Rogue Herries (Herries Chronicles)

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Walpole wrote in 1939, "That I love Cumberland with all my heart and soul is another reason for my pleasure in writing these Herries books. That I wasn't born a Cumbrian isn't my fault: that Cumbrians, in spite of my 'foreignness', have been so kind to me, is my good fortune." [75] Hart-Davis, Rupert (1997) [1952]. Hugh Walpole. Stroud, Gloucestershire: Sutton. pp.481–483. ISBN 0750914912.

Possibly the most pervasive influence on Walpole was Walter Scott, whose romanticism is reflected in much of the later writer's fiction. [14] Such was Walpole's love of Scott that he liked to think of himself as the latter's reincarnation. [109] He amassed the largest collection in Britain of Scott manuscripts and early editions, and constantly reread the novels. [110] With the Herries stories Walpole restored the popularity of the historical novel, a form for which Scott was famous but which had been out of fashion for decades. [14] The Herries series begins in the 18th century and follows a Lakeland family through the generations up to modern times. [85] Reputation [ edit ] Walpole, Hugh. "Why didn't I put Poison in his Coffee?" John O'London's Weekly, 11 October 1940, quoted in Hart-Davis, p. 264I've had some wonderful holidays at the end od October. The trees should be changing colour then too - an added bonus. During his career contemporaries saw both negative and positive sides to Walpole's outgoing nature and desire to be in the public eye. Wodehouse commented, "I always think Hugh Walpole's reputation was two thirds publicity. He was always endorsing books and speaking at lunches and so on." [120] On the other hand, Walpole stood out as one of the few literary figures willing to go into court and give evidence for the defence at the obscenity trial after the 1928 lesbian novel by Radclyffe Hall, The Well of Loneliness, was published. [121]

I adore the Herries saga, however don't ignore his other works - some of the short stories are works of art.

Wodehouse, P. G. (1980) [1953]. "Performing Flea – A Self-portrait in Letters". Wodehouse on Wodehouse. London: Hutchinson. ISBN 0091432103.

John Buchan believed Hugh Walpole's Rogue Herries – the first of an epic tetralogy charting the fortunes of a down-at-heel Cumberland dynasty – to be "the greatest English novel since Jude the Obscure". Since then, few novels have become quite so obscure. The public's taste for Walpole's overstuffed historical romances waned rapidly after the second world war. Youngs, Ian. "Author Hugh Walpole comes in from the cold", BBC, 28 March 2013, accessed 31 December 2013 The main characters, Rogue Herries and his son David are well drawn with Francis (Rogue) being especially complex and troubled. The real star of the show is however the dramatic and beautifully wrought landscape of the area around Borrowdale with its ever changing weather and moods almost as dark as those of Francis. The novel is set in the early to mid eighteenth century and Walpole captures the mood of change very well. His depiction of the period feels very alive with all of its rural poverty, middle class pretension and the overall fragility of life. I particularly liked Walpole's capture of the people's adherence at this time to what are almost medieval beliefs and the mystical feel to some events.The article was revised and reprinted in James's 1914 book Notes on Novelists under the title "The New Novel". [39] a b c d e Priestley, J B. "Hugh Walpole", The English Journal, Volume 17, No 7 (September 1928), pp. 529–536 (subscription required)