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Sir Anthony Hope Hawkins, better known as Anthony Hope (9 February 1863 – 8 July 1933), was a British novelist and playwright. He was a prolific writer, especially of adventure novels but he is remembered predominantly for only two books: The Prisoner of Zenda (1894) and its sequel Rupert of Hentzau (1898). These works, "minor classics" of English literature, are set in the contemporaneous fictional country of Ruritania and spawned the genre known as Ruritanian romance, books set in fictional European locales similar to the novels. Zenda has inspired many adaptations, most notably the 1937 Hollywood movie of the same name and the 1952 version.
Early career and Zenda
Hope was educated at St John's School, Epsom Road, Leatherhead, Surrey KT22 8SP 51.297, -0.323, Marlborough College, Bath Road, Marlborough, Wiltshire SN8 1PA 51.416, -1.737 and Balliol College, Broad Street, Oxford OX1 3BJ 51.7547, -1.2578. Hope trained as a lawyer and barrister, being called to the Bar by the Middle Temple [The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, Middle Temple Lane, Temple, London EC4Y 9BT 51.5121221, -0.1108662] in 1887. He served his pupillage under the future Liberal Prime Minister H. H. Asquith, who thought him a promising barrister and who was disappointed by his decision to turn to writing.
Hope had time to write, as his working day was not overfull during these early years and he lived with his widowed father, then vicar of St Bride's Church, Fleet Street. His short pieces appeared in periodicals but for his first book, he was forced to resort to a self-publishing press. A Man of Mark (1890) is notable primarily for its similarities to Zenda: it is set in an imaginary country, Aureataland and features political upheaval and humour. More novels and short stories followed, including Father Stafford in 1891 and the mildly successful Mr Witt's Widow in 1892. He stood as the Liberal candidate for Wycombe in the election of 1892 but was not elected.
In 1893 he wrote three novels (Sport Royal, A Change of Air and Half-a-Hero) and a series of sketches that first appeared in The Westminster Gazette and were collected in 1894 as The Dolly Dialogues, illustrated by Arthur Rackham. Dolly was his first major literary success. A. E. W. Mason deemed these conversations "so truly set in the London of their day that the social historian would be unwise to neglect them," and said that they were written with "delicate wit [and] a shade of sadness."
The idea for Hope's tale of political intrigue, The Prisoner of Zenda, being the history of three months in the life of an English gentleman, came to him at the close of 1893 as he was walking in London. Hope finished the first draft in a month and the book was in print by April. The story is set in the fictional European kingdom of 'Ruritania', a term which has come to mean "the novelist's and dramatist's locale for court romances in a modern setting." Zenda achieved instant success and its witty protagonist, the debonair Rudolf Rassendyll, became a well-known literary creation. The novel was praised by Mason, literary critic Andrew Lang, and Robert Louis Stevenson. The popularity of Zenda persuaded Hope to give up the "brilliant legal career [that] seemed to lie ahead of him" to become a full-time writer but he "never again achieved such complete artistic success as in this one book." Also in 1894, Hope produced The God in the Car, a political story, which the late nineteenth-century English novelist George Gissing thought was "of course vastly inferior to what I had supposed from the reviews".
Later years
Hope wrote 32 volumes of fiction over the course of his lifetime and he had a large popular following. In 1896 he published The Chronicles of Count Antonio, followed in 1897 by a tale of adventure set on a Greek island, entitled Phroso. He went on a publicity tour of the United States in late 1897, during which he impressed a New York Times reporter as being somewhat like Rudolf Rassendyll: a well-dressed Englishman with a hearty laugh, a soldierly attitude, a dry sense of humour, "quiet, easy manners", and an air of shrewdness.
In 1898, he wrote Simon Dale, a historical novel involving actress and courtesan Nell Gwyn. Marie Tempest appeared in the dramatisation, called English Nell. One of Hope's plays, The Adventure of Lady Ursula, was produced in 1898. This was followed by his novel The King's Mirror (1899), which Hope considered one of his best works; and Captain Dieppe (1899). In 1900, he published Quisanté and he was elected chairman of the committee of the Society of Authors. He wrote Tristram of Blent in 1901, The Intrusions of Peggy in 1902, and Double Harness in 1904, followed by A Servant of the Public in 1905, about the love of acting.
In 1906, he produced Sophy of Kravonia, a novel in a similar vein to Zenda which was serialised in The Windsor Magazine; Roger Lancelyn Green is especially damning of this effort. Nevertheless, the story was filmed twice, in Italy in 1916 as Sofia De Kravonia, and in the United States in 1920 as Sophy of Kravonia or, The Virgin of Paris. Both adaptations featured the actress Diana Karenne in the title role (billed as "Diana Kareni" in the latter film).
