Frank Swinnerton
Frank Arthur Swinnerton, born on August 12, 1884, in a London suburb, was an accomplished British novelist and literary figure. Despite facing significant health challenges in his youth, Swinnerton's passion for literature emerged early; he taught himself to read at the age of four and pursued a career in writing from a young age. Starting as an office boy in a newspaper office, he transitioned into publishing, ultimately working with several notable firms, including J. M. Dent and Chatto & Windus, where he played a key role in promoting prominent authors such as Aldous Huxley and H. G. Wells.
Swinnerton published his first novel, *The Merry Heart*, in 1909, and gained notable success with his 1917 work, *Nocturne*, which is often regarded as an exemplary short story. Throughout his prolific career, he authored sixty-one works, including forty-one novels and various essays, with *The Georgian Scene* and *Harvest Comedy* considered among his best. Additionally, Swinnerton contributed to literary criticism and served as the chief reviewer of fiction for the *London Observer* during the late 1930s to early 1940s. His literary contributions were recognized as competent, and while critical acclaim was measured, he remained a respected figure in the literary community until his passing at the age of 94.
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Frank Swinnerton
English novelist
- Born: August 12, 1884
- Birthplace: Wood Green, a suburb of London, England
- Died: November 6, 1982
- Place of death: Guildford, England
Biography
Frank Arthur Swinnerton, born in a London suburb on August 12, 1884, was a precocious boy who avowedly taught himself to read at the age of four. A series of illnesses as a child, including diphtheria, paralysis, and scarlet fever, caused poor health through most of his later boyhood. His family frequently endured straitened circumstances, especially after his father’s death, when he and his brother became responsible for supporting the family.
He decided early to be a journalist and became an office boy for a Scottish newspaper publisher, Hay, Nisbet & Company, in 1898, at the age of fourteen. In 1900, having decided to become a man of letters rather than a journalist, he became a confidential clerk with publishers J. M. Dent. He worked there until 1907. In 1907 he joined Chatto & Windus, another British publisher, as a proofreader. In 1909, Chatto & Windus published his first novel, The Merry Heart, and made him an editor. He remained with Chatto & Windus through 1926, bringing novelists such as Aldous Huxley, A. A. Milne, Arnold Bennett, and H. G. Wells to the firm. Before he was thirty Swinnerton had published several books, novels, and critical biographies. His first outstanding success came in 1917 with Nocturne, a short but almost perfect Cockney idyll. He went on publishing through his ninety-fourth year, completing sixty-one books, including forty-one novels. A London Bookman, Tokefield Papers, and The Bookman’s London are volumes of essays. The Georgian Scene is a work of literary criticism; it is, withHarvest Comedy, one of the two books Swinnerton considered his best.
From 1937 to 1942 Swinnerton was chief reviewer of fiction for the London Observer. During World War II he served the British government as a civil servant in the Ministry of Information. His first wife was Helen Dircks, a poet. His second wife, whom he married in 1924, was Mary Dorothy Bennett; they had one daughter. Swinnerton was considered a competent novelist and a dependable storyteller. Critics rarely were enthusiastic, but they gave measured approval to many of his works, and he was accepted as a literary personality. His books sold well.
Bibliography
Bennet, Arnold. Frank Swinnerton. 1920. Reprint. Plainview, N.Y.: Books for Libraries Press, 1975.
Catron, Douglas M. “Frank Swinnerton.” In British Novelists, 1890-1929: Traditionalists, edited by Thomas F. Staley. Vol. 34 of Dictionary of Literary Biography. Detroit: Gale Research, 1984.
McKay, Ruth. George Gissing and His Critic Frank Swinnerton. 1933. Reprint. Folcroft, Pa.: Folcroft Press, 1969.