Charles William Daniel
Charles William Daniel | |
---|---|
Born | London, England | 23 April 1871
Died | 15 January 1955 Ashingdon, England | (aged 83)
Occupation(s) | Publisher, writer |
Charles William Daniel (23 April 1871 – 15 January 1955) was an English publisher and writer who did much to disseminate
Early life
Charles William Daniel was born on 23 April 1871 at 35
Publisher
In 1902 Charles Daniel started his own small publishing business in Cursitor Street (off
'A philosophical anarchist'
In 1908 Daniel opened a small bookshop in Amen Corner, off Ludgate Hill. In 1909 he published his book Instead of Socialism, which attacked the authoritarian tendencies of socialist thinkers, and was based on the teachings of Proudhon, and on the economic theories of Henry George. He called himself a 'philosophical anarchist', was strictly vegetarian and a convinced pacifist, on Tolstoyan lines. He would never vote or serve on a jury, and was a convinced opponent of all war.[6]
Tolstoy
Tolstoy occasionally provided articles for The Crank. Charles Daniel wrote articles under the pseudonym of 'The Odd Man'; Tolstoy included some of Daniel's sayings in his anthology, The Circle of Reading. Other contributors to Daniel's magazines included Dorothy Richardson, Cecil Chesterton, G. K. Chesterton and the educational reformer Mary Everest Boole.Charles Daniel's admiration for Tolstoy was enhanced by a visit to see him at Yasnaya Polyana. He was deeply impressed by the Russian genius, and after Tolstoy's death wrote an account of him that took the writer's side in the controversy about Tolstoy's marriage.[7]
The firm of C. W. Daniel
The firm of C. W. Daniel published many books that promoted vegetarian, pacifist, Tolstoyan ideals. Most of these books were published on a subsidy basis, with the author underwriting the costs of publication, or guaranteeing to buy a set number of copies.
The First World War
During the Great War, Daniel published pacifist writings such as Theodora Wilson Wilson's The Last Weapon (1916), The Feet of the Young Men (1917) by 'Herbert Tremaine' (pseudonym of Maude Deuchar) and works by Walter Walsh, G.T. Sadler,
Despised and Rejected
This novel explores theme of homosexuality, and some of its characters express strongly pacifist views. The journalist James Douglas, who had previously incited prosecution for indecency of The Rainbow by D. H. Lawrence,[8] wrote in the magazine London Opinion:
A thoroughly poisonous book, every copy of which ought to be put on the fire forthwith, is Despised and Rejected, by A. T. Fitzroy – probably a pen-name. Of its hideous immoralities the less said the better; but concerning its sympathetic presentation, in the mouths of its ‛hero' and of other characters of pacifism and conscientious objection, and of sneering at the English as compared with the Hun, this needs to be asked: What is the use of our spending hundreds of thousands of pounds on propaganda, and tens of thousands more on Censorship, while pestiferous filth like this remains unsuppressed? The book is published by C. W. Daniel, Ltd., of Graham House, Tudor Street; and I imagine that it will not be long, after the authorities have examined this literary fungus, before he is a Daniel brought to judgment.[9]
The book was tried at the City of London court at the Mansion House, on October 10, 1918, and Daniel was fined £420 with £40 costs.[10] Friends and supporters raised the money to pay the fine for him. After the trial, Daniel published a pamphlet defending himself against charges of immorality, and claiming that he had not realised the sexual implications of Allatini's book.
I was assured by the author that the love between the hero and his friend was analogous to that between David and Jonathan. I did not see what has since been pointed out – that certain passages are open to an immoral interpretation. Personally, I would rather that any book were burnt than that I should be party to lending support to depravity of either the homo-sexual or the contra-sexual types.[11]
After World War I
In the twenties and thirties Daniel's firm published a wide range of the advanced thinkers of his time. These included Søren Kierkegaard and the psychologists Alfred Adler and Georg Groddeck, as well as a range of British high-thinkers and simple-lifers. He published plays by D. H. Lawrence and Douglas Goldring.
A new journal, Focus (later changed to Purpose) was a more general cultural magazine. Its long list of contributors includes
In the thirties, Daniel was attracted to the
Death
Daniel died in Ashingdon, on 15 January 1955, aged 83.[12]
The fate of his publishing house
His firm continued, by now mainly notable for publishing books in the increasingly popular, though scientifically dubious, field of alternative medicine. In more recent years the firm has been taken over by Random House, whose website states:
We are pleased to now be publishing the complete catalogue of CW Daniel Books. Highly respected for its broad spectrum of remedial titles including, aromatherapy, homeopathy and Bach Flower remedies, CW Daniel has made a unique contribution to Mind, Body and Spirit publishing.[13]
References
- ^ Nicholas Walter, Damned Fools in Utopia: And Other Writings on Anarchism and War Resistance(London: PM Press, 2011), p. 225
- ^ Nicholas Walter, Damned Fools in Utopia: And Other Writings on Anarchism and War Resistance(London: PM Press, 2011), p. 226
- ^ A Tribute to the memory of Charles William Daniel (C. W. Daniel, 1955), p. 4.
- ^ A Tribute to the memory of Charles William Daniel (C.W.Daniel, 1955), 5-6.
- ^ A Tribute to the memory of Charles William Daniel (C.W.Daniel, 1955), 7.
- ^ Nicholas Walter, Damned Fools in Utopia: And Other Writings on Anarchism and War Resistance(London: PM Press, 2011),233
- ^ A Tribute to the memory of Charles William Daniel (C.W.Daniel, 1955), 11-12.
- ^ David Bradshaw, 'The Great Crusader: When the Sunday Express led the campaign for literary hygiene', Times Literary Supplement ((August 19 and 26, 2011), 16
- ^ London Opinion, August 1917
- ^ 'Despised and Rejected', Publisher of pacifist novel fined', The Times Oct 11, 1918), 5
- ^ "Great War Fiction website". 5 December 2009. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
- ISBN 978-1-60486-222-5.
- ^ "Random House website". Archived from the original on 13 February 2015. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
Further reading
- "Archives Charles William Daniel Company (1815-) 1906-19921906-1992". International Institute of Social History. 2020. pp. 3–17.
- Bowler, Rebecca; Fifield, Peter (2018). "The dental record, miscellany and the mediator as crank" (PDF). Pilgrimages: The Journal of Dorothy Richardson Studies: 50–69.
External links
- Works by or about Charles William Daniel at Wikisource