In 1907, a collection of his short stories and novelettes was published under the title Tales of Two People; as well as the novel Helena's Path. In 1910, he wrote Second String, followed by Mrs Maxon Protests the next year.
Hope wrote and co-wrote many plays and political non-fiction during the First World War, some under the auspices of the Ministry of Information. Later publications included The Secret of the Tower, and Beaumaroy Home from the Wars, in 1919 and Lucinda in 1920. Lancelyn Green asserts that Hope was "a first-class amateur but only a second-class professional writer.
Hope married Elizabeth Somerville (1885/6–1946) in 1903 and they had two sons and a daughter. He was knighted in 1918 for his contribution to propaganda efforts during World War I. He published an autobiographical book, Memories and Notes, in 1927. Hope died of throat cancer at the age of 70 at his country home, Heath Farm at Walton-on-the-Hill in Surrey. There is a blue plaque on his house in Bedford Square, London.
From FreeBMD - Registration of birth of Anthony Hope Hawkins in 1863
January to March 1863: Registration of birth of Anthony Hope Hawkins; in Hackney (Volume 1b, Page 396)
From British Newspaper Archive: Morning Post Thursday, 12 February 1863 Page 8 Births
Births: Hawkins. — On Monday, 9 February 1863 [inst.], at Clapton, the wife of the Rev. Edwards Comerford Hawkins, of a son.
From MyHeritage: Edward C Hawkins: 1871 England & Wales Census
2 April 1871 Census for residents of St John Foundation School for the sons of poor clergy, Hackney, St John's Foundation School, now 9 Thistlewaite Road, Lower Clapton, London E5 0QG 51.557793, -0.054925, England
From FreeBMD - Registration of marriage of Anthony Hope Hawkins in 1903 and FreeBMD - Registration of marriage of Elizabeth Somerville Sheldon in 1903
It seems rather a Gilbertian feat that a father should marry his own son. Yet this was accomplished yesterday Wednesday, 1 July 1903, by the Rev. C. E. Hawkins, who performed the ceremony at the marriage of Anthony Hope Hawkins (better known as Anthony Hope) and Elizabeth Somerville Sheldon, of the United States. St Bride's Church, Fleet Street, London EC4Y 8AU 51.51389, -0.10028, a truly appropriate place for a literary bridegroom, presented a gay and festive aspect yesterday, and all that was distinguished in English literature, art, and science was there to consecrate the happiness of one who is not only a very popular author but also a very popular man.
Judging from the wedding gifts bestowed upon the interesting pair, they commence housekeeping with a vast number of articles presented by the most famous people of our time. What is more, Anthony Hope has so thoroughly ingratiated himself with the general public through his clever books that everybody with a strong personal feeling will wish heartfelt joy at this turning point of his private career.
To-day, Saturday, 4 July 1903, the distinguished novelist who courted politics in vain — Mr. Anthony Hope Hawkins — was married at his father's church, in Fleet Street. The bride was Miss Elizabeth Somerville Sheldon, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Henry Sheldon, of New York, and the sister of the well-known actress, Miss Suzanna Sheldon, who was married to Mr. Henry Ainley a few weeks ago.
The church was decorated with palms, and there was a large congregation of the literary and theatrical friends of the bride and bridegroom. The service was conducted by the Bishop of Stepney. The bridesmaids were Miss Ethel Barrymore, the well-known American actress, Miss Beatrice Ainley, and Miss Hilda Smith, with three little girls — Miss Hesper, Miss Eva Le Gallienne, and Miss Helga Hawkins. Mr. H. Garfield Rhodes was best man. Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Hope [will] spend their honeymoon in Surrey.
From FreeBMD - Registration of death of Anthony H. Hawkins in 1933
July to September 1933: Registration of death of Anthony H. Hawkins; aged 70 [born about 1863]; in Reigate, Surrey (Volume 2a, Page 228)
18 August 1933 probate of Sir Anthony Hope Hawkins of Heath Farm, Walton-on-the-Hill, Surrey, who died 8 July 1933, probate granted on 18 August 1933 at London to Elizabeth Somerville Hawkins, widow. Effects £29044 4s. 3d. Resworn £29157 17s. 11d.
| 1863 |
February 9, 1863
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Hackney, London, England (United Kingdom)
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| 1916 |
1916
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| 1933 |
July 8, 1933
Age 70
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Heath Farm, Deans Lane, Walton-on-the-Hill, Surrey, KT20 7UD, England (United Kingdom)
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