Arthur Christopher Benson

Arthur Christopher Benson, (24 April 1862 – 17 June 1925) was an English essayist, poet and academic, who served as the 28th Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge. He wrote the lyrics of Edward Elgar's Coronation Ode, including the words of the patriotic song "Land of Hope and Glory" (1902). His literary criticism, poems, and volumes of essays were highly regarded. He was also noted as an author of ghost stories. According to contemporary critics and historians, he is thought to have been homosexual; homosexual themes often present themselves very subtly in his work. Benson's diary is one of the longest diaries in the English language.

Early life and family

Benson was born on 24 April 1862 at Wellington College, Berkshire, as one of six children of Edward White Benson, the first headmaster of the college, who was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1883 to 1896. His mother Mary (née Sidgwick) was a sister of the philosopher Henry Sidgwick.

Benson's literary family included his brothers Edward Frederic Benson, best remembered for his Mapp and Lucia novels, and Robert Hugh Benson, a priest of the Church of England before converting to Roman Catholicism, who wrote many popular novels. Their sister Margaret Benson was an artist, author, and amateur Egyptologist.

Though exceptionally accomplished, the Benson family met tragic times: a son and daughter died young, while another daughter and Arthur himself suffered from a mental condition that may have been bipolar disorder, apparently inherited from their father. None of the children married.