Aubrey de Sélincourt facts for kids
Aubrey de Sélincourt (born June 7, 1894 – died December 20, 1962) was an English writer, a classical scholar (meaning he studied ancient Greek and Roman history and languages), and a translator. He also loved sailing. He wrote over 24 books, but he is best known for his translations of ancient texts for Penguin Classics. These include Herodotus' The Histories (1954), Arrian's Life of Alexander the Great (1958), and parts of Livy's The Early History of Rome (1960) and The War with Hannibal (1965, published after he died).
Contents
Who Was Aubrey de Sélincourt?
Early Life and School Days
Aubrey de Sélincourt was the son of Martin de Sélincourt, a businessman who owned the Swan & Edgar store in London. His uncle, Henry Fiennes Speed, also wrote books about sailing.
Aubrey went to the Dragon School in Oxford and then to Rugby School. In 1913, he won a special scholarship to study ancient history and languages at University College, Oxford.
Flying High in World War I
When First World War started, Aubrey stopped his studies to join the army. He joined the 7th Battalion of the North Staffordshire Regiment in August 1914. He fought in the Gallipoli Campaign, including the Battle of Sari Bair in August 1915.
Later, he asked to join the Royal Flying Corps (which became the Royal Air Force). He returned to Britain to train as a pilot and earned his "wings" in early 1917. He joined 25 Squadron on April 11. On May 28, 1917, his plane was shot down near Douai by a German pilot named Werner Voss. Aubrey became a prisoner for the rest of the war. He spent much of that time at the Holzminden prisoner-of-war camp.
Life as a Teacher and Writer
After the war, Aubrey de Sélincourt returned to Oxford. He received a special award for athletics and finished his degree in 1919. He then became a teacher. He taught at Bembridge School on the Isle of Wight from 1921 to 1924. From 1924 to 1929, he was the main classics teacher at the Dragon School in Oxford. In 1931, he became the Headmaster of Clayesmore School in Dorset, where he stayed until 1935.
Aubrey was also in charge of The Oxford Magazine from 1927 to 1929. He wrote articles for many newspapers and magazines, including the Manchester Guardian and The Times Literary Supplement. He loved sailing and wrote several books about it.
From 1936 to 1946, he taught English at Bryanston School in Dorset. He was a very popular teacher. After retiring in 1947, Aubrey de Sélincourt moved to Niton on the Isle of Wight. He spent his time writing. He passed away there in December 1962, shortly after his successful book, The World of Herodotus, was published.
His Family and Connections
Aubrey de Sélincourt had two brothers, Geoffrey and Guy, and a sister named Dorothy. Guy was also a good sailor and historian. He even drew pictures for some of Aubrey's books. His sister Dorothy married the famous writer A. A. Milne (who wrote Winnie-the-Pooh) in 1913.
In 1919, Aubrey married the poet Irene Rutherford McLeod. They had two daughters, Lesley and Anne. Lesley later married her first cousin, Christopher Robin Milne, who was the son of A. A. Milne and the inspiration for the character Christopher Robin.
Books by Aubrey de Sélincourt
Aubrey de Sélincourt wrote many different kinds of books, from essays to stories and guides. Here are some of his works:
- Streams of Ocean (1923, essays)
- Isle of Wight (1933)
- Family Afloat (1944)
- Six O'clock and After and Other Rhymes for Children (1945, with Irene de Sélincourt)
- One More Summer (1946)
- Calicut Lends a Hand (1946)
- Dorset (1947)
- Micky (1947)
- A Capful of Wind (1948)
- Sailing: A Guide For Everyman (1949)
- Odysseus the Wanderer (1950)
- The Schoolmaster (1951)
- On Reading Poetry (1952)
- The Channel Shore (1953)
- Herodotus. The Histories (1954, translation)
- Cat's Cradle (1955)
- Six Great Poets: Chaucer, Pope, Wordsworth, Shelley, Tennyson, The Brownings (1956)
- Nansen (1957)
- Six Great Englishmen: Drake, Dr. Johnson, Nelson, Marlborough, Keats, Churchill (1957)
- Six Great Thinkers: Socrates, St. Augustine, Lord Bacon, Rousseau, Coleridge, John Stuart Mill (1958)
- Arrian. Life of Alexander the Great (1958, translation)
- Livy. The Early History of Rome: Books I–V of the History of Rome from its Foundation (1960, translation)
- The Book of the Sea (1961, anthology)
- The World of Herodotus (1962)
- Livy. The War with Hannibal: Books XXI–XXX of the History of Rome from its Foundation (1965, translation, published after he died)
Images for kids
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A room in Martin de Selincourt's house, 1926.
