Anthony Rhodes

Who was Anthony Rhodes?

Anthony Rhodes was a British writer of memoirs, novels, travelogues, reviews and histories.

Rhodes was born in Plymouth, England, and was the eldest of three sons of Dorothy and Colonel George Rhodes CBE. His early years were later spent at Lucknow and Delhi in India where his father served in the British Army. He was educated at Rugby School and the Royal Military College. Though his main interest was English literature he studied mechanical sciences at Trinity College, Cambridge where he obtained his degree in 1939.

Rhodes served in the British Army during World War II and was involved with retreat of the British Army from Dunkirk. He wrote of his war time experiences in the 1942 book Sword of Bone, in a style that reminded reviewers of Evelyn Waugh. After being promoted to captain he lectured in Canada and the United States, where he met and married a niece of Gustav Mahler. The marriage was short-lived and led to a nervous breakdown. He was invalided out of the Army 1945

In the early post-war years he taught at Geneva University whilst reading for a degree in Romance languages. He published in 1949 The Uniform, a satirical novel about “young society women who worshipped Hitler”. Though Rhodes was not yet a Roman Catholic he embarked on a pilgrimage during the Holy Year of 1950. His journey from Terni to Rome with a donkey was later recorded in his 1952 travel book, A Sabine Journey. In 1952 he returned to England and taught romance languages at Eton College. His novel A Ball in Venice, about a comic struggle between an Englishman, an American millionairess, an art critic, and the Communist mayor, was published in 1953. Another novel, The Prophet's Carpet, struck a more sombre tone. In it the character of Mr Sanderson tries to commercialise the Balkan state of "Blagoland" and this leads to conflict with a British consul who is determined to respect the people's culture and Islamic faith. .