Eric Mackay
George Eric Mackay (1851–1898[1]) was an English minor poet, now remembered as the sponging half-brother of Marie Corelli, the best-selling novelist. Mackay and Corelli, born Mary Mackay, were the children of Charles Mackay,[2] by different mothers (Mary was illegitimate, with Charles marrying her mother subsequently[3]).
As a poet he is described as "execrable",[4] and reliant on Corelli's promotion of his works. Mackay achieved some reputation in his time for Letters of a Violinist (1886). It sold 35,000 copies; he repaid Corelli's efforts by implying he wrote her novels.[5]
A 1940 biography of Corelli, George Bullock's Marie Corelli: The Life and Death of a Best-Seller, hinted that the relationship was incestuous; this has generally been discounted, though Eric's laziness and lack of scruples are acknowledged.[4] This was an old rumour, attributed to Edmund Gosse.[6]
Notes
- ^ New York Times obituary, 1898
- ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 17 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 250.
- ^ Marie Corelli Collection | Special Collections | Bryn Mawr College Library
- ^ a b PDF, p. 23
- ^ Philip J. Waller, Writers, Readers, And Reputations: Literary Life in Britain 1870–1918 (2006), p. 467.
- ^ Marie Corelli and her Occult Tales
External links
- Works by Eric Mackay at Project Gutenberg
- Works by Eric Mackay at Faded Page (Canada)
- Works by or about Eric Mackay at Internet Archive
- Works by Eric Mackay at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)
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