REDONDA

See Also: THE CANNIBAL DEAN; THE KING OF CORSICA; SCIENCE FICTION; SQUATTING Frestonia; STREET MARKETS Costermongers, Pearly Kings & Queens

Redonda is an uninhabited rock that stands in the Caribbean Sea.¹

In 1885 M.P. Shiel emigrated from the Leeward Islands to Britain. He became a moderately successful literary figure. His novels included The Yellow Danger (1898) and The Purple Cloud (1901). The latter can be regarded as being a work of science fiction. In 1929 the publisher Victor Gollancz reissued several of the writer's books. Shiel wrote a booklet that was intended to help raise their profile. In it, he made the first preserved reference to himself as the King of Redonda. As a monarch, he assumed the name of Felipe I and took to using his prerogative to grant titles. Amongst those whom he ennobled were the authors Lawrence Durrell and Henry Miller.

John Gawsworth was a minor figure in Bohemia who was given to railing against Modernism. He wrote poetry in a by then anachronistic neo-Georgian manner. In 1931 he introduced himself to Shiel and was soon regarded as being the man's acolyte. He succeeded in arranging for the novelist to receive a Civil List pension. Upon Felipe I's death, Gawsworth succeeded him as King Juan I. Arthur Ransome, Julian Maclaren-Ross, and Rebecca West were some of the writers who received honours from the new monarch. After the war the sovereign had various literary jobs but failed to produce anything that matched his early limited promise.

Juan I became increasingly alcoholic. In 1958 the monarch placed an advertisement in The Times newspaper that offered Redonda at a price of 1000 guineas. He received numerous replies. These are reputed to have included one from a member of the Swedish royal family whose letter was accompanied by a £50 cheque that was intended to act as a deposit. However, Gawsworth decided to withdraw the kingdom from sale. His personal life continued to be chaotic.² In 1968 he became homeless. Two years later he died.

A successor had not been designated. With time, a consensus was established that the writer John Wynne-Tyson should accede to the throne. He did so as King Juan II. On Good Friday 1979 His Majesty and a group of his courtiers landed on Redonda. The party scaled the island's 971ft.-high peak.

The characters in Javier Mar as's (1951-2022) novel All Souls (1999) included Juan I. Juan II contacted the Spanish writer and offered to abdicate in his favour. The author accepted this proposal and became King Xavier. Those whom he has ennobled have included Pedro Almod var, William Boyd, A.S. Byatt, J.M. Coetzee, Umberto Eco, Alice Munro, and W.G. Sebald (1944-2001).

Location: 33 Great James Street, WC1N 3HB. The home of Juan I in the late 1930s. (purple, orange)

St Charles Square, W10 6EE. Felipe I lived in the square.

The Alma, 175 Westbourne Grove, W11 2SB. Juan I's West London court. (orange, purple)

Website: www.javiermarias.es

¹. The island is part of Barbuda & Antigua.

². There is a story that Shiel's ashes were in the possession of Gawsworth, who kept them in a biscuit tin. Upon one occasion a noted collector of fin-de-siècle literature visited Gawsworth in order to talk about Felipe I. The host invited the guest to partake of some stew. The collector agreed to do so. Before serving it, the old Bohemian opened the container, took out a pinch of ash and added it to the dish. Whether the collector then ate of the stew is something that is known only unto him.

David Backhouse 2024