Arthur Machen
Arthur Machen was a Welsh writer renowned for his contributions to the bizarre and supernatural genres. Born Arthur Llewellyn Jones in 1863, he grew up in a religious household and developed an imaginative, introspective nature. Despite a challenging childhood marked by poverty, he became influenced by writers like Thomas De Quincey and various medieval authors, which shaped his literary style. Machen worked in various professions, including as a clerk and teacher, but found true fulfillment in writing, producing notable works such as "The Great God Pan," "The Three Imposters," and "The Hill of Dreams." His storytelling often explored mystical themes, and he is particularly remembered for his short story "The Bowmen," which struck a chord during World War I. Although he faced struggles with financial stability and popularity throughout his career, he was well-respected by critics and peers. Machen continued to write until his later years and passed away in 1947. His legacy endures, reflecting a unique blend of horror, fantasy, and the supernatural that continues to resonate with readers.
Subject Terms
Arthur Machen
Welsh novelist and short-story writer
- Born: March 3, 1863
- Birthplace: Caerleon-on-Usk, Wales
- Died: December 15, 1947
- Place of death: Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, England
Biography
Arthur Machen, the Welsh writer of the bizarre and supernatural, was born Arthur Llewellyn Jones at Caerleon-on-Usk, Monmouthshire; he took his mother’s maiden name in childhood. The sole child of a High Church clergyman, he was an introspective, imaginative, almost mystical boy, forced to spend most of his time by himself. He was educated in private schools, but the family’s poverty kept him from achieving a first-class education. In his early reading he came under the influence of Thomas De Quincey and various medieval writers, and traces of that interest show in his later work.
Machen worked as a clerk in a publishing house in Paddington, then as a teacher, and finally as a freelance writer. None of these vocations satisfied him, and even writing was a great labor which he never relished. Machen’s best-known works were The Great God Pan, The Three Imposters, and The Hill of Dreams. The latter novel was rejected by the publishers when it was first submitted, and it was ten years after its completion before it finally appeared. Ironically, it was his masterpiece.
Machen married Amelia Hogg in 1887; she died in 1899. In 1902 he joined the Benson Shakespearian Repertoire and toured with them. While with the company he met the actress who became his second wife and the mother of their two children, Hilary and Janet. He joined the staff of the London Evening News when he was fifty years old, still restless, still poor, and still dedicated to an exquisite and otherworldly style of literature which never brought financial reward. He worked for the Evening News for ten years.
Machen finally gave up writing entirely. He could not be popular even when he tried. Nevertheless, he had many appreciative friends among critics and other writers, and he entertained them as often as his budget would allow. He was a congenial man with a liking for children; he had a quick wit and a sense of humor.
Machen’s most popular story was “The Bowmen,” published in the volume The Angels of Mons, the Bowmen, and Other Legends of the War. Machen had been profoundly disturbed by the death of five thousand soldiers at the Battle of Mons in 1914, and in his mystical short story he wrote of St. George and his archers joining forces with the English soldiers to strike down the Germans. Many readers, including men who had fought at Mons, took the story as true. However, Machen’s most highly regarded story is far less reassuring. “The White People,” which appeared in the collection The House of Souls, records an innocent young girl’s initiation into Satanism and her subsequent suicide. In 1943 a committee, including George Bernard Shaw, Max Beerbohm, and T. S. Eliot, was formed to help Machen financially. He died in a nursing home in Beaconsfield, England, on December 15, 1947.
Author Works
Long Fiction:
The Great God Pan, 1890 (novella)
“The Great God Pan” and “The Inmost Light,” 1894 (novellas)
The Hill of Dreams, 1907
The Great Return, 1915
The Terror, 1917
The Secret Glory, 1922 (complete edition 1998)
The Shining Pyramid, 1923
A Fragment of Life, 1928
The Green Round, 1933
Short Fiction:
The Chronicle of Clemendy: Or, The History of the IX Joyous Journeys, 1888
The Three Impostors: Or, The Transmutations, 1895
The House of Souls, 1906
The Angels of Mons, the Bowmen, and Other Legends of the War, 1915
The Children of the Pool, and Other Stories, 1936
The Cosy Room, and Other Stories, 1936
Holy Terrors, 1946
Tales of Horror and the Supernatural, 1948
Ritual, and Other Stories, 1992
Nonfiction:
The Anatomy of Tobacco, 1884
Hieroglyphics: A Note upon Ecstasy in Literature, 1902
Far Off Things, 1922 (autobiography)
Strange Roads, 1923
Things Near and Far, 1923 (autobiography)
The London Adventure, 1924
The Canning Wonder, 1925
Dreads and Drolls, 1926
Notes and Queries, 1926
Bridles and Spurs, 1951
Arthur Machen and Montgomery Evans: Letters of a Literary Friendship, 1923-1947, 1994
The Secret of Sangraal, 1995
Translations:
The Heptameron: Or, Tales and Novels of Marguerite, Queen of Navarre, 1886
The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova, 1894
Bibliography
Cavaliero, Glen. “Watchers on the Threshold.” The Supernatural and English Fiction. Oxford UP, 1995. Cavaliero stresses the importance of landscape and cityscape in Machen’s works as well as the sexual content of his stories.
Joshi, S. T. “Arthur Machen: The Mystery of the Universe.” The Weird Tale. U of Texas P, 1990. Taking a largely negative view of Machen’s work, Joshi dismisses the author’s philosophy and his narrative skill. He observes that, with few exceptions, Machen’s best works were written during the decade 1889–1899.
Nash, Berta. “Arthur Machen Among the Arthurians.” Minor British Novelists. Edited by Charles Alva Hoyt, Southern Illinois UP, 1967. Examines Machen’s use of the Matter of Arthur, particularly the Holy Grail, which Nash believes functioned for Machen as a symbol of humankind. Despite the title of the volume, Machen’s short as well as his long works are considered.
Navarette, Susan. The Shape of Fear: Horror and the Fin de Siècle Culture of Decadence. UP of Kentucky, 1998. Studies Machen along with Oscar Wilde, Walter de la Mare, Henry James, Vernon Lee, and Joseph Conrad, historically contextualizing the works to explore the anxieties and phobias of the era.
Reynolds, Aidan, and William Charlton. Arthur Machen: A Short Account of His Life and Work. Caermaen, 1988. Originally published in 1963, this biography includes illustrations, notes, brief bibliographies, and an index.
Sweetser, Wesley D. Arthur Machen. Twayne, 1964. Sweetser’s study remains the most complete book on Machen, summarizing his life and discussing almost all his vast production. Includes primary and secondary bibliographies.
Valentine, Mark. Arthur Machen. Seren, 1995. An introduction to Machen, briefer than Sweetser’s but taking advantage of more recent scholarship and taking issue with Joshi on several points. Includes illustrations and a select bibliography but no index.
Wagenknecht, Edward. “Arthur Machen.” Seven Masters of Supernatural Fiction. Greenwood Press, 1991. This survey gives fair consideration to Machen’s later, lesser-known stories and novels as well as his more familiar works.
Walter, Damien G. "Machen Is the Forgotten Father of Weird Fiction." The Guardian, 29 Sept. 2009, www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2009/sep/29/arthur-machen-tartarus-press. Accessed 17 May 2017. Discusses Machen's influence on modern horror fiction.