Background

Anthony Hope Hawkins was born on February 9, 1863 in Clapton, London, United Kingdom. He was the second son of late Reverend E. C. Hawkins, Vicar of St. Bride’s, Fleet Street, who was the headmaster of St John's Foundational School for the Sons of Poor Clergy (which soon moved to Leatherhead in Surrey and is now St John's School).

Education

Anthony Hope Hawkins was educated by his father and studied at St. John's School during his childhood. After finishing St. John's School, he attended Marlborough College, where he was editor of The Marlburian. He won a scholarship to Balliol College at Oxford University in 1881. Before graduating in 1886, he played football for his college, took a first-class degree in Classics, and was one of the rare Liberal presidents of the Oxford Union, becoming known as a good speaker.

Career

Anthony Hope Hawkin's first book was The Prisoner of Zenda (1894), that brought him fame. In 1896 he published The Chronicles of Count Antonio, followed in 1897 by a tale of adventure set on a Greek island, entitled Phroso. He went on a publicity tour of the United States in late 1897, during which he impressed a New York Times reporter as being somewhat like Rudolf Rassendyll.

In 1898, he wrote Simon Dale, an historical novel involving the actress and courtesan Nell Gwyn. Marie Tempest appeared in the dramatisation, called English Nell. One of Hope's plays, The Adventure of Lady Ursula, was produced in 1898. This was followed by his novel The King's Mirror (1899), which Hope considered one of his best works. In 1900, he published Quisanté. He wrote Tristram of Blent in 1901 and Double Harness in 1904, followed by A Servant of the Public in 1905, about the love of acting. In 1906, he produced Sophy of Kravonia, a novel in a similar vein to Zenda which was serialised in the Windsor Magazine. In 1907, a collection of his short stories and novelettes was published under the title Tales of Two People. In 1910, he wrote Second String, followed by Mrs Maxon Protests the next year.

In addition, Hope wrote or co-wrote many plays and some political non-fiction during the First World War, some under the auspices of the Ministry of Information. Later publications included Beaumaroy Home from the Wars, in 1919, and Lucinda in 1920. He published an autobiographical book, Memories and Notes, in 1927.

Achievements

• Anthony Hope Hawkins wrote 32 volumes of fiction over the course of his lifetime, and he had a large popularity. His most successful books dealt with an imaginary Balkan kingdom called Ruritania, a country adopted by many romantic novelists since. Among his other famous books are The Chronicles of Count Antonio (1895), Rupert of Hentzau (1898), and The King's Mirror (1899). These works, "minor classics" of English literature, are set in the contemporaneous fictional country of Ruritania and spawned the genre known as Ruritanian romance.
  
  He was knighted in 1918 for his contribution to propaganda efforts during World War I.

Works

More photos

• book

  • The Prisoner of Zenda

    (The Prisoner of Zenda (1894), by Anthony Hope, is an adve...)

  • The Heart of Princess Osra

    (The Heart of Princess Osra is part of Anthony Hope's tril...)

  • Sophy of Kravonia A Novel eBook: Anthony Hope: Books

    (This book was converted from its physical edition to the ...)

  • Rupert of Hentzau
  • The Great Miss Driver eBook: Anthony Hope: Books
  • Frivolous Cupid
  • Beaumaroy Home from the Wars - Kindle edition by Anthony Hope. Reference Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.

Views

Conservative

Membership

Hope was chairman of the committee of the Society of Authors.

Connections

In 1903 Anthony Hope married Elizabeth Somerville. They had two sons and a daughter.

Father:

E. C. Hawkins

Wife:

Elizabeth Somerville

She was a daughter of Charles H. Sheldon of New York.