Hawker of Morwenstow. Portrait of a Victorian Eccentric
VINTAGESTAN BOOKS Title: Hawker of Morwenstow. Portrait of a Victorian Eccentric Summary: This illuminating biography of Robert Stephen Hawker (1803-75) unravels fully the famous Cornish parson-poet's rich personality. Drawing on a mass of unpublished material, Piers Brendon re-creates one of the most bizarre of Victorian lives, revealing the mixture of truth, over-simplification and falsehood in the legend which has built up around him. The popular account depicts Hawker as a youth of wild high spirits who delighted in hoaxes and practical jokes. As an Oxford undergraduate he won the Newdigate Poetry Prize and married his rich 41-year-old godmother. In 1834 he became vicar of Morwenstow and spent the rest of his life in his desolate country parish on the storm-swept coast of north Cornwall. He was a charitable, hard-working Anglo-Catholic but, owing to the remoteness of his position and lack of sympathy from his parishioners, his true genius became warped and he succumbed to wayward eccentricity. His dress was, to say the least, unorthodox, and he became obsessed with antiquarian lore, lending a haunting reality to the arcane superstitions which he cultivated. He entertained no doubt whatever about the active agency of demons and angels, ghosts and brownies. He talked to birds, invited his nine cats into church and excommunicated one of them when it caught a mouse on Sunday. Out of the timbers of wrecked ships he built a hut, a forbidding sanctuary perched on the high cliff-edge, where he invoked mystic visions and composed romantic poetry. Piers Brendon here rescues Hawker from legend, and his fascinating book substitutes character for caricature. An even more interesting and idiosyncratic Hawker emerges, scarred and moulded by the stark isolation of his hostile seaboard benefice, a man of remarkable insight and compassion, who submitted in strange ways to his calling, and who, it turns out, proves to have been a true prophet in his yearning 'what a life mine would be if it were all written and published in a book.' Author: Piers Brendon Publisher: Jonathan Cape. London Year Published: 1975 Edition: 1st Edition Dimensions: 22cm x 14cm Binding type: Hardcover ISBN: 0224011227 Notes: From the library of Reverend Doctor Philip Noble Tindall SKU: VSS / 255 / G / 6654 / 5015 Condition Dust Jacket Condition: Good. Rubbing, wear, handling marks, marks, fading, creasing Book condition: Good. Handling marks, marks, aging, foxing, toning, Binding: Intact Pages: 270 pages
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Grading explained As New: Same condition as a new, unread book. In perfect condition Fine: Book or dust jacket that is not quite a crisp as a as new book Very good: A read book. Minimal wear to book / dust jacket. No tears on either binding or paper. No marks or highlighting of text, may have identifying marks on inside cover. Good: Describes the average used book that has all its pages or leaves. Light foxing or age toning may be present. Dust jacket may be missing, cover and binding may have wear. Majority of pages are undamaged. May have creasing or tearing and pencil underlining of text. No permanent highlighting to text or writing in margins. Fair: Describes a worn book that has complete text pages (including those with maps or plates), May lack end papers, half title page, etc. Binding and jacket may also be worn Poor: Book shows considerable wear, only merit is as a reading copy. Book or dust jacket listed as poor may be soiled; scuffed, stained, book may have loose joints, hinges, pages etc. Ex-Library: Former library copy. May have marks and stamps. From library of: From a privately owned library. Conditions of Sale If you have any problems with your item please contact us first so we can resolve them as quickly as possible. We do accept returns (please see our returns policy)
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