Person:Shane Leslie (1)

An important figure in twentieth-century Irish literature and a man of letters, he achieved success on both sides of the Atlantic. He was a grandson of the prominent American lawyer and businessman Leonard Walter Jerome. Christened "John Randolph" in honor of his father John and his maternal uncle and godfather Lord Randolph Spencer Churchill (who had married his mother's sister, Jennie Jerome). While an undergraduate at King's College, University of Cambridge, Leslie converted to Catholicism. At this time he also changed his name to Shane, an Irish equivalent of John. In 1912, he married Marjorie Ide of Vermont, daughter of Henry Clay Ide, U.S. Ambassador to Spain and former Governor-General of the Philippines.

A prolific author, Leslie wrote novels, poetry, biographies, studies of Celtic legend and folklore, apologetics, histories, and several volumes of memoirs. In 1916, he became editor of the prestigious Dublin Review. A frequent visitor and lecturer in the United States, he was the earliest literary mentor of F. Scott Fitzgerald who later dedicated his novel The Beautiful and Damned (1922) to Leslie. Some of Leslie's numerous books include: Isle of Columcille: A Pilgrimage and a Sketch (1910), The End of a Chapter (1916), Verses in Peace and War (1916), The Story of Saint Patrick's Purgatory (1917), The Irish Issue in its American Aspect: A Contribution to the Settlement of Anglo-American Relations During and After the Great War (1918), The Oppidan (1922), Doomsland (1923), The Cantab (1926), George IV (1926), An Anthology of Catholic Poets (1926), The Poems of Shane Leslie (1928), The Skull of Swift: An Extempore Exhumation (1928), Saint Patrick's Purgatory: A Record from History and Literature (1932), The Oxford Movement: 1833 to 1933 (1933), American Wonderland: Memories of Four Tours in the United States of America, 1911-1935 (1936), The Film of Memory (1938), Mrs. Fitzherbert (1939), Cardinal Gasquet: A Memoir (1953), Cardinal Manning: His Life and Labours (1954), Shane Leslie's Ghost Book (1955), and Long Shadows: The Memoirs of Shane Leslie (1966). He also edited and translated numerous Irish, Latin, and Greek texts into English.

An Irish Nationalist and supporter of Home Rule for Ireland, in 1910 he narrowly lost election to Parliament as representative for Derry City. Though his own political ambitions were not fulfilled, Leslie's family was politically well-connected, as his maternal first cousin was Sir Winston Churchill. Before America's entry into World War One, Leslie was engaged by the British government to visit the United States (1916-17) and assist the British Ambassador, Sir Cecil Arthur Spring-Rice, in gauging the attitudes of Irish-Americans toward the War and forming an alliance with Great Britain. As an Anglo-Irish aristocrat who was also a Catholic and half-American, he was well-suited for the role in helping to sway the majority of Catholic Irish-American opinion toward support of Britain in the war.

During World War One, Leslie volunteered for service with the American Ambulance Corps and was wounded. During World War Two, he was stationed in the West End of London where he served as a captain in Britain's Home Guard.

Upon his father's death in 1944, he became the third Baronet (Leslie of Glaslough). He promoted the teaching of the Irish language in schools, was a strong advocate for reforestation in Ireland, and encouraged conservation. Proud of his American heritage (dating to the 17th century), in 1947 he became a member of the Sons of the American Revolution. He was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws by the University of Notre Dame, was an Associate Member of the Irish Academy of Letters, and was appointed Privy Chamberlain of the Sword & Cape to Pope Pius XI.

Rediscovered by a new generation, in recent years many of his books have come back into print. Leslie and his work have been the focus of several biographical and critical studies. His papers are in collections held by Eton College, University of Cambridge, Georgetown University, Boston College, University of Notre Dame, the National Library of Ireland, and the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland.

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   Christened as "John Randolph"; changed his name to the Irish equivalent when he converted to catholicism. Find a Grave