L. P. Hartley

Oxford Poetry first published Hartley's work in 1920 and 1922. During this time, he edited Oxford Outlook with Gerald Howard and A.B.B. Valentine, publishing work by L.A.G. Strong, Edmund Blunden, John Strachey, and C.M. Bowra. His own essays, short stories, and reviews were also included in its pages. In this early part of his career, Hartley spent most of his time broadening his social life. He was introduced by Huxley to Lady Ottoline Morrell, who welcomed him into her famed literary circle. Kitchin, with whom he had been reunited at Oxford, introduced him to Cynthia Asquith, who became a lifelong friend. He also met Elizabeth Bibesco, whose support and status catapulted Hartley into aristocratic British circles. Although he enjoyed rapid social success, his career as a writer failed to take off, and he was unhappy.[1]

After his years at Oxford, Hartley worked as a book reviewer. He wrote articles for multiple publications, such as The Spectator, Saturday Review, and The Nation and Athenaeum.[7] His favorite publication to write for was The Sketch. Hartley was praised extensively for his critical, steady, and wise reviews. However, the large number of books he had to read distracted him from his goal to write novels.[1]

In 1924, he met Constance Huntington of G.P. Putnam, who published his first volume of short stories, Night Fears, in that year, as well as his novella Simonetta Perkins in 1925.[7] Night Fears was relatively unsuccessful, earning him no money. Simonetta Perkins brought him only £12, though it was written about favorably. The Saturday Review called the young writer "one of the most hopeful talents", and The Calendar of Modern Letters said that Simonetta Perkins was a "distinguished first novel". Modern critics have called it his most dangerous novel, as Hartley explored infatuation and sexuality in a way not considered respectable at the time.[1] In 1932, Hartley published The Killing Bottle, a collection of ghost stories. Cynthia Asquith included some of them in an anthology, which increased his popularity with the public. Critics thought of Hartley as the successor of the Gothic greats M. R. James and E. F. Benson.[1]

Though he had worked on it for two decades, Hartley did not publish his first full-length novel, The Shrimp and the Anemone, until he was 49 years old.[2] He had started and stopped writing the novel many times and even submitted it to a writing contest under a different name, but it did not win. The main characters, Eustace and Hilda, were inspired by Hartley himself and his sister Enid. He continued the series with the novels The Sixth Heaven and Eustace and Hilda. The trilogy explores the ideas of childhood nostalgia and the reality of adulthood. By the time of the third book's publication, Hartley had become a well-known author. Critics reviewed the books favorably, often marvelling at the author's ability to create characters that were lovable despite their high-class status. Walter Allen in the New Statesman called the last novel "one of the few masterpieces in contemporary fiction", and other critics agreed in similar reviews. Some, however, found the plentiful Italian dialogue pretentious. Despite the overwhelmingly good reviews, Hartley most valued the reactions of his friends and fellow writers. Both Edith Sitwell and Clifford Kitchin wrote him touching letters, expressing their awe and love of the novel.[1]

After writing a few more novels with moderate success, Hartley wrote The Go-Between in just five months. Having left his previous publisher after disputes over compensation, he decided to publish this one with Hamish Hamilton. Critics' reviews were enthusiastic, and Knopf immediately wanted to publish the novel in the United States. There, it became extremely popular and even made the New York Times's bestseller list. The novel was translated into Italian, French, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, and Japanese. Hartley gained favor with other writers as well. W. H. Auden read the book and told Hartley that he was his favorite novelist. Many of Hartley's friends drew parallels between him and the main character Leo; just like Hartley, Leo was stuck between his middle-class upbringing and his high-class social circle. Leo also comes to understand near the end of his life that being alone is not something he wants, wishing that he was married instead. (This theme would be repeated in Hartley's later works.) Hartley had intended The Go-Between to be a commentary on the loss of innocence and morality; however, he was shocked when he found that many readers sympathized with the characters he thought should be hated. He was known to be a strict moralist, once describing compassion as doing away with moral worth and a substitute for justice.[1]

Though Hartley joined the Chelsea literary group, the Bloomsbury group was also prominent in England at the time. Though the Bloomsbury circle was more popular, Hartley had no interest in joining them. He expressed his distaste for Virginia Woolf after her novel The Waves was published, asking the leader of the Bloomsbury group, Raymond Mortimer, "What are the Wild Waves saying?" On another occasion Woolf asked Hartley, "Have you written any more shabby books, Mr. Hartley?", particularly referring to "the one that might have been written by a man with one foot in England and the other in Venice". She advised him to change his formal way of writing.[1]

Cynthia Asquith was a support through much of Hartley's career, publishing some of his earliest writings in her anthologies and welcoming him into her social circles. However, feelings started to change after Hartley did not allow her to publish his novel The Go-Between. Asquith reminded him of this fact often, and Hartley came to believe that the only reason she continued to be friends with him was his increased popularity. At one point, Asquith convinced Hartley's cook to leave him and work for her. On another occasion, she gave him vinegar instead of alcohol.[1]

The major influences on Hartley's work were Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry James, and Emily Brontë. His books often explore themes of social and personal morality—in particular, depicting passion as a route to disaster.[7][8] He wrote about characters on the brink between adolescence and adulthood, contrasting childhood innocence with eventual self-knowledge.[10] Hartley is usually regarded as both a realist and a romantic by critics and historians. He is known for using symbolism to develop characters and comment on the complexities of the class system.[7] He is also praised for introducing fantasy, horror, and mysticism to comment on the mystery of existence.[8] In columns Hartley wrote for The Daily Telegraph, he often expressed a distaste for contemporary culture because of its general vulgarity and rudeness.[11] Beginning in 1952, Hartley travelled in England, Germany, Italy, and Portugal to lecture about his critical ideas.[8]

In 1947 Hartley was awarded the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for his novel Eustace and Hilda, and his 1953 novel The Go-Between was joint winner of the Heinemann Award. He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1956 New Year Honours.[12] In 1972, he was named a Companion of Literature by the Royal Society of Literature. He was the head of the English section of P.E.N. and was also a member of the management council of the Society of Authors. In total, Hartley published 17 novels, 6 volumes of short stories, and a book of criticism. These were mostly done during the last half of his life.[7]

In 1971, the director Joseph Losey made a film based on Hartley's novel The Go-Between, starring Julie Christie and Alan Bates.[10] In 1995, Clive Dunn directed a documentary about Hartley, titled Bare Heaven.[13]