Richard Le Gallienne

Richard Le Gallienne 1866-1947, English man of letters. As literary critic and contributor to the Yellow Book, he was associated with the fin-de-siècle aesthetes of the 1890s before becoming a resident of the United States. His works include the poems Volumes in Folio (1889), the novel Quest of the Golden Girl (1896), and books of reminiscences, The Romantic '90's (1925) and From a Paris Garret (1936). His works were period pieces and not of lasting importance. He was the father of Eva Le Gallienne.

Bibliography: See his life and letters, ed. by R. Whittington-Egan and G. Smerdon (1960).

Le Gallienne, Richard (1866–1947), of Channel Islands descent, became attached to the fin-de-siècle group which centred on Beardsley; he was an original member of the Rhymers' Club with Yeats, Wilde, L. Johnson, and others. He contributed to the Yellow Book, throughout the nineties wrote verse and literary criticism, and published several romantic novels, including The Quest for the Golden Girl (1896).

Le Gallienne, Richard (1866–1947), English journalist, essayist, poet, and novelist, was originally associated with the fin de siècle aesthetes. His early verse and epigrammatic prose show the influence of Oscar Wilde. After settling in the U.S. (1903), he modified his early preciosity, although his work continued to indicate his allegiance to the English school of the 1890s. His books include My Ladies' Sonnets (1887) and The Lonely Dancer (1913), poems; The Quest of the Golden Girl (1896), a prose fantasy; Orestes (1910), a tragedy; The Romantic Nineties (1925), his literary reminiscences; and anthologies exhibiting the tastes of his own period.

Eva Le Gallienne (1899–1991), his daughter, was born in London, where she made her stage debut in 1915. She founded (1926), managed, directed, and acted at New York's Civic Repertory Theatre. At 33 (1934) and With a Quiet Heart (1953) are memoirs.