William Knighton (author)
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WILLIAM KNIGHTON LLD (1823 – 1901)
Author, Educator, Indian Civil Servant
William Knighton was an English journalist and author whose career in the 19th century included periods in Ceylon and in India and work in coffee-planting, teaching, and public administration which provided material for his writing. His interests included geography, history, philosophy, and politics. His best-known work, the Private Life of an Eastern King, was translated into several languages and has been reprinted in modern times, as have other works of his including the History of Ceylon and Forest Life in Ceylon.
His father's cousin, Sir William Knighton, the physician became private secretary of King George IV and was created a baronet.[1]
Early life and education[edit]
William Knighton's early life and education are little documented. He himself gives little detail about his early life in his works, some of which are semi-autobiographical. He wrote that he attended Glasgow University at the age of fourteen.[2]
Career[edit]
Ceylon[edit]
In 1844 he set sail for Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) to manage a coffee plantation near Kandy. He began contributing articles to the Colombo Herald and when offered its editorship he accepted. At the same time he became secretary of the newly formed Ceylon branch of the Asiatic Society and editor of its journal to which he contributed articles and wrote a History of Ceylon.
After leaving Ceylon, he published two semi-autobiographical works based on his time there, Tropical Sketches and Forest Life in Ceylon, which were well received.
Calcutta[edit]
He went to Calcutta in 1846 where he taught History and Logic at the Hindu College (now Presidency College), wrote articles for the Calcutta Review, Lord Wellesley's India Sporting Review and for one of the daily papers about politics and the Sikh War' and later became editor of a new Calcutta newspaper. He also continued to write articles for the journal of the Calcutta Asiatic Society.
Temporary return to England[edit]
In 1852, back in England on leave and living in Chelsea, he became part of the literary circle that included Thomas Carlyle and Waldo Emerson.[3] He contributed two articles to Chales Dickens' Household Words.[2] He wrote Edgar Bardon, a semi-autobiographical novel in three parts.
His best-selling book was the Private Life of an Eastern King published in 1855 which presented life at the court of the Nawab of Oudh in critical terms, and gave an argument in support of the annexation of Oudh by the British which took place in 1856.[4][5]
Public administration in India[edit]
In 1860 he returned to India on being appointed Assistant Commissioner in the newly annexed province of Oudh[6] perhaps on the strength of the success of his book. This was a post which involved overseeing the civil administration of a district, tax-raising and acting as a judge in civil and criminal cases, under the oversight of the Commissioner of the province.
In parallel to his work as an administrator, he wrote a sequel called "Elihu Jan's Story, or The Private Life of an Eastern Queen" based on tales told to his wife by her maid formerly of the royal household. He also, unusually for a civil servant, later published a book critical of Lord Cranborne's policies as Secretary of State for India.
Return home to England[edit]
WK resigned his post in the Oudh Commission in 1867,[7] and from then on devoted his life to literature.
William Knighton was a fellow, member of Council and vice-president of the Royal Society of Literature in London and also of the Association Littéraire et Artistique Internationale (ALAI; International Literary and Artistic Association) founded in Paris in 1878 by Victor Hugo.
He commissioned a bronze statue of Shakespeare by the sculptor Paul Fournier which he presented to the city of Paris, where it was erected in a prominent position on the Boulevard Haussmann.[8][9] It was melted down on the orders of the Vichy government in 1941, as were a large number of other bronze statues in France, and the metal was sent to Germany.[10]
His final long work was Struggles for Life in 1888 which he considered his magnum opus.
Death[edit]
WK spent his last years in St. Leonards-on-Sea, Sussex where he died on 31 March 1900.[11]
Further reading[edit]
The private life of an eastern king together with Elihu Jan's story; or, The private life of an eastern queen, with genealogy of Nawab Wazirs and Kings of Oudh 1921 OUP. See Introduction by S.B. Smith pages vii-viii and two letters from the son-in-law and grandson of William Knighton pages xl-xli
William Knighton – an account of his life - Judy Urquhart Amazon 2022 paperback (ISBN: 9798842871018)
Bygone days in India by Douglas Dewar, 1922, London, John Lane, Bodley Head pp 84-86 (Internet Archive)
Select bibliography[edit]
History of Ceylon from the earliest period to the present 1845 one volume (Google Books) reprinted Cambridge University Press 2013 DOI
The Utility of the Aristotelian Logic; or, the Remarks of Bacon, Locke, Reid and Stewart on That Subject Considered; Being the Substance of Three Lectures, Etc.: 1847 one volume
Forest Life in Ceylon 1847. Hurst and Blackett 2nd edn 1854 vol I vol. II (Google Books)
Tropical Sketches 1855. Hurst and Blackett [1]Vol 1. Vol 2 (Google Books)
European Turkey, its people, provinces history and origins of the present war 1854 John Cassell one volume (Google Books)
Training System of Education, particularly as adapted for Large Towns 1854 The Journal of the Society of Arts, vol. 2, no. 90, 1854 pp. 651–666 Accessed 2 July 2024 (JSTOR)
Training in Streets and Schools. A lecture 1855 Longmans & Company one volume (Google Books)
Private Life of an Eastern King 1855 3rd revised edition 1856 (Google Books). see also under SELECT SOURCES the OUP combined edition of the two "Private Lives" of 1921.
