 The title illustration of the first issue of The Whirlwind | |
| Type | Weekly newspaper |
|---|---|
| Owner(s) | Herbert Vivian, Ruaraidh Erskine |
| Editor | Herbert Vivian |
| Founded | 28 June 1890 |
| Country | United Kingdom |
The Whirlwind was a short-lived British newspaper, published in 1890 and 1891. It was known for its Individualist political views and its artwork by Walter Sickert and James Abbott McNeill Whistler. It was also strongly Jacobite and played a leading role in the Neo-Jacobite Revival of the 1890s.
In 1886, Bertram Ashburnham circulated a leaflet seeking Jacobite sympathisers. Following the failed Jacobite rising of 1745, Jacobites had been suppressed and had only met in small secret gatherings. By the late 19th century, Jacobitism was no longer stigmatised, and Ashburnham's leaflet gathered a number of responses. Amongst those who replied was Melville Henry Massue. [1] Massue and Ashburnham founded the Order of the White Rose, an openly Jacobite group. [2] The Order was officially founded on 10 June 1866. [1]
The Order attracted Irish and Scottish Nationalists to its ranks. While these various interests gathered under the banner of restoring the House of Stuart, they also had a common streak against the scientific and secular democratic norms of the time. Some even planned (but did not execute) a military overthrow of the Hanoverian monarchy, with the aim of putting Princess Maria Theresa on the British throne. [3] See Jacobite succession .
Two early, and enthusiastic, members of the Order were Herbert Vivian and Ruaraidh Erskine. They had met at journalism school and were keen to pursue a political campaign of Jacobite restoration. [4]
In 1889, the New Gallery in London put on a major exhibition of works related to the House of Stuart. Queen Victoria lent a number of items to the exhibition, as did the wife of her son Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany; Jacobite families from England and Scotland donated items. [2] The exhibition was hugely popular and provoked a widespread new interest in the Stuart monarchs. [5] [6] The exhibition itself showed some distinctive Jacobite tendencies, as Guthrie points out in his book:
"It is clear that the point of the whole exhibition in the New Gallery ... was a Stuart restoration and to bring the Jacobite fact and the modern succession to the Stuart claim to the attention of the British public" [2]
In 1890, Vivian and Erskine founded a literary weekly newspaper The Whirlwind, A Lively and Eccentric Newspaper, with Vivian as editor. [7] The paper had an explicitly Jacobite viewpoint, as well as espousing an extreme form of Individualism.
The Whirlwind was noted for publishing illustrations by artists including Whistler [8] [9] and Walter Sickert; Sickert was also the art critic of The Whirlwind, [10] and wrote a weekly column. [11] It also carried articles about Oscar Wilde [12] at the height of his fame and notoriety. The paper espoused an Individualist and Jacobite political view, championed by Erskine and Vivian,. [13] One of the notable illustrations produced by Sickert for The Whirlwind was a portrait of Charles Bradlaugh. [14] Bradlaugh also wrote an article on "practical individualism" for the paper. [15]
Erskine's contributions to The Whirlwind tended towards more serious political discourse. He wrote in favour of a purely-voluntary taxation system and against women's suffrage.
Vivian was drawn more to social events and personal attacks on those he disagreed with. He wrote a number of articles attacking Henry Morton Stanley, was scathing of London's tramway system on individualist grounds, and published his series "Letters to Absurd People" skewering various political figures including Arthur Balfour, [16] George Goschen [17] and Henry Edward Manning, the Archbishop of Westminster. [18]
The initial success of the paper emboldened Vivian and Erskine's political ambitions. In 1891, they split from The Order of the White Rose, and along with Massue they formed the Legitimist Jacobite League of Great Britain and Ireland. This was a much more politically motivated organization, while the Order was moving in a more artistic direction. Pittock describes the League as a "publicist for Jacobitism on a scale unwitnessed since the Eighteenth Century". [1]
In August 1890, the paper carried an article by William Henry Wilkins, a friend of Vivian's from Cambridge University. Wilkins argued in favour of replacing the royal prerogative with popular referendums, to solve constitutional issues like Irish Home Rule and the Disestablishment of the Church of England. [19]
In October 1890, the printers of The Whirlwind refused to complete one issue due to the inclusion of an inflammatory piece title "Young England". Erskine and Vivian promptly sued the printers for the loss of income from the cancelled edition. [15]
The 8 November 1890 issue of The Whirlwind was the last to carry Erskine's name on the letterhead. Issues from 20 onwards appeared with his name crossed-out and were produced solely by Vivian. Erskine's absence from the paper was briefly note in that issue: "Our colleague has, for the nonce, been called from us. While duly deploring the discontinuance of his collaboration, we feel so deeply the importance of what is before him that we refrain from further regret and wish him Godspeed upon his delicate mission, in the full confidence that his brilliant success will shed additional lustre upon our own triumphs during his absence". [20]
The 26th issue of the paper was published on 27 December 1890. It had fewer pages than most previous issues, and it led with a note from Vivian entitled "Not Dead but sleepy" which read, in part: "There will not be a Christmas number of The Whirlwind, but a large extra-special edition will be published on the birthday of the Proprietor-Editor, 3rd. April 1891. Until then The Whirlwind proposes to hibernate and, during the next three months, hushed in grim repose, will show no sign of life... The Proprietor-Editor finds that the direction of the Whirlwind absorbs his whole time... He intends devoting the next three months to political organization". [21]
Early in 1891, Vivian announced he was standing for election in the Bradford East constituency [22] and Erskine that he was standing in Buteshire. [23]
In April 1891, despite their political ambitions, Erskine and Vivian were attempting to raise capital to restart the newspaper. Despite this, The Whirlwind did not resume publication. [24] Its 26 issues had proved lively and eccentric indeed, filled with polemic, scurrilous personal attacks, political essays and drawings from some of the leading artists of the day.
