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Rupert Croft-Cooke

The Knitting Circle: Literature

Biography,work.

British writer and playwright.

He also wrote under the pseudonym Leo Bruce.

His parents were Lucy and Hubert Bruce Cooke. His father worked for the London Stock Exchange.

He went to Tonbridge School and Wellington College (later to become Wrekin College).

At the age of 17 he moved to France.

At the age of 19 he moved to Argentina which he wrote about in his travel bookThe World is Young. He was the founder of the weeklyLa Estrellawhich he edited in Argentina from 1923 to 1924.

He was an antiquarian bookseller from 1929 to 1931.

At the age of 27 he went to live in Germany.

In 1931, at the age of 28, he moved to Switzerland and he became a lecturer at the English Institute Montana, Zugerberg.

At the age of 29 he spent a year in Spain.

In 1940 he joined the Intelligence Corps. He served in the Madagascar campaign and was in Queen Alexandra's Own Regiment and the Gurkha Rifles.

In 1943 he was posted to Bombay and he soon realised that life in the ranks there was not going to be comfortable so he applied for a commission. He was posted to an Officers' Training School in the small town of Belgaum. At one of the town's two cinemas that showed English films a 16-year-old Indian called Joseph Sussainathan served soft drinks behind the bar. He attached himself to Rupert Croft-Cooke and decided that he would follow him wherever he went. Joseph Sussainathan first became a civilian clerk in Rupert Croft-Cooke's Field Security Section after following him to Delhi. In the evenings he took classes in shorthand and typing with the aim of becoming Rupert Croft-Cooke's secretary when he went back with him to Britain.

Rupert Croft-Cooke became a captain (as Field Security Officer) in 1944. In 1945 he was an instructor at the Intelligence School at Karachi.

From 1947 to 1953 he was a book critic forThe Sketch.

He wrote over 80 books covering a variety of subjects. A number were autobiographical, with one book often covering just a few years of his life. Some were about circuses and gypsy life, and some were about food and drink. He also wrote crime and detective stories, mostly under the pseudonym Leo Bruce. As Leo Bruce he created two series of novels. One series had the main character Sergeant William Beef, a village policeman. The other series had the main character Carolus Deene, a school history teacher.

In 1951 he moved into a small Georgian house in the Sussex village of Ticehurst and he spent some time restoring the house to its former unembellished simplicity. His Indian secretary, Joseph Alexander (previously Sussainathan) also lived in the house. The bookThe Life for Meis a description of life at the house and includes a number of photographs. It was at this house that the two Royal Navy cooks Harold Altoft and Ronald Dennis spent a weekend. It was also here where police came to arrest Rupert Croft-Cooke and Joseph Alexander at two o'clock on a Sunday morning. The charge was that they had each committed an act of gross indecency with another male person. Altoft and Dennis were named on the warrant.

Thesubsequent trialthat started on 8th. October 1953 brought Rupert Croft-Cooke to public notice. He was defended by 'Khaki' Roberts who was to be the prosecution counsel at the magistrates court in theMontagu/Pitt-Rivers/Wildeblood Casea few weeks later.

"e;In England most people with any detached understanding of the matter consider that archaic laws against homosexuality, which make illegal the sexual association of two adult men in the privacy of a house, should long since have been abolished. But whether legal or illegal homosexuality is held in general dis-esteem, and since mud always sticks, I realized, not without some amusement, that even after the charges had been thrown out I should never escape from the reputation of a homosexual. This did not greatly disturb me, but it was a categorization which I should share, after all, with Shakespeare andMichelangeloand about a third of the writers and artists and musicians who have embellished human life, and with a rather greater proportion of the world's heroes in war, exploration, politics, and sport. But although for myself I should not mind, should even enjoy the irony of this, I could see that for my friends it must set a problem. They could either remain my friends and stand by me in this increasingly difficult time and take the risk of being associated with me in the public mind, or they could pass by me on the other side."e;

The Verdict of You All, (1955), page 29.

At the trial Compton Mackenzie and Patrick (Lord) Kinross took the stand as character witnesses. Notwithstanding this Rupert Croft-Cooke was sentenced to nine months in prison and Joseph Alexander was sentenced to three months in prison.

"e;I did not, as I have said, mind in the least being thought a homosexual. I might have been irritated by any suggestion that I was a homosexual of the inverted, effeminate type, but that would have been because it reflected on my manhood, not because it reflected on my morals."e;

The Verdict of You All, (1955), page 68.

In fact Rupert Croft-Cooke spent six months in prison from October 1953 to April 1954. The sentence began in Wormwood Scrubs but he was transferred to Brixton Prison in January 1954. While at Brixton he was visited by his old friendTom Driberg. After a short time Rupert Croft-Cooke was returned to Wormwood Scrubs for the rest of his sentence. Three days after his release on 10th. April he had a visit from a stranger warning him that he could easily find himself charged and convicted again if he wrote about how his previous conviction had been brought about. Rupert Croft-Cooke went to Morocco and wrote about the events inThe Verdict of You All, (1955). Joseph Alexander had been sentenced to three months prison at the end of the trial and had gone to Brixton.

