Edward Godfree (Richard) Aldington was born at Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, on 8 July 1892. He was one of four children who grew up near Dover and the surrounding countryside. His mother, May Aldington, was one of those particular breed of middle class Victorian women who suffered from materialism and a dream of upward mobility. She was a romantic novelist who irritated her son with her hollowness and cant. In later life, Aldington was to portray his mother with critical acuteness through the characters of Mrs Winterbourne in
Death of a Hero(1929) and Mrs Withers in
The Colonel’s Daughter(1931). His father, Albert Edward Aldington, was a solicitor with little talent or direction. Aldington was seemingly aware of his father’s weaknesses, but he felt a strong affinity for his…
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Citation: Quinn, Patrick. "Richard Aldington". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 07 July 2001 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=65, accessed 22 November 2024.]