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Thomas Anstey Guthrie
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<h2 id="early-life-and-family">Early life and family</h2> <p>He was born in <a href="/facts/Kensington/lLlKcGIl">Kensington</a>, London, to <a href="/facts/Augusta_Amherst_Austen/wp2BAAW4">Augusta Amherst Austen</a>, an organist and composer, and Thomas Anstey Guthrie. He was educated at <a href="/facts/King%27s_College_School/Isw9wVRg">King's College School</a> and at <a href="/facts/Trinity_Hall,_Cambridge/nT5gxkPs">Trinity Hall, Cambridge</a>, and was called to the bar in 1880.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:1" href="#fn:1"><sup>1</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a> </p><p>Guthrie's younger brother was the physician <a href="/facts/Leonard_Guthrie/r3Cz869S">Leonard Guthrie</a> (1858–1918).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="writing-career">Writing career</h2> <p>The popular success of his story <i><a href="/facts/Vice_Versa_(novel)/4JmhQEx6">Vice Versa</a></i> (1882) with its topsy turvy substitution of a father for his schoolboy son, at once made his reputation as a humorist of an original type. In 1883, he published a serious novel, <i>The Giant's Robe</i>, which <a href="/facts/George_Gissing/qXA5qLRE">George Gissing</a> described as 'very poor stuff'.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> Anstey discovered (and again in 1889 with <i>The Pariah</i>) that it was not as a serious novelist but as a humorist that the public insisted on regarding him. As such, his reputation was further confirmed by <i>The Black Poodle</i> (1884), <i>The Tinted Venus</i> (1885), <i>A Fallen Idol</i> (1886), and other works.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> </p><p>Guthrie became an important member of the staff of <i><a href="/facts/Punch_(magazine)/IoScK8W4">Punch</a></i> magazine, in which his <i><a href="/facts/Voces_populi/Lgy7wUz7">voces populi</a></i> and his humorous parodies of a reciter's stock-piece (<i>Burglar Bill, &c.</i>) represent his best work. In 1903, his successful farce <i><a href="/facts/The_Man_from_Blankley%27s/gwzD12HL">The Man from Blankley's</a></i> based on a story that originally appeared in <i>Punch</i>, was first produced by <a href="/facts/Charles_Hawtrey_(actor,_born_1858)/mcCpxHUv">Sir Charles Hawtrey</a> at the <a href="/facts/Prince_of_Wales_Theatre/YCevz2TX">Prince of Wales Theatre</a>, in London.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> It starred Hawtrey, <a href="/facts/Arthur_Playfair/jBjxy5rv">Arthur Playfair</a> and <a href="/facts/Faith_Compton_Mackenzie/cAR1p5wA">Faith Stone</a>. After London, it played in New York, Washington DC, Detroit and Chicago.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> He wrote <i>Only Toys</i> (1903) and <i>Salted Almonds</i> (1906).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> </p><p>Many of Anstey's stories have been adapted into theatrical productions and motion pictures. </p><p><i>The Tinted Venus</i> was adapted into a silent film, <i><a href="/facts/The_Tinted_Venus/cjkqzU5l">The Tinted Venus</a></i>, in 1921. </p><p><i>The Tinted Venus</i> was adapted by <a href="/facts/S._J._Perelman/pHnmmwRb">S. J. Perelman</a>, <a href="/facts/Ogden_Nash/rhgjamV4">Ogden Nash</a>, and <a href="/facts/Kurt_Weill/lx8Ek6fD">Kurt Weill</a> into <i><a href="/facts/One_Touch_of_Venus/ITBrSkgX">One Touch of Venus</a></i> in 1943. A 1948 film, <a href="/facts/One_Touch_of_Venus_(film)/xXXomgAr"><i>One Touch of Venus</i></a>, was based on Guthrie's book and the musical. </p><p><i>Vice Versa</i> was <a href="/facts/Vice_Versa_(play)/kwm9y4sr">adapted as a play</a> in 1883 and has been filmed many times, usually transposed in setting and without any credit to the original book. Another of his novels, <i>The Brass Bottle</i>, has also been filmed more than once, including <i><a href="/facts/The_Brass_Bottle_(1964_film)/q44BwDpA">The