R. H. Mottram (Ralph Hale Mottram) Biography

British novelist, born in Norwich. For some years he worked as a bank clerk but with encouragement from John Galsworthy, who was to be the subject of the later work For Some We Loved (1956), he turned to writing. His first novel, The Spanish Farm (1924), with a preface by GalsworthyM, reflected his experiences in France and Flanders during the First World War; it was followed by Sixty-four, Ninety-four (1925) and The Crime at Vanderlyden's (1926) which together formed ‘The Spanish Farm Trilogy’. The trilogy gives a vivid account of military life, both from the view of the British servicemen and from that of the peasants who lived near the battle front. His autobiographical account of the war period appeared as Three Personal Records of the War (1929). As well as many novels, including To Hell with Crabb Robinson (1962), he also wrote collections of short stories, such as The Headless Hound (1931); autobiographical essays contained in The Window Seat (1954) and Another Window Seat (1957); as well as A History of Financial Speculation (1929) and A History of the East India Company (1940).