Novelist. Influenced by the "Decadent" movement of the 1890's, his books describe a whimsical universe peopled with bizarre characters and are noted for their elegance and razor-sharp wit. "Valmouth" (1918), probably his most famous novel, takes place in an English village where proper society ladies practice religion and pursue men, and where the homosexual hero comes home with a black bride. It was made into a successful London musical in 1958. Firbank's other novels include "Vainglory" (1915), "The Flower Beneath the Foot" (1923), "Prancing Nigger" (1924), "The Eccentricities of Cardinal Pirelli" (1926), and "The Artificial Princess" (1934, after his death). The scion of a wealthy, distinguished English family, his full name was Arthur Annesley Ronald Firbank. A childhood case of sunstroke left him physically frail and he lived the life of a leisured aesthete, devoting himself to writing and travel. Openly gay and a practicing Catholic, he made both frequent subjects of his fiction. He died at 40 in Rome, of pneumonia complicated by alcoholism. In a twist he could have written himself, Firbank was mistakenly buried in a Protestant cemetery and then reinterred after the error was pointed out to the Vatican. Largely ignored during his lifetime, his fame rose after World War II. Firbank's unconventional approach to the novel influenced such authors as Ivy Compton-Burnett and Evelyn Waugh.
Novelist. Influenced by the "Decadent" movement of the 1890's, his books describe a whimsical universe peopled with bizarre characters and are noted for their elegance and razor-sharp wit. "Valmouth" (1918), probably his most famous novel, takes place in an English village where proper society ladies practice religion and pursue men, and where the homosexual hero comes home with a black bride. It was made into a successful London musical in 1958. Firbank's other novels include "Vainglory" (1915), "The Flower Beneath the Foot" (1923), "Prancing Nigger" (1924), "The Eccentricities of Cardinal Pirelli" (1926), and "The Artificial Princess" (1934, after his death). The scion of a wealthy, distinguished English family, his full name was Arthur Annesley Ronald Firbank. A childhood case of sunstroke left him physically frail and he lived the life of a leisured aesthete, devoting himself to writing and travel. Openly gay and a practicing Catholic, he made both frequent subjects of his fiction. He died at 40 in Rome, of pneumonia complicated by alcoholism. In a twist he could have written himself, Firbank was mistakenly buried in a Protestant cemetery and then reinterred after the error was pointed out to the Vatican. Largely ignored during his lifetime, his fame rose after World War II. Firbank's unconventional approach to the novel influenced such authors as Ivy Compton-Burnett and Evelyn Waugh.
Bio by: Bobb Edwards
Inscription
R.I.P.
Pray For The Soul Of
Arthur Annesley Ronald Firbank
Who Entered Into Rest
on 21st May 1926
Far Away From His Country
Family Members
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