartime essays were gathered together in two volumes titled Reflections in a Mirror in 1944 and 1946. They were immediately popular as restatements of British values that had withstood fascist aggression. In many ways, they were reminiscent of British poet Matthew Arnold in their stress on the importance of a high artistic culture. Further essays followed as Liberties of the Mind (1951) and The Writer and His World (1960), most being on literary topics. Morgan was president of the English Association in 1954.