Percy Edward Pinkerton

Percy Edward Pinkerton was born on 19 June 1855, at Manor Road, Stamford Hill, Middlesex,[1] as the third child of George Pinkerton (1823–1899)[2] and Mary Easum (1823–1868).[3] His siblings were Eustace (born 1852),[4] a member of the London Stock Exchange, Algernon Robert (born 1853, died 1937 at Rokeby,[5] Godfrey Pinkerton, an architect (born 1858 in Godstone, Surrey, died 1937 in Kensington), and Mary (born 1860 in Godstone), who married the solicitor Gilbert Mainwaring Robinson. Percy's paternal grandparents were Rev. Robert Pinkerton D. D.[6] (born 1780 at Foulshiels, near Selkirk, Scotland, died 7 April 1859 at Reigate, Surrey), and Dorothea, née (possibly) Theakston, born about 1786 at Sarepta, Volgograd, Russia, as a British subject, died 1869 at Kingston, Surrey.[7]

Percy had further Russian connections. All but the last two[8] of his father's many siblings[9] were also born there.[10] His maternal grandparents were Robert Hayes Easum (born 1796, Stepney, Middlesex – died 1866 Worthing, Sussex) and Elizabeth née Edlin (born 1799 Uxbridge, Middlesex – died 1878 Edmonton, Middlesex).[11]

In 1909, Percy married Emily Harriet Woodgates at Kensington.[12] In 1911 they were living at Red Lodge, Happisburgh, Norfolk.[13] In fact Emily Woodgates was born at Putley, Herefordshire, in the December quarter of 1868, the daughter of the Rector, James Richard Woodgates (born 1829 Honiton, Devon – died 1886 Thingoe, Suffolk) and Elizabeth, née Moor (born about 1845 at Great Bealings, Suffolk) daughter of Canon E. J. Moor.

Emily died at St Michael's Hospital, Hayle, Cornwall on 27 November 1938 and was buried at Porthleven Cemetery, Cornwall, on 30 November.[14] Percy died on 31 August 1946, aged 91, at Ealing House, Porthleven, Cornwall.[15] and was buried at Porthleven Cemetery alongside Emily. They had no issue.

Pinkerton published some volumes of poetry: Galeazzo, a Venetian Episode: with other Poems (Venice and London, 1886), which was praised by John Addington Symonds,[16] Adriatica (1894), At Hazebro' (1909), and Nerina, a lyrical drama in three acts (Cambridge, 1927). He also wrote for the Magazine of Art,[17] and in 1889 edited Christopher Marlowe's plays. However most of his literary work consisted of English translations of European songs and literature. He was a member of the late Victorian Lutetian Society, dedicated to unexpurgated translations of the works of Émile Zola. The Society included Ernest Dowson, Havelock Ellis, Arthur Symons, Victor Plarr and Alexander Teixeira de Mattos.[18] He translated other works from German, Italian, French and Russian.

From German

• William Müller, Field-Marshal Count Moltke, 1800–1878, 1879
• Heinrich Düntzer, The Life of Schiller, 1883

From Italian

• Matteo Bandello, Novellieri Italiani. Twelve stories selected and done into English with a memoir of the author, 1892

From French

• Memoirs of Constant, the Emperor Napoleon's head valet, 1896
• Émile Zola, Restless House, 1924
• Émile Zola, "Pot Bouille" 1894-95 (Lutetian House, London)

From Russian

• Mikhail Artsybashev, Sanine, 1914
• Mikhail Artsybashev, The Millionaire, 1915

Operas and cantatas

• Puccini, La Bohème, 1896. Performed for radio in 1930[19]
• Puccini, The witch-dancers, performed at Manchester in 1897[20]
• Niccola Spinelli, A Basso Porto, performed at Brighton in 1900[21]
• Franz Schubert, songs with pianoforte accompaniment
• Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari, The New Life, 1902
• Johann Sebastian Bach, Phoebus and Pan
• Hector Berlioz, Le Temple universel
• Francis Poulenc

• Pansies, to Salut d'Amour by Edward Elgar

• Works by Percy Edward Pinkerton at Project Gutenberg
• Works by or about Percy Edward Pinkerton at Internet Archive
• Works by Percy Edward Pinkerton at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)
• Sanine at Project Gutenberg
• Percy Pinkerton at Library of Congress Authorities, with 16 catalogue records