Five shillings was the payment David Garnett received at age eleven for illustrating a map titled NEW SEA and the BEVIS COUNTRY for a Richard Jefferies adventure story. This initial professional contribution preceded a multifaceted career that saw the Brighton native become a significant figure within the British literary landscape and the Bloomsbury Group.
Formative Years and Education
Born in 1892, Garnett was the only child of Edward Garnett and Constance Clara Black. His early education took place at a school in Westerham, where he traveled daily on a small penny-farthing bicycle. By 1905, he moved to London to attend University College School. In 1910, he spent time in Germany for linguistic study before enrolling at the Royal College of Science in South Kensington, part of Imperial College, London, to pursue studies in botany and zoology under tutors including J. B. Farmer.
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Garnett gained widespread recognition for his 1922 novel Lady into Fox, which earned him the James Tait Black Memorial Prize. His broader literary contributions included the 1919 work Dope Darling, published under the pseudonym Leda Burke, and the 1955 novel Aspects of Love. Beyond writing, he was active in the publishing industry, co-founding the Nonesuch Press alongside Francis Meynell. During the 1920s, he operated a bookshop in the vicinity of the British Museum with Francis Birrell. His autobiographical output, spanning 1953 to 1962, consisted of three volumes: The Golden Echo, The Flowers of the Forest, and The Familiar Faces.
Personal Life and Connections
In 1921, Garnett married illustrator Ray Marshall, with whom he had two sons, including the writer Richard Garnett. Following Ray’s death in 1940, Garnett married Angelica Bell in 1942. The couple resided at Hilton Hall in Huntingdonshire, where he maintained an orchard and a herd of Jersey cows. They had four daughters: Amaryllis, Henrietta, Nerissa, and Frances. During the First World War, Garnett registered as a conscientious objector, performing agricultural labor in Suffolk and Sussex alongside Duncan Grant.
Final Years
Following his separation from Angelica, Garnett relocated to France. He lived in a house situated on the grounds of the Château de Charry, located in Montcuq near Cahors. This residence was leased from Jo and Angela d'Urville. He remained in France, continuing his writing work until his death in 1981.
Fast facts
- Born: 1892, Brighton
- Died: 1981, Montcuq
- Movement: Bloomsbury Group
- 1922 James Tait Black Memorial Prize winner
- 1923 Hawthornden Prize recipient
- Pen name: Leda Burke
Questions readers ask
What was David Garnett's nickname?
He was known to his friends and intimates as Bunny, a name he received as a child due to a cloak he wore made of rabbit skin.
What professional honors did he receive?
He was awarded the James Tait Black Memorial Prize in 1922, the Hawthornden Prize in 1923, and was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1952.
Achievements
- James Tait Black Memorial Prize — 1922
- Commander of the Order of the British Empire — 1952
- Hawthornden Prize — 1923