Rupert Croft-Cooke wrote that he felt that his conviction and imprisonment did not hinder his career. Indeed he wrote that he was glad that it had all happened because he had learnt a great deal of the best and worst of human nature. "e;It has been the most immensely worthwhile experience in my life"e;. (The Verdict of You All, chapter 14, section 7.) Nearly sixty of his books were published over the next two decades.

Rupert Croft-Cooke and Joseph Alexander left Britain in April 1954 and drove through France, ending up at Cadiz in Spain. In order to get in and out of Gibralter Rupert Croft-Cooke needed to get his visa renewed and had to take the circuitous route to Gibralter viaTangier. It was during the brief stopover in Tangier that he decided that this was where he would live. He and Joseph Alexander took up residence in Tangier in October 1954. Their life in Morocco with a commentary on the many other writers and artists that stayed or passed that way is described inThe Tangerine House, (1956)andThe Caves of Hercules, (1974). Ruper Croft-Cooke was not popular with everyone in the ex-patriate community in Tangier. His experience had made him bitter and he did not suffer fools gladly. However, he was often in the Parade Bar and met some of the other inhaditants and visitors, includingJohn Haylock. Rupert Croft-Cooke and Joseph Alexander stayed in Morocco until 1968 when the European colonial and cosmopolitan lifestyle was disappearing. They wandered around until they settled in Bournemouth.

• Twenty Poems from the Spanish of Becquer, 1926.

• Some Poems, 1929.

• Troubadour, 1930, a book of poems.

• Banquo's Chair, 1930, a play.
  Made into the filmThe Fatal Witness, (1945)

• Give Him the Earth, 1930.

• Tap Three Times, 1931, a play.

• Night Out, 1932.

• Cosmopolis, 1932.

• Release the Lions, 1933.

• Picaro, 1934.

• Shoulder the Sky, 1934.

• Deliberate Accident, 1934, a play.

• Blind Gunner, 1935.

• Crusade, 1936.

• God in Ruins, 1936.

• Case for Three Detectives, 1936, a Sergeant Beef detective novel written as Leo Bruce.

• Kingdom Come, 1937.

• The World is Young, 1937.

• Rule Britannia, 1938.

• Darts, 1938.

• Pharaoh with his Wagons, 1938.

• How to get more out of Life, 1938.

• Same Way Home, 1939.

• Major Road Ahead, 1939, as editor.

• The Sensual World: The Man in Europe Street, 1939, an autobiography.

• Case with no Conclusion, 1939, a Sergeant Beef detective novel written as Leo Bruce.

• Glorious, 1940.

• The Circus has no Home, 1940, an autobiography.

• Octopus, 1946.

• Ladies Gay, 1946.

• The Circus Book, 1947, as editor.

• Rudyard Kipling, 1948.

• Wilkie, 1948.

• How to Enjoy Travel Abroad, 1948, published by Rockliffe.

• The Moon in My Pocket, 1948, an autobiography.

• Brass Farthing, 1950.

• Three Names For Nicholas, 1951.
  1974, published by White Lion (hardback).

• Cities, 1951.

• The Sawdust Ring, 1951.

• The Case for Sergeant Beef, 1951, a Sergeant Beef detective novel written as Leo Bruce.

• Neck and Neck, 1951, a Sergeant Beef detective novel written as Leo Bruce.

• Nine Days with Edward, 1952.

• The Life for Me, 1952, published in London by Macmillan & Co. Ltd., 258 pages.
  A description of the process of setting up home and the life in the Georgian home in Ticehurst, Sussex.

• Harvest Moon, 1953.

• The Blood-Red Island, 1953, an autobiography.

• A Few Gypsies, 1955, published by Putnam (hardback).

• Fall of Man, 1955.

• Sherry, 1955, published by Putnam.

• The Verdict of You All, 1955, published in London by Secker & Warburg, 254 pages.
  An account of the arrest, thetrial, and life in prison.

  Blurb:"e;This is not a book for the narrow minded. The author gives full rein to his hatred of the hypocrisy which he believes lies behind so many public actions and causes so much inhumanity. But for everyone else it will make absorbing reading."e;

• The Tangerine House, 1956, an autobiography, published by Macmillan & Co. Ltd., 218 pages.
  A description of the process of setting up home in Tangier, very much in the same style asThe Life for Me.

• Seven Thunders, 1956.
  Made into a film in 1957, withJohn Schlesingerin the cast.

• Port, 1957, published by Putnam, 219 pages.SBU Library Main Bookstock 663.22

• Barbary Night, 1958.

• The Gardens of Camelot, 1958, published by Putnam (hardback).