Brass Bottle</a></i> (1964). His <i><a href="/facts/Tourmalin%27s_Time_Cheques/neyFW22l">Tourmalin's Time Cheques</a></i> (1891) is one of the earliest stories featuring the science fiction <a href="/facts/Time_travel_in_fiction/eFPul7mY">concept of intentional and frequent movement in time</a>, and probably the first to investigate the practical paradoxes such a concept would create. </p><p>Guthrie wrote an autobiography, under both his pen and true names, in 1936 entitled <i>A Long Retrospect</i>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="death">Death</h2> <p>Guthrie died on 10 March 1934. </p> <h2 id="selected-publications">Selected publications</h2> <h3>1880s</h3> <ul><li><i><a href="/facts/Vice_Versa_(novel)/4JmhQEx6">Vice Versa</a></i> (1882)</li> <li><i>The Black Poodle And Other Tales</i> (1884)</li> <li><i>The Giant's Robe</i> (1884)</li> <li><i>The Tinted Venus</i> (1885)</li> <li><i>A Fallen Idol</i> (1886)</li> <li><i>Burglar Bill And Other Pieces</i> (1888)</li> <li><i>The Pariah</i> (1889)</li></ul> <h3>1890s</h3> <ul><li><i>Voces Populi</i> (1890)</li> <li><i><a href="/facts/Tourmalin%27s_Time_Cheques/neyFW22l">Tourmalin's Time Cheques</a></i> (1891)</li> <li><i>Mr. Punch's Model Music-Hall Songs And Dramas</i> (1892)</li> <li><i>The Talking Horse And Other Tales</i> (1892)</li> <li><i>The Travelling Companions</i> (1892)</li> <li><i>The Man From Blankley's And Other Sketches</i> (1893)</li> <li><i>Mr. Punch's Pocket Ibsen</i> (1893)</li> <li><i>Under the Rose</i> (1894)</li> <li><i>Lyre and Lancet</i> (1895)</li> <li><i>The Statement of Stella Maberly, Written By Herself</i> (1896)</li> <li><i>Baboo Jabberjee, B. A.</i> (1897)</li> <li><i>Puppets at Large</i> (1897)</li> <li><i>Love Among The Lions</i> (1898)</li> <li><i>Paleface And Redskin</i> (1898)</li></ul> <h3>1900s</h3> <ul><li><i><a href="/facts/The_Brass_Bottle_(novel)/uTr095y3">The Brass Bottle</a></i> (1900)</li> <li><i>A Bayard From Bengal</i> (1902)</li> <li><i>Only Toys!</i> (1903)</li> <li><i>Salted Almonds</i> (1906)</li> <li><i>Winnie, An Everyday Story</i> (1909)</li></ul> <h3>Later</h3> <ul><li><i>In Brief Authority</i> (1915)</li> <li><i>Percy and Others</i> (1915)</li> <li><i>The Last Load</i> (1925)</li> <li><i>The Would-Be Gentleman</i> (Adapted From <a href="/facts/Moli%C3%A8re/9p9dcpw7">Molière</a>'s <i><a href="/facts/Le_Bourgeois_gentilhomme/frPNt62J">Le Bourgeois gentilhomme</a></i>) (1927)</li> <li><i>The Imaginary Invalid</i> (Adapted From Molière's <i><a href="/facts/Le_Malade_imaginaire/Ft6Xnl3D">Le Malade imaginaire</a></i>) (1929)</li> <li><i>Humour and Fantasy</i> (1931 – omnibus volume of short stories and four novels)</li> <li><i>A Long Retrospect</i> (1936 – autobiography)</li></ul> <ul><li> This article incorporates text from a publication now in the <a href="/facts/Public_domain/YWKMDKw4">public domain</a>: <a href="/facts/Hugh_Chisholm/2vWblUBe">Chisholm, Hugh</a>, ed. (1911). "Guthrie, Thomas Anstey". <i><a href="/facts/Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica_Eleventh_Edition/mPElbCRY">Encyclopædia Britannica</a></i>. Vol. 12 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 742.</li></ul> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> Wikimedia Commons has media related to Thomas Anstey Guthrie. <a href="/facts/Wikisource/TrMdylNf">Wikisource</a> has original works by or about:<i>Thomas Anstey Guthrie</i> Wikiquote has quotations related to <i>Thomas Anstey Guthrie</i>. <ul><li><a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/6137">Works by F. Anstey</a> at <a href="/facts/Project_Gutenberg/2l0R6GgQ">Project Gutenberg</a></li> <li><a href="https://archive.org/search.php?query=%28%28subject%3A%22Anstey%2C%20F.%22%20OR%20subject%3A%22F.%20Anstey%22%20OR%20creator%3A%22Anstey%2C%20F.%22%20OR%20creator%3A%22F.%20Anstey%22%20OR%20creator%3A%22Anstey%2C%20F%2E%22%20OR%20title%3A%22F.%20Anstey%22%20OR%20description%3A%22Anstey%2C%20F.