Richard F. Burton: On the English adventurer and writer(thelampmagazine.com)
thelampmagazine.com
Richard F. Burton: On the English adventurer and writer
https://thelampmagazine.com/issues/issue-32/richard-f-burton
2 comments
The autobiography of Burton is one of the great ones in English. Is it all true? Who knows, but Burton sure told his yarns.
I can't find that Burton wrote an autobiography, though there seem to be several well-regarded biographies - have you a link to such a thing?
It's my belief all that could exist is heavily bowdlerised because his wife was a proselytizing christian and burnt his diaries having declared he made a deathbed act of contrition recognising god. I don't think Burton's friends believed it for a moment, apparently she did a trick like cutting a vein to show blood still flowed, claimed she heard him speak and some friendly prelate agreed to the shenanigans in a higher cause. (Burton's abjuration of faith was obviously "political", for the religous fervour of the day)
It beggars belief a man who was into data collecting about prostitution and homosexuality, and who helped publish extensive pornographic works to a cogniscenti married a prude, and came to jesus at the last. But the thing is, he DID marry a prude. And he DID publish works which at the time were beyond the pale, and he DID explore the darker corners of british army life in the middle east and India. The only conjecture here is the deathbed confession of faith.
He wrote memoirs, for sure. "Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al-Medinah and Meccah" I mean, thats not objective writing by title-intent, is it.
It beggars belief a man who was into data collecting about prostitution and homosexuality, and who helped publish extensive pornographic works to a cogniscenti married a prude, and came to jesus at the last. But the thing is, he DID marry a prude. And he DID publish works which at the time were beyond the pale, and he DID explore the darker corners of british army life in the middle east and India. The only conjecture here is the deathbed confession of faith.
He wrote memoirs, for sure. "Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al-Medinah and Meccah" I mean, thats not objective writing by title-intent, is it.
I've known rakes who've married prudes. I myself can't fathom it, but... opposites attract.
As do large dowries.
As do large dowries.
No, I think I'm mistaken (and confusing it a little bit with the autobiography of Aleister Crowley, who was also something of an explorer and which I read around the same time - it is also interesting and untrustworthy but not as good overall IMO). I don't recall if it was the Farwell, Hastings, or Rice, unfortunately.
I think like many people I fell in love with the first biography of Burton I read, "the Devil Drives" by Fawn M. Brodie[0] from 1967, which I read in a penguin/allen-lane paperback edition 4 decades ago. I found it well rounded and informing.
The thing is, I enjoyed it so much I've been reluctant to read any more recent work, because I don't particularly NEED my illusions shattered. But I have no doubt more could (and has) been said.
Lord Byron got the soubriquet "mad, bad and dangerous to know" and I think it might have applied to Burton more.
I have often wondered what made Philip Jose Farmer chose him as an eponymous hero in SciFi, and what it says about PJF.
https://archive.org/details/devildriveslifeo0000brod_k9h9
The thing is, I enjoyed it so much I've been reluctant to read any more recent work, because I don't particularly NEED my illusions shattered. But I have no doubt more could (and has) been said.
Lord Byron got the soubriquet "mad, bad and dangerous to know" and I think it might have applied to Burton more.
I have often wondered what made Philip Jose Farmer chose him as an eponymous hero in SciFi, and what it says about PJF.
https://archive.org/details/devildriveslifeo0000brod_k9h9
Another great Victorian translator was Arthur Waley who translated the Tale of Genji and lots of Chinese poetry without ever having visted Asia. Its absolutely mind boggling to me, having barely learned a few languages how one would tranlate from handwritten kanji scrolls with no reference materials or even bilingual dictionaries.