Rupert Hart-Davis
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Sir Rupert Charles Hart-Davis (August 28, 1907 - December 8, 1999) was a British publisher, literary editor, and man of letters, founder of the publishing company Rupert Hart-Davis Ltd.
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[edit] Background
He was born into an upper-class family, being matrilineally descended from an illegitimate daughter of King William IV and his mistress Mrs. Jordan. This daughter married an Earl of Erroll, whose daughter Lady Agnes Hay (1829-1869) married 1846 James Duff, Earl Fife (father of the 1st Duke of Fife (1849-1912) who married the eldest daughter of King Edward VII). The Earl and Countess Fife had a fourth and youngest daughter Lady Agnes Duff (1849-1925) who married 3rdly Sir Alfred Cooper, maternal grandfather of Hart-Davis. See below for a clearer explanation.
The family also had several social and publishing connections. His uncle Duff Cooper, 1st Viscount Norwich was a notable political and social figure (and husband of Lady Diana Manners), and his cousin was John Julius Cooper, 2nd Viscount Norwich, father-in-law of historian Antony Beevor.
[edit] Publishing
Hart-Davis's career in publishing began in 1929, when he joined William Heinemann Ltd. as an office boy. After building up some knowledge of the area, he bought a stake in another publishing company, Jonathan Cape Ltd., which he joined as a director in 1933.
In 1946, Hart-Davis struck out on his own, founding Rupert Hart-Davis Ltd., under which name he published many books by authors both obscure and well-known. In the late 1960s and early 1970s he published a number of notable New Wave science fiction novels, including Thomas M. Disch's Camp Concentration. Other science fiction writers with work published by his company include Ray Bradbury, Angela Carter, and E. C. Tubb.
[edit] Writings
He edited volumes of the letters of the playwright Oscar Wilde, the writer and caricaturist Max Beerbohm, and the writer George A. Moore, as well as the diaries of the poet Siegfried Sassoon and the autobiography of Arthur Ransome.
He was the author of Hugh Walpole (1952), a biography of the novelist of that name, and he wrote three volumes of memoirs entitled The Arms of Time (1979), The Power of Chance (1991) and Halfway to Heaven (1998). He was co-author and sole editor of the Lyttelton/Hart-Davis Letters (six volumes, 1978-1984).
[edit] Books by Rupert Hart-Davis
(listed in Halfway to Heaven)
- Hugh Walpole, a biography 1952
- The Lyttelton Hart-Davis Letters, 6 vols 1978-84
- The Arms of Time, a memoir 1979
- A Beggar in Purple, a commonplace book 1983
- The Power of Chance, a table of memory 1991
- Praise from the Past, tributes to writers 1996
- Halfway to Heaven, concluding memoirs of a literary life 1998
[edit] Books compiled, edited and introduced by Rupert Hart-Davis
(listed in Halfway to Heaven)
- The Second Omnibus Book (Heinemann) 1930
- Then and Now (Cape) 1935
- The Essential Neville Cardus (Cape) 1949 .
- Cricket All His Life by E. V Lucas (RHD Ltd) 1950
- All in Due Time by Humphry House (RHD Ltd) 1955
- George Moore: Letters to Lady Cunard 1895-1933 (RHD Ltd) 1957
- The Letters of Oscar Wilde (RHD Ltd) 1962
- Max Beerbohm: Letters to Reggie Turner (RHD Ltd) 1964
- More Theatres by Max Beerbohm (RHD Ltd) 1969
- Last Theatres by Max Beerbohm (RHD Ltd) 1970
- A Peep into the Past by Max Beerbohm (Heinemann) 1972
- A Catalogue of the Caricatures of Max Beerbohm (Macmillan) 1972
- The Autobiography of Arthur Ransome (Cape) 1976
- Electric Delights by William Plomer (Cape) 1978
- Selected Letters of Oscar Wilde (Oxford) 1979
- Two Men of Letters (Michael Joseph) 1979
- Siegfried Sassoon: Diaries 1920-1922 3 vols. (Faber) 1981-85
- War Poems of Siegfried Sassoon (Faber) 1983
- More Letters of Oscar Wilde (Murray) 1985
- Siegfried Sassoon: Letters to Max Beerbohm (Faber) 1986
- Letters of Max Beerbohm (Murray) 1986
[edit] Marriages
He was married four times:
- 1) The actress Peggy Ashcroft (1929) by whom he had no issue.
