Sexual Heretics: Male Homosexuality in English Literature from 1850-1900 (Routledge Library Editions: Literature and Sexuality) 1st Edition
by Brian Reade
Queer Places:
Eton College, Windsor SL4 6DW, United Kingdom
University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 3PA
St. Mary's Churchyard, Ickworth, Bury Saint Edmunds IP29 5QE, United Kingdom
Lord Francis Hervey (October 16, 1846 – January 10, 1931) was a prominent British barrister, politician, and public servant. While he is primarily remembered for his public career, his inclusion in Brian Reade’s Sexual Heretics highlights a specific, lesser-known aspect of his literary output.
Born on 16 October 1846, Lord Francis Hervey was the fourth and youngest son of Frederick Hervey, 2nd Marquess of Bristol, and Lady Katherine Isabella Manners, fourth daughter of John Manners, 5th Duke of Rutland. His background was one of traditional British aristocracy; he was educated at Eton College—where he distinguished himself by winning the Newcastle Scholarship—and later attended Balliol College, Oxford, graduating in 1869.
He was called to the bar by Lincoln’s Inn in 1872 and subsequently pursued a career in both law and politics. Hervey served as a Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Bury St Edmunds in two separate periods: 1874–1880 and 1885–1892. Beyond his parliamentary work, he had a significant career in the Civil Service, eventually serving as the First Civil Service Commissioner from 1907 until his retirement in 1909. He was also a Justice of the Peace for Suffolk and maintained a lifelong interest in education, notably serving on the Council of Brighton College. He passed away on 10 January 1931.
Lord Francis Hervey is identified in Brian Reade’s 1970 anthology, Sexual Heretics: Male Homosexuality in English Literature from 1850–1900, as the author of a poem titled "Song," published in 1873.
This collection by Brian Reade is a seminal work in the study of queer literature. It brought together various poems, essays, and fragments from the Victorian era that reflected themes of male same-sex desire, often subtle or coded, which were largely overlooked or suppressed in mainstream literary histories of the time.
In the context of Reade’s anthology, Hervey's poem is presented alongside works by figures such as Edward Carpenter, John Addington Symonds, and Oscar Wilde. The inclusion of this piece serves to document the existence of homoerotic or "uranian" themes in the writing of British public figures during the late 19th century.
While Hervey’s public life was defined by his establishment roles, his presence in Sexual Heretics situates him within a broader, clandestine, or "heretical" literary tradition that was beginning to find expression during that period.
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Sexual Heretics: Male Homosexuality in English Literature from 1850-1900 (Routledge Library Editions: Literature and Sexuality) 1st Edition by Brian Reade |
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