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Myers Literary Guide:
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The North-East
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JOHN MEADE FALKNER (1858 - 1932) Born in Wiltshire, Falkner had originally come to Newcastle, after Oxford, to be tutor to the children of Sir Andrew Noble. He became an intimate and beloved figure in Jesmond Dene House and gradually rose to the top of the Armstrong-Whitworth armaments colossus by 1916 - hard though this is to equate with his poetry and his interest in heraldry and architecture. He wrote several novels, including The Nebuly Coat which has been seen as an influence on E.M. Forster (q.v.). His great claim to fame, however, is his children's classic Moonfleet (1898) several times dramatised, filmed and televised. Some consider it to be more enjoyable than Treasure Island. Falkner was captivated by Durham, and after becoming honorary librarian to the Dean and Chapter, lived in the Divinity House on Palace Green from 1902. A plaque there commemorates his residence, and his monument is in the South Cloister of the cathedral.
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