%22%20OR%20description%3A%22F.%20Anstey%22%29%20OR%20%28%221856-1934%22%20AND%20Anstey%29%29%20AND%20%28-mediatype:software%29">Works by or about F. Anstey</a> at the <a href="/facts/Internet_Archive/PHStU8Lo">Internet Archive</a></li> <li><a href="https://librivox.org/author/1631">Works by F. Anstey</a> at <a href="/facts/LibriVox/FF71kJKC">LibriVox</a> (public domain audiobooks) </li> <li><a href="https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?F._Anstey">F. Anstey</a> at the <a href="/facts/Internet_Speculative_Fiction_Database/3pvkKL6m">Internet Speculative Fiction Database</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0030694/">Thomas Anstey Guthrie</a> at <a href="/facts/IMDb_(identifier)/uWrqVYVy">IMDb</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person.php?LinkID=mp01955">National Portrait Gallery sketch and full caricature</a></li> <li><a href="https://lccn.loc.gov/n50046328">F. Anstey</a> at <a href="/facts/Library_of_Congress/TfB6dEN5">Library of Congress</a>, with 63 library catalogue records</li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>"Guthrie, Thomas Anstey (GTRY875TA)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge. <a href="http://venn.lib.cam.ac.uk/cgi-bin/search-2018.pl?sur=&suro=w&fir=&firo=c&cit=&cito=c&c=all&z=all&tex=GTRY875TA&sye=&eye=&col=all&maxcount=50" target="_blank">http://venn.lib.cam.ac.uk/cgi-bin/search-2018.pl?sur=&suro=w&fir=&firo=c&cit=&cito=c&c=all&z=all&tex=GTRY875TA&sye=&eye=&col=all&maxcount=50</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Chisholm 1911. - Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Guthrie, Thomas Anstey". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 12 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 742. <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>GUTHRIE, Leonard George (1858–1918). AIM25. Retrieved 5 July 2018. <a href="https://aim25.com/cgi-bin/vcdf/detail?coll_id=7179&inst_id=8&nv1=search&nv2=" target="_blank">https://aim25.com/cgi-bin/vcdf/detail?coll_id=7179&inst_id=8&nv1=search&nv2=</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>" "A Kind of Odour of Salem House": David Copperfield and Thomas Anstey Guthrie" by Peter Merchant in Peter Merchant & Catherine Waters (Eds.) Dickens and the Imagined Child. Routledge. 2016. pp. 131-151 (p. 143). ISBN 978-1-4724-2381-8. <a href="978-1-4724-2381-8" target="_blank">978-1-4724-2381-8</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Coustillas, Pierre ed. London and the Life of Literature in Late Victorian England: the Diary of George Gissing, Novelist. Brighton: Harvester Press, 1978, p.266. <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>Chisholm 1911. - Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Guthrie, Thomas Anstey". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 12 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 742. <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>Chisholm 1911. - Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Guthrie, Thomas Anstey". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 12 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 742. <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>Mackenzie, Faith Compton (1938). As much as I dare. Collins. pp. 150–153. OCLC 59635156. <a href="https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/59635156" target="_blank">https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/59635156</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>New International Encyclopedia <a href="/wiki/New_International_Encyclopedia" target="_blank">/wiki/New_International_Encyclopedia</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>A Long Retrospect at the Internet Archive <a href="https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.78574" target="_blank">https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.78574</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>