• Dead Man's Shoes, 1958, a Carolus Deene detective novel written as Leo Bruce.

• The Quest for Quixote, 1959, an autobiography.

• Our Jubilee is Death, 1959, a Carolus Deene detective novel written as Leo Bruce.

• Smiling Damned Villain: Thief, 1960, published by Secker Warburg.

• The Altar in the Loft, 1960, an autobiography.

• Furious Old Women, 1960, a Carolus Deene detective novel written as Leo Bruce.

• The Drums of Morning, 1961, an autobiography.

• English Cooking: Madeira, 1961.

• Wine and Other Drinks, 1962.

• The Glittering Pastures, 1962, an autobiography.

• Nothing Like Blood, 1962, a Carolus Deene detective novel written as Leo Bruce.

• The Numbers Came, 1963, published by Putnam.

• Bosie: The Story of Lord Alfred Douglas, 1963, published by W. H. Allen.
  A biography ofAlfred Douglas, the poet and and friend ofOscar Wilde.

• Clash by Night, 1963, a script for the 1964 film. (Also calledEscape by Night, USA.)

• Such is Death, 1963, a Carolus Deene detective novel written as Leo Bruce.

• The Last Spring: The Wintry Sea, 1964, an autobiography.

• Death at Hallows End, 1965, a Carolus Deene detective novel written as Leo Bruce.

• The Purple Streak, 1966, an autobiography.

• The Wild Hills, 1966, published in London by W. H. Allen, 218 pages (hardback).
  An autobiography which starts in 1934 in an isolated hamlet in the Cotswolds, travels to Argentina, and returns to England.

• Death at St. Asprey's School, 1967, a Carolus Deene detective novel written as Leo Bruce.

• Death of a Commuter, 1967, a Carolus Deene detective novel written as Leo Bruce.

• Paper Albatross, 1965.

• The Gorgeous East: One Man's India, 1965, published by TBC London.

• The Happy Highways, 1967, an autobiography.

• Feasting With Panthers: A New Consideration of Some Late Victorian Writers, 1967, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 309 pages (hardback).
  Discussions includeEdward FitzGerald, André Gide, John Gray, Lionel Johnson,Edward Lear, Edward Cracroft Lefroy,Walter Pater, George E. J. Powell, Raffalovich, Simeon Solomon, Count Stenbock,John Addington Symonds,Walt Whitman,Oscar Wilde.

• Three in a Cell, 1968.

• The Ghost of June, 1968.

• The Sound of Revelry, 1969, published in London by W. H. Allen, 172 pages, ISBN 491 00421 4. (hardback).
  An account of his time in London during 1937 to 1939 when writing for theSketchandMirror. He writes about the London Literary scene with portraits of Louis Golding, Compton Mackenzie, Marguerite Steen, Pamela Frankau, C. B. Stern, Rose Macauley, and Denis Wheatley.

• Wolf from the Door, 1969.

• Exotic Food, 1969.

• Death with a Blue Ribbon, 1969, a Carolus Deene detective novel written as Leo Bruce.

• Exiles, 1970, a novel based on characters in Tangier.

• Death on All Hallowe'en, 1970, a Carolus Deene detective novel written as Leo Bruce.

• Under the Rose Garden, 1971.

• While the Iron's Hot, 1971.

• The Licentious Soldiery, 1971, published in London by W. H. Allen, 173 pages, ISBN 0 491 00487 1 (hardback).
  Blurb:"e;This is not so much a war book as an account of the author's experiences in the Army during the last war, in Field Security, in Combined Operations, and in Africa."e;

  "e;He opens in a gypsy camp in Worcestershire and travels to the Isle of Barra where he spent his embarkation leave with Compton Mackenzie, then on to South and East Africa and India."e;

• The Unrecorded Life ofOscar Wilde, 1972, published by W. H. Allen (hardback).

• Nasty Piece of Work, 1973.

• The Dogs of Peace, 1973, an autobiography.

• The Caves of Hercules, 1974, an autobiography.

• The Long Way Home, 1975, published by W. H. Allen.

• Conduct Unbecoming, 1975.

• Circus: a world history, with Peter Cotes, 1976, published in London by Elek, 192 pages, ISBN 0236400517.

• The Green Green Grass, 1977, an autobiography.

• Death in Albert Park, 1977, a Carolus Deene detective novel written as Leo Bruce.

• Case without a Corpse, 1982, a Sergeant Beef detective novel written as Leo Bruce.

• Jack on the Gallows Tree, 1983, a Carolus Deene detective novel written as Leo Bruce.

• A Bone and a Hank of Hair, 1985, a Carolus Deene detective novel written as Leo Bruce.

• Die All, Die Merrily, 1986, a Carolus Deene detective novel written as Leo Bruce.

Biography,work.

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First uploaded 21st. August, 2000.

Last altered 12th. August, 2006