Gray

by Edmund Gosse

This book was originally published prior to 1923, and represents a reproduction of an important historical work, maintaining the same format as the original work. While some publishers have opted to apply OCR (optical character recognition) technology to the process, we believe this leads to sub-optimal results (frequent typographical errors, strange characters and confusing formatting) and does not adequately preserve the historical character of the original artifact. We believe this work is culturally important in its original archival form. While we strive to adequately clean and digitally enhance the original work, there are occasionally instances where imperfections such as blurred or missing pages, poor pictures or errant marks may have been introduced due to either the quality of the original work or the scanning process itself. Despite these occasional imperfections, we have brought it back into print as part of our ongoing global book preservation commitment, providing customers with access to the best possible historical reprints. We appreciate your understanding of these occasional imperfections, and sincerely hope you enjoy seeing the book in a format as close as possible to that intended by the original publisher.

252 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1845

About the author

Sir Edmund Gosse was an influential English poet, critic, biographer, and translator who played a pivotal role in shaping literary and artistic discourse in late Victorian and Edwardian Britain. Born into the strict religious sect of the Plymouth Brethren, Gosse experienced a repressive upbringing under his father, the naturalist Philip Henry Gosse. His eventual rejection of that faith formed the basis for his most famous book, Father and Son (1907), a groundbreaking autobiographical work considered one of the first psychological memoirs in English literature.
Gosse began his literary career as an assistant librarian at the British Museum and went on to publish poetry, translations, and literary criticism. He developed close relationships with prominent writers and artists of the time, including Robert Louis Stevenson, Algernon Charles Swinburne, and the sculptor Hamo Thornycroft. His interest in Scandinavian literature led to the promotion of Henrik Ibsen’s plays in England through his translations and reviews, often in collaboration with William Archer.
In addition to lecturing in English literature at Trinity College, Cambridge, Gosse served as librarian to the House of Lords and contributed significantly to the Encyclopædia Britannica. He was also an influential art critic and authored the first historical account of the New Sculpture movement in British art. A literary patron, he was instrumental in securing support for writers such as W.B. Yeats and James Joyce.
Though married to painter Ellen Epps for over 50 years and father to three children, Gosse privately acknowledged homosexual desires, confiding in his friend John Addington Symonds. He was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath in 1912 and knighted in 1925. Gosse’s legacy endures through his critical writings, literary support, and Father and Son, which remains a key text in English autobiographical literature.