Charles Garvice

Charles Garvice

charles andrew garvice born on 24 august 1850 in or around stepney, london, england, son of mira winter , andrew john garvice, bricklayer. in 1872, married elizabeth jones, , had 2 sons , 6 daughters. garvice suffered cerebral hemorrhage on 21 february 1920 , in coma 8 days until death on 1 march 1920.

until not has been known garvice s personal life. oxford dictionary of national biography said little .. known of family origins , personal life. obscurity envelops [him]. john sutherland in companion victorian literature said little known of garvice s life. . in 2010, english freelance author , editor steve holland did exhaustive search of baptismal records, genealogy databases , census records build picture of life.

garvice died in 1920 , buried in richmond cemetery.

writing career

garvice got professional start journalist. first novel, maurice durant (1875) marginally successful in serialized form, when published novel, did not sell well. concluded long , expensive popular sales - experience taught him business side of writing. spend next 23 years writing serialized stories periodicals of george munro, later bound , sold them novels. titles included modern juliet, woven in fate s loom, on love s altar, love true, relenting fate. girl (1898) popular in , success brought him attention in uk - on every novel published became best-seller in england. 1913 garvice selling 1.75 million books annually, pace maintained @ least until death. garvice published on 150 novels selling on 7 million copies worldwide 1914. girl filmed in 1916. according garvice s agent eveleigh nash, garvice s books numerous in shops , on railway bookstalls leaves of vallombrosa. ‘the successful novelist in england’, according arnold bennett in 1910.

in 1904, capitalizing on wealth best-selling author, garvice bought farm estate in devon, england, wanted work land in genuine, dirty, devonshire fashion. characters in novels, romantically dreamed of life happily ever after, lord of country manor. wrote in 1 non-fiction book farm in creamland.

she loved him (1895)

critical reception

garvice s novels formulaic predictable melodramas. told story of virtuous woman overcoming obstacles , achieving happy ending. crank out 12 or more novels year, little beyond particulars of heroines hair color differentiates 1 another, says modern critic laura sewell matter, found stories boring . likewise contemporary critics unanimous in disregard, hard ignore because of best-selling status. london times wrote in obituary:

cannot said work of high order; criticism disregarded own frank attitude towards possibility of permanence of literary reputation. answer captious friend seemed solicitous disabuse him on score merely point gesture crowds on seaside beach reading. books, said: reading latest. true estimate.

in contemplating why novels popular, laura sewell matter said:

[garvice] endured more public ridicule [by critics] decent human being deserves. [thomas] moult , other critics failed acknowledge, garvice knew , honored, ways many of live emotionally attenuated states, during times of peace war. stories 1 garvice wrote may low art, may not art @ all. may offer consolation or distraction rather provocation , insight. many people find provocation enough in real life, , read else. 1 cannot have contempt garvice without having level of contempt common humanity, readers - not of whom can dismissed simpletons - may not consciously believe in reading, read anyway because know: story can salve.