Verschoyle, John Stuart.

Epithet: clergyman and editor

John Stuart Verschoyle was born in Ireland in 1853 to an Anglo-Irish family. After receiving his B.A. from Pembroke College, Cambridge University in 1881, he was appointed curate of the Church of the Holy Trinity, Marylebone, London in 1882. In the early 1880s, Verschoyle made the acquaintance of Frank Harris, whom he introduced to his group of literary friends and assisted by editing his early submissions to various London periodicals, which helped lead to Harris' appointment as the editor of the London Evening News in 1883. In 1886, Harris became editor of the Fortnightly Review, which he would continue to do until 1894. While Verschoyle's formal role as editor during this entire time is unclear, it seems that by at least 1889 he was formally installed as an assistant editor at the Fortnightly, where, as several contemporaries remarked, he seemed to take on the lion's share of the work. During this time, he did not function just as an editor of Harris' writing, but actively solicited contributions to the Fortnightly from prominent individuals in a wide variety of fields, which is well-reflected in his correspondence. During his years as the rector of Creeting St Peter, Suffolk (1891-1893), and Huish Champflower, Somerset (1893-1915), he still apparently visited London, helped Harris with editorial matters and kept in regular correspondence with his literary and political friends, though his literary work seems to have largely tapered off by the early 1900s.

In addition to Verschoyle's activity in literary circles, he was also quite involved in the "Scramble for Africa" in the late 19th century, which is well represented in his correspondence. He apparently spent some time in Africa in his youth, and became a staunch advocate of British mining interests. His advocacy on behalf of Cecil Rhodes reached its apex with his writing of a laudatory 1900 Rhodes biography apparently commissioned by Rhodes himself. Though it was published under the pseudonym "Vindex," Verschoyle's support of Rhodes was well-known enough that several contemporary reviewers suspected him as the author.

Verschoyle's work for social reform, particularly in the anti-vivisection movement, is somewhat less overtly prominent in this correspondence, but is nonetheless significant. His activism, particularly in the anti-vivisection movement, seems to have its roots in his friendship with and admiration for suffragist and reformer Frances Power Cobbe, whom he met as an undergraduate in 1878. She recruited him to be the editor of the anti-vivisection journal The Abolitionist in 1899, and some of his letters seeking contributions for that paper are included here.

John Verschoyle died on July 30, 1915 in a nursing home in Taunton, Somerset.

Biographical Note

John Stuart Verschoyle was born in Ireland in 1853 to Anglo-Irish gentleman James J. Verschoyle and his wife Catherine Foster. After receiving his B.A. from Pembroke College, Cambridge University in 1881, he was appointed curate of the Church of the Holy Trinity, Marylebone, London in 1882. During his early years in London, Verschoyle made the acquaintance of Frank Harris, whom he introduced to his group of literary friends and assisted by editing his early submissions to various London periodicals. This helped lead to Harris' appointment as the editor of the London Evening News in 1883. In 1886, Harris left the Evening News for a post editing the Fortnightly Review, which he would continue to do until 1894. While Verschoyle's formal role as editor during this entire time is unclear, it seems that by at least 1889, he was formally installed as an assistant editor at the Fortnightly, where, as several contemporaries remarked, he seemed to take on the lion's share of the work. During this time, he did not function just as an editor of Harris' writing, but actively solicited contributions to the Fortnightly from prominent individuals in a wide variety of fields, which is well-reflected in the correspondence collected here. In 1891, Verschoyle moved out of London and would not live in the city again for the rest of his life. During the years he served as the rector of Creeting St Peter, Suffolk (1891-1893), and Huish Champflower, Somerset (1893-1915), he still apparently visited London, helped Harris with editorial matters and kept in regular correspondence with his literary and political friends. His editorial work seems to have largely tapered off by the early 1900s, and there are several letters from this time also inquiring after his poor health.

In addition to Verschoyle's activity in literary circles, he was also quite involved in the "Scramble for Africa" in the late 19th century, which is well represented in his correspondence. He apparently spent some time in Africa in his youth, and became a staunch advocate of British mining interests. In 1889, he convened a dinner for Cecil Rhodes and Harry H. Johnston at his London apartment in order to facilitate their meeting, and throughout the 1880s and 90s published pro-Rhodes articles and editorials (some anonymously as "Imperialist" in British journals and newspapers). His advocacy on behalf of Rhodes reached its apex with his writing of a laudatory 1900 Rhodes biography apparently commissioned by Rhodes himself. Though it was published under the pseudonym "Vindex," Verschoyle's support of Rhodes was well-known enough that several contemporary reviewers suspected him as the author.

Verschoyle's work for social reform, is somewhat less overtly prominent in this correspondence, but is nonetheless significant. His activism, particularly in the anti-vivisection movement, seems to have its roots in his relationship and admiration for suffragist and reformer Frances Power Cobbe, whom he met as an undergraduate in 1878. At that time, he was involved organizing government petitions against the death sentence handed to Isabel Grant, a woman who had killed her abusive husband, and after this was apparently a close member of Cobbe's circle until her death in 1904. She recruited him to be the editor of the anti-vivisection journal The Abolitionist in 1899, and some of his letters seeking contributions for that paper are included here.

Verschoyle is most often remembered in the memoirs, biographies and histories of his friends and colleagues as a footnote or in a few short paragraphs at most. Those who mention Verschoyle in detail describe a handsome man, powerfully built with very blond hair and mustaches, of very broad theology but very hard-working and dedicated to his parishioners. The paradox of a clergyman working closely with the famously profane Harris seems odd, and indeed, Harry H. Johnston described Verschoyle as "one of the strangest characters of [his] acquaintance." (Johnston, The story of my life, p. 218) He often entertained parties both large and small in his London apartment, convening together groups of writers, journalists, politicians and social reformers.

John Verschoyle died on July 30, 1915 in a nursing home in Taunton, Somerset.