Richard Middleton
Richard Middleton was an English writer born in 1882 in Staines, Middlesex, who is best known for his ghost stories. He experienced a challenging childhood and pursued education at the University of London, where he excelled in subjects like mathematics, English, and philosophy. After working as a clerk, Middleton devoted his evenings to writing and eventually gained enough recognition to leave his job and focus on his literary career. Despite his efforts, he struggled to publish his poetry and narratives, which led to feelings of despair. Tragically, Middleton took his own life in 1911 in Brussels. Posthumously, his works were compiled and published by a friend, achieving both critical acclaim and popularity, particularly for his ghost stories such as "The Ghost Ship" and "On the Brighton Road." These stories blend imaginative elements with reality, showcasing his unique literary voice that continues to resonate with readers today.
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Richard Middleton
Poet
- Born: October 28, 1882
- Birthplace: Staines, Middlesex, England
- Died: December 1, 1911
- Place of death: Brussels, Belgium
Biography
Richard Middleton was born one of three children in Staines, Middlesex, England, in 1882. By his own account, he suffered an unhappy childhood. He attended several schools as a child before entering the University of London. He passed the Oxford and Cambridge Higher Certificate Exams in mathematics, English, and philosophy in 1900. In 1901, Middleton began work as a clerk at the Royal Exchange Assurance Corporation. He pursued his interest in writing during the evenings after work and in five years was able to quit his position and support himself by publishing numerous essays and reviews in journals such as Vanity Fair and The Century. He also joined the literary club The New Bohemians, which helped sustain his literary ambitions and nourished his intellectual elitism and romanticism.
Middleton was not happy producing essays and reviews, but was unable to find a publisher for his poetry and stories. He eventually became despondent over this failure and in December of 1911, he committed suicide in a rented room in Brussels, Belgium. After his death, his friend Henry Savage collected Middleton’s stories and poetry and published them in a series of books that received critical acclaim, while the notoriety of his suicide made them a popular success as well.
Middleton became best known for his ghost stories, in particular, “The Ghost Ship” and “On the Brighton Road” both collected in The Ghost Ship, and Other Stories (1912). “The Ghost Ship,” a tale of a phantom ship blown by a raging storm into a cabbage patch, combines the fanciful and the factual in a delightfully entertaining manner, while “On Brighton Road” is an eerie tale about children and dying. Middleton’s literary reputation largely rests upon these two stories, which continue to be anthologized today.