Bonamy Dobrée
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| - | :''[http://www.archive.org/stream/lesophacontemora00cruoft/lesophacontemora00cruoft_djvu.txt][[metamorphosis]], [[objectification]], [[transmogrification]]'' | + | '''Bonamy Dobrée''' (February 2, 1891 – September 3, 1974), [[United Kingdom|British]] academic, was Professor of English Literature at the [[University of Leeds]] from 1936 to 1955. |
| - | '''''Le Sopha, conte moral''''' is a [[1742]] [[libertine novel]] by [[Claude Prosper Jolyot de Crébillon]]. | + | |
| - | An early example of fictional [[forniphilia]], the story concerns a young courtier whose [[soul]] in a previous life was [[curse]]d to travel from [[sofa]] to sofa as a sofa in search of [[true love]] and not to be [[reincarnation|reincarnated]] in a [[human body]] until a man and a woman sincerely in love with each other had [[consummation|consummate]]d their passion on "his" sofa. | + | Dobrée declared himself a [[Channel Islands|Channel Islander]], and was rather proud that both his Bonamy and Dobrée ancestors, bankers, had been mentioned by [[William Makepeace Thackeray|Thackeray]]. His father, who had the same name, was born in 1862 and married Violet Gordon Chase. He had two daughters before his son was born, then died at [[St. Moritz]] of [[tuberculosis]] on August 30, 1891. |
| - | Many of the characters in the novel are satirical portraits of influential and powerful Parisians of Crébillon’s time. For this reason the book was [[published anonymously]] and with a [[false imprint]]. Nevertheless, Crébillon was discovered to be the author and, as a consequence, he was exiled to a distance of fifty [[League (unit) |league]]s from Paris. | + | After [[Haileybury and Imperial Service College|Haileybury]] and the [[Royal Military Academy, Woolwich]], Dobrée was commissioned in the [[Royal Field Artillery]] in 1910 but resigned in 1913. He rejoined in 1914, serving in [[France]] and the [[Middle East]] during [[World War I]]. In 1920 he took advantage of a tuition discount offered to veterans, taking his BA from [[University of Cambridge|Cambridge]] in 1921 and his MA in 1924. In 1925 he was appointed lecturer in [[London]], and in 1926 Professor of English at the [[Cairo University|Egyptian University]], [[Cairo]], where he remained until 1929. In 1936 he was appointed Professor of English Literature at the University of Leeds, where he remained until his retirement. |
| - | ''Le Sopha'' was translated into English by [[Eliza Haywood]] and William Hatchett in [[1742]], and later by [[Bonamy Dobrée]]. | + | During [[World War II]] Dobrée served as a lieutenant-colonel in the [[Army Bureau of Current Affairs|ABCA]] organisation. He delivered the Clark Lectures at Cambridge in 1953, and was an Honorary Doctor of the [[University of Burgundy|University of Dijon]]. After retiring from Leeds he edited the ''Writers and their Work'' series of pamphlets for the [[British Council]] and the National Book League, and lectured as Professor of Literature at [[Gresham College]]. He was the Lord Northcliffe Memorial Lecturer in 1963. He died in his [[Blackheath, London|Blackheath]] home. |
| - | ==Analysis== | + | On November 21, 1913, Dobrée married Gladys May (née Valentine; ca. 1893 - May 14, 1974), the daughter of Sir Alexander Brooke-Pechell, [[Baronet|Bt]], and had one daughter, Georgina, a well-known [[clarinetist]] born in 1930. |
| - | The tale features an oriental setting evocative of the ''[[Arabian Nights]]''. The narrator, [[Amanzei]], is transformed into sofa and only to regain his human form "when two people give each other on [it/him] their first fruits." The story's protagonists are the bored [[Sultan]] Shah Baham, and the [[Sultana]]. The sopha recounts the scenes it witnessed by telling of seven couples. The last one, formed of two teenagers (Zeinida and Phlebas) whose young hearts innocently enjoy giving themselves pleasure, fulfills the condition for releasing Amanzei. | + | |
| - | The various episodes - (9 chapters) including the longest about Zuleika - are all opportunities to ridicule hypocrisy in its various forms (worldly respectability, virtue, devotion). | + | His first book was ''[[Restoration comedy|Restoration Comedy]]'' (1925); his largest, published 35 years later, was on the Early Eighteenth Century in the ''Oxford History of English Literature''. His scholarship was focused within these limits; he also wrote a novel, a play, and poetry. |
| - | A precursor to the novel was ''[[le Canapé couleur de feu]]''. | + | ==References== |
| + | *"Professor Bonamy Dobrée, English Literature at Leeds", ''[[The Times]]'', September 4, 1974, pg. 16 | ||
| + | *[http://www.mit.edu/~dfm/genealogy/bannerman.html Descendants of James Bannerman] | ||
| + | * "[[Solomon's Mines]]" by [[Geoffrey Hill]] is dedicated to "Bonamy Dobrée" | ||
| - | == History == | ||
| - | After the publication of this novel, the author was exiled from Paris on [[April 7]], 1742, because of the cynicism of the work and his "[[libertinage]]", but mainly because the protagonist Sultan Shah Baham was easily recognizable as a ridiculed [[Louis XV]]. Crebillon manages to re-enter the capital on July 22, arguing in his defense that the work was commissioned by [[Frederick II of Prussia]] and have been issued only after an indiscretion against his will. | ||
| - | |||
| - | == Illustrators == | ||
| - | *[[Louis Icart]] | ||
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Bonamy Dobrée (February 2, 1891 – September 3, 1974), British academic, was Professor of English Literature at the University of Leeds from 1936 to 1955.
Dobrée declared himself a Channel Islander, and was rather proud that both his Bonamy and Dobrée ancestors, bankers, had been mentioned by Thackeray. His father, who had the same name, was born in 1862 and married Violet Gordon Chase. He had two daughters before his son was born, then died at St. Moritz of tuberculosis on August 30, 1891.
After Haileybury and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, Dobrée was commissioned in the Royal Field Artillery in 1910 but resigned in 1913. He rejoined in 1914, serving in France and the Middle East during World War I. In 1920 he took advantage of a tuition discount offered to veterans, taking his BA from Cambridge in 1921 and his MA in 1924. In 1925 he was appointed lecturer in London, and in 1926 Professor of English at the Egyptian University, Cairo, where he remained until 1929. In 1936 he was appointed Professor of English Literature at the University of Leeds, where he remained until his retirement.
During World War II Dobrée served as a lieutenant-colonel in the ABCA organisation. He delivered the Clark Lectures at Cambridge in 1953, and was an Honorary Doctor of the University of Dijon. After retiring from Leeds he edited the Writers and their Work series of pamphlets for the British Council and the National Book League, and lectured as Professor of Literature at Gresham College. He was the Lord Northcliffe Memorial Lecturer in 1963. He died in his Blackheath home.
On November 21, 1913, Dobrée married Gladys May (née Valentine; ca. 1893 - May 14, 1974), the daughter of Sir Alexander Brooke-Pechell, Bt, and had one daughter, Georgina, a well-known clarinetist born in 1930.
His first book was Restoration Comedy (1925); his largest, published 35 years later, was on the Early Eighteenth Century in the Oxford History of English Literature. His scholarship was focused within these limits; he also wrote a novel, a play, and poetry.
References
- "Professor Bonamy Dobrée, English Literature at Leeds", The Times, September 4, 1974, pg. 16
- Descendants of James Bannerman
- "Solomon's Mines" by Geoffrey Hill is dedicated to "Bonamy Dobrée"
