Chapter I: Preface

In the absence of any official biography of Walter Pater, it has been necessary to collect information as to the events of his life from his relatives and friends. My thanks are due, in the first place, to Miss Pater and Miss Clara Pater, his sisters, who have given me the most kind and courteous assistance throughout; to Dr. Shadwell, Provost of Oriel, Pater’s oldest friend and literary executor, of whose sympathy and interest it is impossible to speak too gratefully; to Dr. Bussell, Vice-Principal of Brasenose, who has communicated to me many important particulars; to Mr. Herbert Warren, President of Magdalene; to Dr. Daniel, Provost of Worcester, and Mrs. Daniel; to Mr. Basil Champneys; to Mr. Humphry Ward, formerly Fellow of Brasenose; to Mr. Douglas Ainslie; to Miss Paget (Vernon Lee), and others who have put their recollections at my disposal; to Mr. Edmund Gosse, who has permitted me to use his published materials; to Mr. Howard Sturgis and Mr. C. Fairfax Murray for careful criticism; to Miss Beatrice Layman, who has given me invaluable help in verification and correction.

The books and articles which I have consulted, and to some of which reference is made in the following pages, are the original editions of Pater’s volumes, of various dates, and the Collected Edition of his works, edited by Dr. Shadwell, 1902–1904 (Macmillan and Co.); _Essays from the Guardian_, privately printed in 1896, and since published 1901 (Macmillan and Co.); _A Short History of Modern English Literature_, 1898 (Heinemann); _Critical Kit-Kats_, 1896 (Heinemann), and an article in the _Dictionary of National Biography_, 1895 (Smith, Elder, and Co.), by Mr. Edmund Gosse; _Walter Pater_, by Mr. Ferris Greenslet, in the _Contemporary Men of Letter Series_, 1904 (Heinemann); an essay, _Walter Pater_, in _Studies in Prose and Verse_, by Mr. Arthur Symons, 1904 (J. M. Dent); and an article in the _Fortnightly Review_, “The Work of Mr. Pater,” by Lionel Johnson, September 1894 (Chapman and Hall).

A. C. B.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I PAGE

Early Life 1

CHAPTER II

Early Writings 27

CHAPTER III

Oxford Life 59

CHAPTER IV

Marius the Epicurean 89

CHAPTER V

London Life 117

CHAPTER VI

Later Writings 140

CHAPTER VII

Personal Characteristics 178

Index 221

WALTER PATER