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Compton Mackenzie

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Author

The Resume

    (January 17, 1883-November 30, 1972)
    Born in West Hartlepool, County Durham, England , United Kingdom
    Birth name was Edward Montague Compton Mackenzie
    Wrote over 100 books, including 'Sinister Street' (1914), 'The Monarch of the Glen' (1941), and 'Whiskey Galore' (1947)
    Literary critic for The Daily Mail (1931-35)
    Founding member of the National Party of Scotland (1928)
    Knighted (1952)

Why he might be annoying:

    While serving with British intelligence during World War I, he was allegedly involved in a plot to assassinate the King of Greece by poisoning.
    He was put on trial for violating the Official Secrets Act by quoting classified documents in his 'Greek Memories' (1932); he was fined £100 and the book was withdrawn from sale, with the unsold copies destroyed.
    After his second wife died, he married her sister.
    His frank treatment of sexual desire in 'Sinister Street' resulted in it being widely banned from libraries. (And in George Orwell receiving a caning in prep school for possessing a copy.)

Why he might not be annoying:

    He received the French Legion of Honor for his World War I services.
    He and his brother-in-law Christopher Stone founded the influential classical music magazine 'Gramophone.' (1923)
    Henry James wrote that 'Sinister Street' had 'emancipated the English novel.'
    F. Scott Fitzgerald was an admirer, with critic Edmund Wilson writing that 'This Side of Paradise' 'sounds like an American attempt to rewrite 'Sinister Street.''
    He said, 'I am temperamentally incapable of dwelling on unhappiness.'

Credit: C. Fishel


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Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 24 Votes: 29.17% Annoying