Garnett, Richard, 1835–1906, English librarian and author. From 1851 until his retirement in 1899 he was connected with the British Museum, which he served with great distinction. Besides writing voluminous essays, biographies, and novels, he discovered hitherto unpublished poems by Shelley (Relics of Shelley, 1862). His works include the novel Twilight of the Gods (1888), Essays in Librarianship and Bibliography (1899), Poems (1893), and The Age of Dryden (1895). His son was Edward Garnett, 1868–1937, critic and author. Although his own work never achieved great distinction, Edward encouraged and guided many writers, including Conrad and Galsworthy, and published their letters to him. Constance (Black) Garnett, 1862–1946, Edward's wife, was famous for her translations from the Russian, including the great novels of Dostoyevsky and Tolstoy. The son of Edward and Constance, David Garnett, 1892–1981, novelist, won acclaim for the imaginativeness of such works as Lady into Fox (1923) and A Man in the Zoo (1924).
See C. G. Heilbrun, The Garnett Family (1961).
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