Henry Major Tomlinson

Biography

Henry Major Tomlinson was born on June 21^st, 1873 and grew up in the East End docks of London.  London was the bedrock upon which he built the grand majority of his stories (as they often had to do with life at sea), along with WWI. Not only did he write for the newspaper about the war, but also he was an official war correspondent stationed in France.  However, he opposed the war and eventually left the paper after a leadership change. In fact, he was so disturbed by what he saw in the war that Tomlinson decided to dedicate much of his writings to fight against it. His short story, “Barbarism,” focuses on exactly how war can turn civilized, proper people into barbatistic animals.

Though he specialized in novels and short stories, his writing prowess allowed him to succeed in a number of different fields such as a shipping clerk (having grown up in London), a journalist, and a newspaper editor. Having grown up in the docks of London, he had an insatiable desire to travel, which greatly influenced his stories.  The first novel he ever published, “The Sea and the Jungle”, was actually written following his return from his journey to the Amazon River.

While his work was never as popular as Emerson and Thoreau, critics often remarked that his style was similar.  He passed away on February 5^th, 1958 in London.