The Whirlwind debuted to a wide range of critical reactions, many of which were published in subsequent issues of the paper. In July 1890, the Lady's Pictorial described The Whirlwind as "The oddest little journal I ever saw... The young men appear to be far from lacking in ideas", the Dramatic Review called it "A monument of youthful audacity...To give anything like a comprehensive description of this extraordinary publication, is impossible" and the Nottingham Daily Express wrote "I like bare unflushing cheek—sometimes; and I am very much interested in the first number of The Whirlwind... for a more impudent little publication it would be difficult to turn out. It is frank, open egotism, though, and distinctly entertaining". [25]
The paper was criticised for its anti-semitic stance by Victor Yarros. [26] In September 1890, The Star newspaper described it as "Rank Treason", and the Southampton Observer said it was "at once preposterously pretentious and absurdly paradoxical", while the Huddersfield Examiner reported: "For pertness and flippancy in full swing, you need to no more than invest a penny in a copy of The Whirlwind. It will not be particularly well spent, but you will have obtained an object". [27]
Individualism is the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology and social outlook that emphasizes the intrinsic worth of the individual. Individualists promote realizing one's goals and desires, valuing independence and self-reliance, and advocating that the interests of the individual should gain precedence over the state or a social group, while opposing external interference upon one's own interests by society or institutions such as the government. Individualism makes the individual its focus, and so starts "with the fundamental premise that the human individual is of primary importance in the struggle for liberation".
Jacobitism was a political movement that supported the restoration of the senior line of the House of Stuart to the British throne. The name derives from the first name of James II of England, which is rendered in Latin as Jacobus. When James went into exile after the November 1688 Glorious Revolution, the Parliament of England argued that he had abandoned the English throne, which they offered to his Protestant daughter Mary II of England, and her husband William III. In April, the Scottish Convention held that he "forfeited" the throne of Scotland by his actions, listed in the Articles of Grievances.
Walter Richard Sickert was a Bavarian-born British painter and printmaker who was a member of the Camden Town Group of Post-Impressionist artists in early 20th-century London. He was an important influence on distinctively British styles of avant-garde art in the mid and late 20th century.
Auberon Edward William Molyneux Herbert was a British writer, theorist, philosopher, and 19th century individualist. He was a son of the 3rd Earl of Carnarvon. He was Liberal Member of Parliament for the two-member constituency of Nottingham from 1870 to 1874.
Ruaraidh Erskine of Marr was a Scottish nationalist political activist, writer and Scottish Gaelic language revival campaigner.
The Jacobite succession is the line through which Jacobites believed that the crowns of England, Scotland, and Ireland should have descended, applying primogeniture, since the deposition of James II and VII in 1688 and his death in 1701. It is in opposition to the legal line of succession to the British throne since that time.
Henry Tonks, FRCS was a British surgeon and later draughtsman and painter of figure subjects, chiefly interiors, and a caricaturist. He became an influential art teacher.
The Royal Stuart Society, founded in 1926, is the largest extant Jacobite organization in the United Kingdom. Its full name is The Royal Stuart Society and Royalist League, although it is best known simply as the "Royal Stuart Society". It acknowledges Francis, Duke of Bavaria as head of the House of Stuart, while refraining from making any claim on his behalf that he does not make himself.
The Fine Art Society is a gallery based in both London and in Edinburgh's New Town. The New Bond Street, London gallery closed its doors in August 2018 after being occupied by The Fine Art Society since February 1876, the entrance façade of which was designed in 1881 by Edward William Godwin (1833–1886).
Egoist anarchism or anarcho-egoism, often shortened as simply egoism, is a school of anarchist thought that originated in the philosophy of Max Stirner, a 19th-century philosopher whose "name appears with familiar regularity in historically orientated surveys of anarchist thought as one of the earliest and best known exponents of individualist anarchism".
