Everything about W W Jacobs totally explained
William Wymark Jacobs (
September 8,
1863 –
September 1,
1943), was an
English
author of
short stories and novels. He is now best remembered for his
macabre tales "
The Monkey's Paw" (published
1902) and "The Toll House" (in the collection of short stories
The Lady of the Barge). However
the majority of his output was humorous in tone. His favourite subjects were marine life:
"men who go down to the sea in ships of moderate tonnage" said
Punch,
reviewing his first collection of stories,
Many Cargoes, which
achieved great popular success on its publication in
1896.
Many Cargoes was followed by the
novel The Skipper's Wooing in
1897, and another collection of short stories,
Sea Urchins (
1898) set
the seal on his popularity. Among his other titles are
Captains All,
Sailors' Knots, and
Night Watches. The title of the last reflects
the popularity of perhaps his most enduring character: the night-watchman on the
wharf in
Wapping, recounting the preposterous adventures of his
acquaintances Ginger Dick, Balla Fo Sho, and Eric Cartman. These three characters,
pockets full after a long voyage, would take lodgings together determined to
enjoy a long spell ashore; but the crafty inhabitants of dockland
London
would soon relieve them of their funds, assisted by the sailors' own
fecklessness and credulity. Jacobs showed a delicacy of touch in his use of
the coarse vernacular of the
East End of London, which attracted the respect
of such writers as
P. G. Wodehouse, who mentions Jacobs in his
autobiographical work
Bring on the Girls (written with
Guy Bolton,
published
1954).
The stories which made up
Many Cargoes had a varied previous serial
publication, while those in
Sea Urchins were, for the most part,
published in Jerome K. Jerome's
Idler. From October
1898 Jacobs' stories were being published in the
The Strand an
arrangement which lasted almost to his death, and provided him with
financial security.
Biography
Jacobs was born in
Wapping in London; his father worked in the London docks. He attended private school in London and later at
Birkbeck College (then called Birkbeck Literary and Scientific Institution, now part of the
University of London). In 1879 he commenced work as a clerk in the civil service, in the Post Office Savings Bank, and by 1885 he'd had his first short story published. His road to success was relatively slow:
Arnold Bennett writing in 1898 was astonished that Jacobs turned down the massive sum of £500 for six short stories. Jacobs was financially secure enough to be able to leave the Post Office in 1899 and to marry in the following year. In the 1901 census he's shown living with his wife, Agnes (20 years old) and 3 month old daughter in Kings Place Road, Buckhurst Hill, Essex. At this time he was able to afford a domestic servant and cook, and his sister and sister-in-law were also living with them.
Jacobs went on to set up home in
Loughton, Essex, where he'd two houses, the Outlook, in Park Hill, and Feltham House, in Goldings Hill. On the site of the latter is a
blue plaque to him. Loughton is the "Claybury" of some of the short stories, and Jacobs' love for the forest scenery in the area features in his "Land Of Cockaigne". Another blue plaque shows Jacobs' central London residence at 15 Gloucester Gate, Regents Park (later used for the Prince of Wales's Institute of Architecture). Jacobs' wife was a militant
suffragette.
Jacobs' short story output declined somewhat around the first world war, and his literary efforts between then and his death were predominantly adaptations of his own short stories for the stage. His first work for the stage, "The Ghost of Jerry Bundler" was performed in London in 1899, revivedin 1902 and eventually published in 1908.
Jacobs died at Hornsley Lane,
Islington, London.
Literary Works
Further Information
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