- 2) Catherine Comfort Borden-Turner (1935), (she died in 1999), by whom he had three children:
- 1) Bridget Min Hart-Davis (1935- ) was married to the 2nd Baron Silsoe;
- 2) Duff Hart-Davis (1936- ) is a biographer and journalist; and
- 3) Adam Hart-Davis (1943- ) is a well-known television broadcaster and author.
- 3) Winifred Ruth Ware (1964 died 1967)
- 4) June Williams (1968) outlived him.
He died on 8 December 1999, at the age of 92.
[edit] Family
(adapted from the Theroff files, created by Paul Theroff)
King William IV of Great Britain, Ireland and Hannover, etc (b.London 21 Aug 1765. d.Windsor Castle 20 Jun 1837); m.Kew Palace 11 Jul 1818 Pss Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen (b.Meiningen 13 Aug 1792, d.Bentley Priory 2 Dec 1849). He succeeded his eldest brother King George IV as monarch on 26 June 1830 King William IV had the following illegitimate issue - 7 sons (male line now extinct) and 3 daughters - by his mistress, Dorothy or Dora Bland, known as "Mrs. Jordan" or Dorothy Jordan. The youngest daughter became Countess of Erroll at her marriage.
Lady Elizabeth Fitzclarence (17 Jan 1801-16 Jan 1856); She m.4 Dec 1820 William George, 18th Earl of Erroll (21 Feb 1801-19 Apr 1846), 23rd Hereditary Lord High Constable of Scotland and thus by virtue of his office, Premier Peer of Scotland. They had issue 1 son (the 19th Earl of Erroll) and 3 daus - Lady Adelaide "Ida" Hay (who married the 2nd Earl of Gainsborough) Lady Agnes Hay (ancestor of Rupert Hart-Davis), and Lady Alice Hay (who married a person claiming to be a legitimate Stuart prince).
Lady Agnes Hay (12 May 1829-18 December 1869); second daughter of the 18th Earl of Erroll and his wife a daughter of King William IV (and thus a cousin of Queen Victoria). She m.16 Mar 1846 James, Earl Fife (6 Jul 1814-7 Aug 1879). They had issue 1 son (the future Duke of Fife (1849-1912) who married his second cousin once removed HRH The Princess Louise, eldest daughter of King Edward VII). This Duke of Fife is grandfather, through his younger daughter, of the present Duke of Fife who inherited by virtue of a second creation of the dukedom in 1900 to allow his daughters and the heirs male of his daughter to inherit. They also had issue 4 daughters - Lady Anne Duff (who married the 5th Marquess Townshend), Lady Ida Duff (who was twice divorced), Lady Alexina Duff (who married a son of an Earl of Coventry), and Lady Agnes Duff (who was divorced from her first husband, and then twice married). Their fourth and youngest daughter was
Lady Agnes Duff (Edinburgh 10 Nov 1849-11 Jan 1925); She m.3d 4 Jul 1882 Sir Alfred Cooper (1838-3 Mar 1908) 1 son 3 daus She was thrice married, and was divorced 1876 from her first husband Viscount Dupplin (d. 1886), eldest son and heir of the 12th Earl of Kinnoull. By her third and last husband, she had issue 1 son (the future Viscount Norwich, husband of Lady Diana Cooper) and 3 daughters.
Their third and youngest daughter was: Sybil Mary Cooper (1886-3 Jan 1927); She m.1905 Richard Vaughan Hart-Davis (d.26 Aug 1964) 1 son 1 dau. According to his son's obituaries, Richard Hart-Davis was not the natural father of Rupert Hart-Davis, and his mother had several lovers. Allegedly, he was the son of Sir Gervase Becket (a Yorkshire banker). However, legally, he was the father of all children born to his wife during their marriage.
Their only son was Sir Rupert Charles Hart-Davis (28 Aug 1907-8 Dec 1999); died aged 92. He m.1st 1929 Peggy Ashcroft [later, Dame Peggy]; m.2nd 1933 Catherine Comfort Borden-Turner, by whom he had issue 2 sons 1 dau; m.3rd 1964 Winifred Ruth Ware (d.1967); m.4th June Williams.
[edit] References
- Hart-Davis, Rupert: Halfway to Heaven, Sutton Publishing Ltd, Stroud, 1998, ISBN 0-7509-1837-3
- Ziegler, Philip: Rupert Hart-Davis, Man of Letters, Chatto and Windus, London, 2004, ISBN 0-7011-7320-3
- Theroff, Paul: Theroff Files (j1d.txt), listing descendants of King James VI & I of England and Scotland.
- Obituaries in The Daily Telegraph, The Times, The Guardian
