Ronald Firbank  (1886 - 1926)

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Complete Short Stories by Ronald Firbank, Steven Moore (Editor)

Best known for his witty, ingenious novels, Ronald Firbank began his literary apprenticeship as a writer of short stories (or "contes," as he called them), all of which are gathered here for the first time. They were written at a time when the literature of the decadent 1890s was maturing into the modernism of the early twentieth century, a growth reflected here as Firbank works through a variety of styles, genres, and voices, both imitating and subverting the literary models of his day. Written between the ages of seventeen and twenty-two, they are, properly speaking, his juvenilia, and are not to be judged by the standards of his mature work. All the seeds of the later work, however, were planted in this early work, and it is instructive and entertaining to observe Firbank as he tends his literary garden.

Ranging from impressionistic prose poems and allegories to sardonic vignettes of high-society life, they all display Firbank's satiric eye and stylistic flair. Only a few of the stories were published commercially; most have been available only in expensive, limited editions, and four stories are published here for the first time from Firbank's manuscripts. Included in a appendix are two other pieces Firbank wrote at the same age the poem "The Wind & the Roses" and his only venture into art criticism, "An Early Flemish Painter "and detailed textual notes that give the publishing history for all the works.

Ronald Firbank : An Annotated Bibliography of Secondary Materials, 1905-1995 by Steven Moore

Following the much-deserved rediscovery of early modernist Ronald Firbank's works in the 1980s, this annotated bibliography collects reviews of the satirist's books, synopses of books and essays about Firbank, references to creative works inspired by the author, dissertation and theses abstracts, and even a chapter of foreign-language materials devoted to Firbank. Showcasing an underappreciated artist, this bibliography is a record of how Ronald Firbank has been misinterpreted, praised, lost, and found again.

"In this bibliography Firbank scholar Steven Moore lists and summarizes virtually every review, essay or significant mention of Firbank over the past 90 years, resulting in a fascinating conspectus of how the literary world has reacted to this major minor master." -- Washington Post Book World 6-2-96

Ronald Firbank

From The Knitting Circle

Excerpt:

Both his lifestyle and his work came to be known as 'Firbankian'. He dressed in lounge suits with a bowler hat, carrying a cane and gloves. He stained his finger-nails crimson, and on his long fingers he had many jewelled rings. He sleeked his fine dark hair close to his head with pomander. He was a regular, at the Café Royal, the literary haunt of many famous writers at 68 Regent Street, London. There was a legend that he was so afraid of eating that he only took champagne and some flower petals supplemented by an occasional single grape. He was also one of the group of artists and literary figures who visited the Eiffel Tower restaurant in Percy Street, off Tottenham Court Road, London, although he would often be sitting alone in a corner. Other regulars included Augustus John, Nancy Cunard, Aldous Huxley, Alfred Douglas, Dylan Thomas, Wyndham Lewis, the Sitwells, Peter Warlock, Tony Gandarillas, Lord Berners, and Evan Morgan...

Firbank

By Cornelius

This article discusses Firbanks' relationship to Aleister Crowley.  

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