Henry Beeching (1859–1919), Dean of Norwich, was the quintessential Man of Letters. A popular preacher and active for the cause of reform in the Church, he was also a poet, eminent scholar and a widely read journalist. Seen through the spectrum of national issues and challenges, Peter Fanning highlights Beeching’s wide appeal both as a Christian thinker, literary scholar and a humourist. Many of the most celebrated scholars, poets and clergy were friends and correspondents; amongst them was the enduring relationship with his uncle, the poet Robert Bridges. Above all, Henry Beeching was a literary scholar and lover of Shakespeare who married this passion to a love of God.
A contemporary journalist wrote that Henry Beeching was “widely known as a poet, preacher and professor. Many men are content to make a reputation in any one of these department. Mr Beeching has made a mark in each.” It is the breadth of his interests and achievements that is unusual. This first full-length biography covers Beeching's character and his many interests and achievements, from the satirical and scandalous “Balliol epigrams” to sermons during the First World War and the creation of the Memorial Chapel at Norwich Cathedral.