William Money Hardinge

Billie Andrew Inman (University of Arizona)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.07: English Writing and Culture of the Victorian Period, 1837-1901.
Vol. editors: Gillian Fenwick (University of Toronto), Jessica Gossling (Goldsmiths College, University of London), Nicole Kennedy (University of Newcastle), Sean Seeger (University of Essex)

Dates

Born 17 May 1854
Died 18 Nov 1916
Activity 1876-1895

Places

Born in England
Active in England

Activities

Primary

Novelist
Poet

Other

Art Theorist/ Historian/ Critic
Literary Critic/ Historian
Scholar
Story-writer
Translator

Resources

Vernon Lee referred to William Money Hardinge in 1886 as “a rich and fashionable young novelist” (Letters, ed. Irene Cooper-Willis [London: privately printed, 1937], 224). Tom Stoppard represents Hardinge as the “Balliol student,” without naming him, in The Invention of Love, describing him as “handsome and debonair” (London: Faber and Faber, 1997, p. 9). It has been Hardinge's fate to be remembered in the twenty-first century, not as a novelist, but as a Balliol student who, because he had written some sonnets celebrating same-sex love and had exchanged love letters with Walter Pater, was rusticated in February 1874 for a term of nine months. As a student, Hardinge played the harmonium in chapel and was awarded the Newdigate Prize in 1876 for his poem “Troy,” which is remarkable for its unusual interpretation of Helen. As...

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1114 words

Citation: Inman, Billie Andrew. "William Money Hardinge". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 02 November 2004 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=5855, accessed 15 December 2025.]