Wilfrid Scawen Blunt
Wilfrid Scawen Blunt (August 17, 1840–September 10, 1922) was a British poet and writer. He was born at Petworth House in Sussex, and served in the Diplomatic Service from 1858 to 1869. His mother being a Catholic convert, he was educated at Stonyhurst and at St. Mary's, Oscott. In 1869 he married Lady Anne Noel, daughter of the Earl of Lovelace, and granddaughter of Lord Byron. Together they travelled through Spain, Algeria, Egypt, the Syrian Desert, and extensively in the Middle East and India. They co-founded Crabbet Arabian Stud.
In 1882 he championed the cause of Arabi Pasha.[1] Blunt opposed British imperialism, and his support for Irish causes led to his imprisonment in 1888.
He is best known for his poetry, which were published in a collected edition in 1914.
He had a long term relationship with the courtesan Catherine "Skittles" Walters.
Bibliography
- Sonnets and Songs of Proteus (1875)
- The Future of Islam (1882)
- Esther (1892)
- Griselda (1893)
- The Quatrains of Youth (1898)
- Satan Absolved: A Mystery (1899)
- Seven Golden Odes of Pagan Arabia (1903)
- Secret History of the English Occupation of Egypt (1907)
- India under Ripon (1909)
- Gordon of Khartoum (1911)
- The Land War in Ireland (1912)
- Collected Poems (1914)
- My Diaries (1920)