Charles Greville (diarist)

Charles Greville (diarist)

Charles Cavendish Fulke Greville (2 April 1794 – 17 January 1865) was an English diarist and an amateur cricketer who played first-class cricket from 1819 to 1827. His father Charles Greville was a son of 1st Earl of Warwick, and his mother was Lady Charlotte Bentinck, daughter of the 3rd Duke of Portland (former leader of the Whig party and Prime Minister).[1]

Contents

Early life

Much of Greville's childhood was spent at his maternal grandfather's house at Bulstrode. He was one of the Pages of Honour to George III, and was educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford; but he left the university early, having been appointed private secretary to Earl Bathurst before he was twenty.[2] The interest of the Duke of Portland had secured for him the secretaryship of the island of Jamaica, which was a sinecure office, the duties being performed by a deputy, and the reversion of the clerkship of the council.

Cricket career

Mainly associated with Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), he made 5 known appearances in first-class matches.[3] He played for the Gentlemen in the Gentlemen v Players series. His brother was Algernon Greville.

Public career

Greville entered upon the discharge of the duties of a Clerk of the Council in ordinary in 1821, and continued to perform them for nearly forty years. He therefore served under three successive sovereigns (George IV, William IV and Victoria) and although no political or confidential functions are attached to that office, it is one which brings a man into habitual intercourse with the chiefs of all the parties in the state. Well-born, well-bred, handsome and accomplished, Greville led the easy life of a man of fashion, taking an occasional part in the transactions of his day and much consulted in the affairs of private life.

Until 1855 when he sold his stud he was an active member of the turf, and he trained successively with Lord George Bentinck, and with the Duke of Portland. Greville died at Mayfair, London, and the celebrity which now attaches to his name is entirely due to the posthumous publication of a portion of a Journal or Diary which it was his practice to keep during the greater part of his life. These papers were given by him to his friend Henry Reeve a short time before his death, with an injunction that they should be published, as far as was feasible, at not too remote a period after the writer's death.

Diary

The journals of the reigns of George IV and William IV (extending from 1820 to 1837) were accordingly so published in obedience to his directions about ten years after that event. Few publications have been received with greater interest by the public; five large editions were sold in little more than a year, and the demand in America was as great as in England. These journals were regarded as a faithful record of the impressions made on the mind of a competent observer, at the time, by the events he witnessed and the persons with whom he associated. Greville did not stoop to collect or record private scandal. His object appears to have been to leave behind him some of the materials of history, by which the men and actions of his own time would be judged. He records not so much public events as the private causes which led to them; and perhaps no English memoir-writer has left behind him a more valuable contribution to the history of the 19th century. Greville published anonymously, in 1845, a volume on the Past and Present Policy of England in Ireland, in which he advocated the payment of the Roman Catholic clergy; and he was also the author of several pamphlets on the events of his day.

The memoirs appeared in three sets—one volume for 1817 to 1837 and two for the period from 1837 to 1860, published in 1875, three volumes in 1885 and two in 1887. When the first series appeared in 1875 some passages caused extreme offence. The copies issued were as far as possible recalled and passages suppressed however a copy of this original manuscript remained in the Wallace family possession until it was sold and eventually acquired by a bookseller from New York, Gabriel Wells. Wells and the Doubleday publishing house produced The Greville Diary in two volumes in 1927 however these were criticised for poor editing and containing some inaccurate statements.[4]

In 1874 when it became known that Greville's diary was going to be printed, the news of this caused an uproar. Queen Victoria wrote that she was "horrified and indignant at this dreadful and really scandalous book. Mr Greville's indiscretion, indelicacy, ingratitude, betrayal of confidence and shameful disloyalty towards his Sovereign make it very important that the book should be severely censored and discredited". She also said that "The tone in which he speaks of royalty is unlike anything which one sees in history, even of people hundreds of years ago, and is most reprehensible...Of George IV he speaks in such shocking language, language not fit for any gentleman to use".[2] The Conservative Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli wrote to Lady Bradford on 26 October 1874:

