Letters From Young Hogarth: A Wandering Fever

Photograph of a young David George Hogarth. Magdalen College Archives, Papers of D.G. Hogarth, P452/PER/3/2

David George Hogarth (1862-1927) is most famous as the older archaeologist who was the mentor of T.E. Lawrence for 17 years, from the British Museum’s digs at Carchemish to working for the Arab Bureau intelligence agency during World War I to the production of Seven Pillars of Wisdom in the 1920s. He was immortalised as Dryden in the film Lawrence of Arabia, an amalgamated character based on Hogarth, Ronald Storrs and others, played by Claude Rains. To those unfamiliar with his personal history, he is most often seen as a middle-aged, eminent scholar.

However, letters in our collections reveal a young Hogarth who is quite different from this patriarchal image, driven by his own fierce ambition and a “wandering fever” which he struggled to reconcile with his relationships and the rigid structures of late nineteenth-century Oxford.

We are currently holding an exhibition of student letters in the Longwall Library which features a letter from Hogarth as an undergraduate, so I thought I would give some further insights into his early personal papers in this blog!

Childhood and Youth

Hogarth was the son of George Hogarth, a minister in Lincolnshire, and the earliest letter we have is written to his father when he was eight years old “with Davies Best love”. He later attended Winchester College and gained a place at Magdalen College, matriculating in 1881.

Undergraduate Life

Hogarth came up to Magdalen as an undergraduate in 1881, and would remain a member of the College for the rest of his life. Like many students arriving at university, Hogarth was concerned to fit in with what the other students were up to. This involved drinking – in this letter shortly after arriving at the College, Hogarth comments on the most popular drinks at Magdalen in the 1880s – port and claret! Sherry, on the other hand, was definitely not much drunk. Whilst insisting that “I do not drink anything in the interests of training”, he requests his parents to send claret and port as “the common-room wine is not good”! He also talks about participating in a “stranger’s race” at Pembroke College.

As term progresses, Hogarth becomes more involved in College life “jumping in the College Sports” and on 5 December 1881 notes a regular occurrence at Magdalen “the Walks and all the low land by the river was like a sea – very pretty to look at but I suppose very unhealthy”.

By his third year in 1884, Hogarth is progressing academically and writes that he is taking up a special subject for Greats which may allow him to apply for the “Stanhope essay” prize. He also announces that he has just been elected the President of the Junior Common Room (JCR) and therefore must stay in Oxford for at least the next term! Later that year, we find him once again drinking port and sherry, this time sampling some vintage drinks from 1814 and 1820!

However, by 1885, Hogarth is seriously thinking about applying to be a Fellow at various Oxford colleges. In his diary of October 1885, we find him applying to be a Fellow of All Souls College. He asks for advice from Magdalen President Herbert Warren, who tried to put him off until the following year – Hogarth refers to him in the diary as a “first-class wet blanket” although he speaks highly of him on other occasions.

An Explorer’s Wife

Photograph of Laura V. Hogarth. Magdalen College Archives, Papers of David George Hogarth, P452/PER/3/1

Hogarth was appointed a Fellow of Magdalen College in 1886 and the story is then taken up through his letters to his fiancé Laura V. Uppleby. These letters form a detailed record of the Hogarths’ life from 1890 onwards, as even after their marriage in 1894, David was frequently abroad on fieldwork, war work and as the Director of the British School at Athens whilst Laura appears to have stayed in England for much of the time.

The engagement seems to have been marked by frequent discussions as to the nature of Hogarth’s affections and impulsive character, of which we only have his side of the correspondence. However, a fair idea of Laura’s character can also be seen. In a letter before they were officially engaged, Laura seems to have complained about Hogarth’s “going away ‘just as we were began to get on together'” and later also wonders about David’s “amusements” when she is not there. He responds by saying “I am the sort of man who, being very easily bored with ordinary things & people, always take refuge first & foremost in books where one can always get away from the ordinary: all kinds of athletics I love for their own sake: conversation the more intricate and unconventional the better, I think the greatest joy in life. Ordinary ‘social amusements’ I loathe.”

In another letter of this period written just after they were engaged, Laura with great insight appears to have diagnosed Hogarth with a “wandering fever”, however he bluffly denies this saying “that came on only once & is mere madness, never to be given way to: what earthly career could I find in the Levant when it came to serious earnest?”.

Laura, of course, was to be proven right, and Hogarth went on to title his most famous book A Wandering Scholar in the Levant. Hogarth’s travels appear to have been a frequent source of tension between David and Laura whilst they were engaged. In a letter of Dec 1890, Hogarth asks Laura how she will cope during his long absences: “what about separating from me for long terms? what in short about being an explorer’s wife? In truth, you don’t know and you hardly can know what you’ll do in the day”.

An extraordinary letter of October 1894, a month before their wedding, opens with a long quotation from Laura’s letter on “marriage without love”. Hogarth seems baffled by this late re-opening of a question which he thought was closed, although it is quite difficult to ascertain from his response what his views are on the subject. However, he is definitely not keen on the marriage service itself, writing “how much of that awful Common Prayer marriage service must we endure?” and going as far as to write “some of the ‘I, M. take thee N.’ is impossible. I suppose it is obligatory to repeat it all?”. This attitude reflects Hogarth’s loss of faith which he also discusses in letters to Laura.

Life in College

Whilst this personal story is going on, Hogarth continued to make progress in his career at Magdalen. On 23 February 1890 he discusses editing the second edition of a book of light verse Echoes from the Oxford Magazine, and tells Laura that he has been appointed Tutor in “Roman History and Political Philosophy”. He also says he continues to “perform the functions of Dean with fair success”, having responsibility for the young undergraduates in College.

However, all was still not well – during his nine years at Magdalen Hogarth had managed to acquire a number of debts which he was anxious to discharge before marrying Laura. In January 1890, he estimates the total as £370 – “rather a lot, isn’t it?” – but is hopeful of paying it off through work for the Asia Minor Fund and the Royal Geographical Society. He notes light-heartedly “What a careless fool I have been!” and assures Laura that he is “becoming quite reformed up to a certain point”.

Another problem was obtaining the permission of the College to marry. In the late nineteenth century, Fellows were generally single and lived in College. Hogarth notes that “the Statutes stipulate for four at least unmarried and living in College” but he is hopeful of gaining permission due to the appointment of two new Tutorial Fellows. He “pumps” another Fellow who he “suspected of having designs matrimonial” but since this is denied, he is confident of having “first choice”.

Debts, travels and doubts aside, David George Hogarth and Laura V. Uppleby married on 7 November 1894. Hogarth went on to achieve huge success in his archaeological and intelligence work and to become an eminent academic as the Director of the British School at Athens, Keeper of the Ashmolean Museum, President of the Royal Geographical Society and was also offered the role of President of Magdalen College before his death. For good or ill, he would make a mark in Middle Eastern history through his work for the Arab Bureau and through his friendship with T.E. Lawrence.

However, this article only shows a small sample of Hogarth’s early letters, the Papers of D.G. Hogarth contain many more records of his early life and career – please contact us at archives@magd.ox.ac.uk  if you would like to study any of our Hogarth or Lawrence papers or find out more.