L.P. Hartley (December 30, 1895 - December 13, 1972)

[reviews_and_ramblings]

Leslie Poles Hartley (1895–1972), known as L. P. Hartley, was a British novelist and short story writer. Hartley was born in Whittlesey, Cambridgeshire, the son of Bessie and Harry Hartley. While he was young, the family moved to a small country estate near Peterborough. Hartley was educated in Cliftonville, Thanet, then briefly at Clifton College, where he first met Clifford Henry Benn Kitchin, then at Harrow. In 1915, during WWI, he went up to Balliol College, to read modern history, and there he befriended Aldous Huxley. In 1916, with the arrival of conscription, Hartley joined the army, and in February 1917 he was commissioned as an officer in the Norfolk Regiment, but for health reasons he was never posted overseas for active duties. Invalided out of the army after the war, he returned to Oxford in 1919, where he gathered a number of literary friends, including Lord David Cecil, the platonic ‘love of his life’ according to Francis King. He was introduced by Huxley to Lady Ottoline Morrell. Kitchin, who was also then at Oxford, introduced him to the family of H. H. Asquith, and Cynthia Asquith became a lifelong friend. Despite being named after Leslie Stephen, Hartley always belonged to the Asquith set and was rebuffed by the Bloomsbury group. Hartley was homosexual but not open about his sexuality until toward the end of his life. Hartley regarded his 1971 novel “The Harness Room” as his "homosexual novel" and feared the public reaction to it.

Timeline & Places:

• December 30, 1895: born.

• 1910s: attended Clifton College, 32 College Rd, Bristol BS8 3JH, Regno Unito

• 1910s: attended Harrow School, 5 High St, Harrow HA1 3HP, Regno Unito

• 1915: attended University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 2JD, Regno Unito

• December 13, 1972: died. Buried at Golders Green Crematorium, 62 Hoop Ln, London NW11 7NL, Regno Unito

References:

Queer Places, Vol. 2.1: Retracing the Steps of LGBTQ people around the World
ISBN-13: 978-1532906312 (CreateSpace-Assigned)
ISBN-10: 1532906315
CreateSpace eStore: https://www.createspace.com/6228833
Amazon print: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1532906315/?tag=elimyrevandra-20
Amazon kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01IZ1KZBO/?tag=elimyrevandra-20

Queer Places, Vol. 2.2: Retracing the Steps of LGBTQ people around the World
ISBN-13: 978-1544067568 (CreateSpace-Assigned)
ISBN-10: 1544067569
CreateSpace eStore: https://www.createspace.com/6980566
Amazon print: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1544067569/?tag=elimyrevandra-20
Amazon kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01IZ1KZBO/?tag=elimyrevandra-20