Edgar Bardon – autobiographical novel in 3 volumes 1856 Vol 1 (Google Books) vol 2 (Google Play) vol 3 (Google Play)
Elihu Jan's Story; or, The Private Life of an Eastern Queen 1865 Longman, Green, Longman, Roberts, & Green one volume (Google Books). see also the additional material in the OUP combined edition of the two "Private Lives" of 1921, reference under FURTHER READING
The Policy of the Future in India: A Letter to the Right Hon. Lord Cranborne 1867 Longmans, Green & Co one volume (Google Books)
Two lectures in Transactions of the Royal Society of Literature ser.2 v.14 1881 :
- The philosophy of Epicurus and modern agnosticism [Read June 24, 1885] pp. 41-67
- Cleon, the demagogue [Read May 25, 1887] pp. 256-277
Struggles for Life 1888 Williams and Norgate one volume (Google Books)
References[edit]
- ↑ Debrett's illustrated baronetage and knightage (and companionage) 1885 Knighton, Creation 1813, of Blendworth, Hants This article gives biographical detail about William Knighton the author under the heading "Collateral branch living"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 see the analysis in the page William Knighton by Anne Lohrli, Dickens Online Journals, on his use of the postnominal "LL.D.", referring to her correspondence with the University of Giessen.
- ↑ Much later, he published an article Conversations with Carlyle, in The Contemporary Review vol 39 1881 Jan-Jun pp. 904-920 Carlyle
- ↑ Oudh was spelled Oude at the time.
- ↑ The Private Life of an Eastern King was referred to in a debate in the House of Commons on an opposition motion on the causes of the Indian Mutiny and the annexation of the princely kingdom of Oudh by the British. The motion was passed by the House and required the government to produce copies of correspondence with the Governor-General relating to the annexation of Oudh. UK Parliament | Hansard | Commons: 16 February 1858 | Commons Chamber | India—Annexation Of Oude | Papers Moved For
- ↑ Allen's Indian Mail 29 Sep 1860 vol 18 p.718 Official Gazette Bengal By the Governor-General Fort William Aug. 9. Mr W. Knighton to be an asst. commr of 3rd class, in province of Oude.
- ↑ Times of India - Friday 07 February 1868 p. 2 GOVERNMENT OF INDIA ORDERS FOREIGN DEPARTMENT. Fort William, 28th January 1868. PROMOTION - Lieutenant F.Currie, Assistant Commissioner, 3rd Grade, in Oude, to be Assistant Commissioner, 2nd Grade vice Mr. W. Knighton resigned.
- ↑ Monument à William Shakespeare – Paris \(75008\) \(fondu\) Numéro d'identification de la fiche : M10397. Recense les monuments et le décor urbain créés au XIXe siècle principalement. Projet développé par le Réseau international de la Fonte d'art, l'ASPM avec l'appui du Musée d'Orsay (Paris) et le Laboratoire de recherche des monuments historiques. https://e-monumen.net/patrimoine-monumental/monument-a-william-shakespeare-paris-8e-arr/
- ↑ Bulletin municipal officiel de la Ville de Paris, 15 Oct 1888. Speeches pronounced at unveiling of statue of Shakespeare by William Knighton, M. Darlot, president of the municipal council of Paris and Laurenceau, secretary-general of the Seine Prefecture pp 2161 - 2162 (Gallica) https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k6329968z
- ↑ Hoenselaars, Ton, and Clara Calvo. "Introduction: Shakespeare and the Cultures of Commemoration." Critical Survey, vol. 22, no. 2, 2010, pp. 1–10. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/41556363. Accessed 24 Mar. 2024.
- ↑ Obituary, The Times 6 April 1900. GRO Deaths 1900 Jun Hastings Vol 02B page 23. Probate on 1 June 1900 in London, England.
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