Melville Amadeus Henry Douglas Heddle de La Caillemotte de Massue de Ruvigné, 9th Marquis of Ruvigny and 15th of Raineval was a British genealogist and author, who was twice president of the Legitimist Jacobite League of Great Britain and Ireland.
The Jacobite rising of 1745, also known as the Forty-five Rebellion or simply the '45, was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the British throne for his father, James Francis Edward Stuart. It took place during the War of the Austrian Succession, when the bulk of the British Army was fighting in mainland Europe, and proved to be the last in a series of revolts that began in 1689, with major outbreaks in 1708, 1715 and 1719.
Benjamin Ricketson Tucker was an American individualist anarchist. Tucker was the editor and publisher of the American individualist anarchist periodical Liberty (1881–1908). Tucker was a member of the First International, with his publication Liberty represented as the English language organ for the Socialistic-Revolutionary Congress. Tucker described his form of anarchism as "consistent Manchesterism" and stated that "the Anarchists are simply unterrified Jeffersonian Democrats."
Murray G. H. Pittock MAE FRSE is a Scottish historian, Bradley Professor of Literature at the University of Glasgow and Pro Vice Principal at the University, where he has served in senior roles including Dean and Vice Principal since 2008. He led for the University on the University/City of Glasgow/National Library of Scotland Kelvin Hall development (kelvinhall.org.uk), and has chaired Glasgow's unique early career development programme, which has been highly influential in the sector, since 2016. He has also acted as lead or co-lead for a range of national and International partnerships, including with the Smithsonian Institution, and plays a leading role in the University's engagement with government and the cultural and creative industries (CCIs), organizing the 'Glasgow and Dublin: Creative Cities' summit in the British Embassy in Dublin in 2019, and working with the European network CIVIS on the creation of a European policy document on universities and civic engagement, on which he gave a masterclass for La Sapienza University He also produced a major report on the impact of Robert Burns on the Scottish Economy for the Scottish Government in 2020; a Parliamentary debate was held at Holyrood on the recommendations, which have been cited in policy debate many times since. In 2022, he was declared Scotland's Knowledge Exchange Champion of the year. Outside the University, he served on the Research Excellence Framework (REF) Institutional Environment Pilot Panel in 2018-22, and on the National Trust for Scotland Board (2019-27) and Investment Committee, as well as acting as Co-chair of the Scottish Arts and Humanities Alliance (SAHA) and chair of the Governance Board of the Scottish Council on Global Affairs. He also serves as Scottish History Adviser to the NTS and as an adviser to a wide range of other national heritage bodies and the Scottish Parliament; recently he has provided expert advice to both the Scottish and British parliaments on promoting Scotland abroad. He is on the Advisory Board of NISE, the Europe-wide research group bringing together over 40 research centres working on national identities and was President of the Edinburgh Walter Scott Club in 2019-20 and 2021-22. He has given a number of major lectures, most recently the Magnusson, MacCormack and Caledonian lectures
William Murray, Marquess of Tullibardine was a Scottish nobleman and Jacobite who took part in the rebellions of 1715, 1719, and 1745.
Herbert Vivian was an English journalist, author and newspaper owner, who befriended Lord Randolph Churchill, Charles Russell, Leopold Maxse and others in the 1880s. He campaigned for Irish Home Rule and was private secretary to Wilfrid Blunt, poet and writer, who stood in the 1888 Deptford by-election. Vivian's writings caused a rift between Oscar Wilde and James NcNeil Whistler. In the 1890s, Vivian was a leader of the Neo-Jacobite Revival, a monarchist movement keen to restore a Stuart to the British throne and replace the parliamentary system. Before the First World War he was friends with Winston Churchill and was the first journalist to interview him. Vivian lost as Liberal candidate for Deptford in 1906. As an extreme monarchist throughout his life, he became in the 1920s a supporter of fascism. His several books included the novel The Green Bay Tree with William Henry Wilkins. He was a noted Serbophile; his writings on the Balkans remain influential.
The Neo-Jacobite Revival was a political movement active during the 25 years before the First World War in the United Kingdom. The movement was monarchist, and had the specific aim of replacing British parliamentary democracy with a restored monarch from the deposed House of Stuart.
The Order of the White Rose was a Jacobite society founded in 1886 by Bertram Ashburnham, 5th Earl of Ashburnham, as a successor to the Cycle Club. The Order attracted many writers and artists and began the Neo-Jacobite Revival that flourished in the 1890s. The Order closed during the First World War, but in 1926 the Royal Stuart Society was formed to carry on its ideal and mission.
The Legitimist Jacobite League of Great Britain and Ireland was a Jacobite society founded in 1891 by Herbert Vivian, Melville Henry Massue and Ruaraidh Erskine following a split from the earlier Order of the White Rose. The League was considered one of the key groups in the Neo-Jacobite Revival of the 1890s.
Alec Grieve (1864-1933) was a Dundee artist best known for his symbolist and landscape paintings. He was born in Dundee on 13 October 1864.
