Maurice Baring
Maurice Baring (1874-1945) was a notable British writer and diplomat, recognized for his contributions across various literary forms, including fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and plays. Born into the influential Baring banking family, he received a classical education at Eton and Cambridge, excelling particularly in French studies. His career began in the diplomatic service in 1898, where he was stationed in major European cities and reported on significant events such as the Russo-Japanese War, which inspired his acclaimed book, *With the Russians in Manchuria* (1905).
Baring also made an impact as a journalist, notably for *The Times*, focusing on the Balkans during a tumultuous period in early 20th-century Europe. His literary legacy includes around fifty published works, reflecting his diverse interests and expansive knowledge. During World War I, he served in the Royal Flying Corps, later chronicling his experiences in his autobiography, *The Puppet Show of Memory* (1922). Despite facing health challenges in his later years, he remained a prolific writer until his death in 1945. Baring's work contributed significantly to the literary landscape of his time, and he is remembered for his role in promoting Russian literature in the West, particularly the works of Anton Chekhov.
Subject Terms
Maurice Baring
English novelist, nonfiction writer, poet, short-fiction writer, diplomat, and reporter.
- Born: April 27, 1874
- Birthplace: London, England
- Died: December 14, 1945
- Place of death: Beauly, Scotland
Biography
Maurice Baring was born on April 27, 1874. He was the fifth son, and the seventh of eight children. His father was the third Lord Revelstoke of the famed Baring banking dynasty. The Barings were a powerful family whose various members included the Viceroy of India, governor of South Rhodesia, and governor of Kenya. Baring received his early education at home from tutors and governesses. He attended Cambridge and Eton, where he won the Prince Consort prize for his French studies.
When his family fortunes faltered, Baring joined the diplomatic service in 1898. He spent time in Paris, Copenhagen, and Rome until 1904. He then became a writer for the Morning Post, and covered the Russo-Japanese War in Manchuria. His book about these experiences, With the Russians in Manchuria, was published in 1905. In the years that followed, Baring was stationed in St. Petersburg and Constantinople. He switched to being a reporter for The Times in 1912, where he served as the special correspondent to the Balkans. He is reported to have been one of the first Westerners to discover the writing of Russian author Anton Chekov and was instrumental in bringing him to a wider audience.
Baring joined the Royal Flying Corps at the onset of World War I and became a staff officer in 1918 of the Royal Air Force. His 1922 autobiography, The Puppet Show of Memory, covers his war experiences. Once the war ended, he began writing fiction and wrote approximately fifty books. Baring never married, and his health began to fail in the early 1930s when he was afflicted with paralysis agitans. By 1940, he was forced to move to Scotland to stay with friends. Baring died on December 14, 1945. Baring is considered a man of letters who was published in a wide variety of disciplines. Over the course of his long career, he wrote fiction, nonfiction, poetry, plays, essays, and translations.
Author Works
Long Fiction:
Passing By, 1921
Overlooked, 1922
A Triangle: Passages from Three Notebooks, 1923
C, 1924
Cat's Cradle, 1925
Daphne Adeane, 1926
Tinker's Leave, 1927
The Coat Without Seam, 1929
Robert Peckham, 1930
In My End Is My Beginning, 1931
Friday's Business, 1932
The Lonely Lady of Dulwich, 1934
Darby and Joan, 1935
Nonfiction:
With the Russians in Manchuria, 1905
A Year in Russia, 1907
Russian Essays and Stories, 1909
Landmarks in Russian Literature, 1910
The Russian People, 1911
What I Saw in Russia, 1913
Letters from the Near East, 1913
Around the World in Any Number of Days, 1914
The Mainsprings of Russia, 1914
An Outline of Russian Literature, 1915
R.F.C.H.Q., 1914–1918, 1920 (memoir)
The Puppet Show of Memory, 1922 (autobiography)
Punch and Judy, 1924
French Literature, 1927
Comfortless Memory, 1928 (memoir)
Flying Corps Headquarters, 1930 (memoir)
Sarah Bernhardt, 1933 (biography)
Maurice Baring, a Postscript, 1947
Dear Animated Bust: Letters to Lady Juliet Duff, France, 1915–1918, 1981
Maurice Baring: Letters, 2007
Poetry:
The Black Prince, and Other Poems, 1903
Sonnets and Short Poems, 1906
Collected Poems of Maurice Baring, 1911
In Memoriam: Auberon Herbert, Captain Lord Lucas, Royal Flying Corps, Killed November 3, 1916, 1917
Collected Poems, 1918
Poems, 1914–1919, 1920
Per Ardua, MCMXIV-MCMXVIII, 1929
Selected Poems, 1930
Short Fiction:
Dead Letters, 1910
Lost Diaries, 1913
Orpheus in Mayfair, and Other Stories and Sketches, 1909
Half a Minute's Silence, and Other Stories, 1925
The Glass Mender, and Other Stories, 1926
Bibliography
Coates, John. "Baring's Moral Exploration in Cat's Cradle." Renascence, vol. 59, no. 1, 2006, pp. 33–52. A literary critique of Baring's novel Cat's Cradle that explores moral choice, particularly in terms of Baring's representation of the English upper class in the nineteenth century as well as the concepts of love and marriage.
Hillgarth, Jocelyn, and Julian Jeffs, editors. Maurice Baring: Letters. Michael Russell, 2007. A selected collection of Baring's letters to friends and colleagues that offers insight into his views on literature and British society.
Letley, Emma. Maurice Baring: A Citizen of Europe. Constable, 1991. A biography written by Baring's great-niece.
Read, Piers Paul. "What's Become of Baring?" Review of Maurice Baring: Letters, edited by Jocelyn Hillgarth and Julian Jeffs. The Spectator, 10 Oct. 2007, www.spectator.co.uk/2007/10/whats-become-of-baring/#. Accessed 28 June 2017. Upon publication of a volume of Baring's letters, the writer reflects on the relevance of Baring's work in modern times.
Reilly, Joseph J. "The Significance of Maurice Baring, Poet." America, vol. 58, no. 17, 1938, pp. 403–4. Provides a general analysis of Baring's approach to poetry as perceived during the poet's lifetime.