I have not seen Chas. Greville's book, but have read a good deal of it. It is a social outrage. And committed by one who was always talking of what he called ‘perfect gentlemen.’ I don't think he can figure now in that category. I knew him intimately. He was the vainest being—I don't limit myself to man—that ever existed; and I don't forget Cicero and Lytton Bulwer; but Greville wd. swallow garbage, and required it. Offended selflove is a key to most of his observations. He lent me a volume of his MS. once to read; more modern than these; I found, when he was not scandalous, he was prolix and prosy—a clumsy, wordy writer. The loan was made à propos of the character of Peel, which I drew in George Bentinck's Life, and which, I will presume to say, is the only thing written about Peel wh. has any truth or stuff in it. Greville was not displeased with it, and as a reward, and a treat, told me that he wd. confide to me his character of Peel, and he gave me the sacred volume, wh. I bore with me, with trembling awe, from Bruton St. to Gros[veno]r Gate. If ever it appears, you, who have taste for style and expression, will, I am sure, agree with me that, as a portrait painter, Greville is not a literary Vandyke or Reynolds; a more verbose, indefinite, unwieldy affair, without a happy expression, never issued from the pen of a fagged subordinate of the daily press.[5]

His brother, Henry Greville (1801–1872), attaché to the British embassy in Paris from 1834 to 1844, also kept a diary, of which part was published by Viscountess Enfield, Leaves from The Diary of Henry Greville (London, 1883–1884).

Notes

  1. ^ Burke's Peerage (1939 edition) s.v. Warwick.
  2. ^ a b Christopher Hibbert, ‘Greville, Charles Cavendish Fulke (1794–1865)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 2008, accessed 29 July 2011.
  3. ^ CricketArchive. Retrieved on 18 November 2008.
  4. ^ The London Mercury Vol. XVII, No. 98, 1927
  5. ^ William Flavelle Monypenny and George Earle Buckle, The Life of Benjamin Disraeli, Earl of Beaconsfield. Volume II. 1860–1881 (London: John Murray, 1929), pp. 688-689.

Further reading

  • H S Altham, A History of Cricket, Volume 1 (to 1914), George Allen & Unwin, 1962
  • Arthur Haygarth, Scores & Biographies, Volumes 1-11 (1744–1870), Lillywhite, 1862–72

External links

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domainChisholm, Hugh, ed (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Charles Greville — may refer to: English public officials and noblemen Charles Francis Greville (1749–1809), Member of Parliament for Warwick 1774–90; authority on tropical plant gardening and collector of antiquities, minerals and precious stones Charles Greville… …   Wikipedia

  • Charles Cavendish Fulke Greville — (April 2, 1794 January 18, 1865) was an English diarist. His father Charles Greville was a grandson of the 5th earl of Warwick, and his mother was Lady Charlotte Bentinck, daughter of the 3rd duke of Portland (former leader of the Whig party, and …   Wikipedia

  • Charles Lock — Not to be confused with Charles Locke (disambiguation). Charles Lock Born 1770 Died 12 September 1804 (aged 33–34) Malta Cause of death Plague Resting place Malta …   Wikipedia

  • Algernon Greville — Algernon Frederick Greville (29 December 1798 – 15 December 1864) was an English soldier and cricketer who served as private secretary to the Duke of Wellington.He was the second son of Charles Greville and Lady Charlotte Cavendish Bentinck, the… …   Wikipedia

  • Christ Church, Oxford — This article is about the Oxford college. For other uses, see Christ Church (disambiguation) and Christchurch (disambiguation). Colleges and halls of the University of Oxford Christ Church …   Wikipedia

  • Princess Charlotte of Wales — Princess Leopold of Saxe Coburg Saalfeld, Duchess in Saxony A portrait of Charlotte by George Dawe Spouse Prince Leopold of Saxe Coburg Saalfeld …   Wikipedia

  • William Ewart Gladstone — The Right Honourable William Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS Prime Minister of the United Kingdom …   Wikipedia

  • Balmoral Castle — South front of Balmoral Castle Location: Royal Deeside, Aberdeenshire, Scotland Coord …   Wikipedia

  • 1865 in literature — The year 1865 in literature involved some significant new books.Events* June 9 Charles Dickens is involved in the Staplehurst rail crash. * November 18 Mark Twain s story The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County is published in the New… …   Wikipedia

  • English literature — Introduction       the body of written works produced in the English language by inhabitants of the British Isles (including Ireland) from the 7th century to the present day. The major literatures written in English outside the British Isles are… …   Universalium

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”