Two hefty Denton books remain to read; Denton’s journals, and his short stories. However, I’m getting myself a bit stuck on his biographies. I thoroughly enjoyed reading James Methuen-Campbell’s version of Denton’s life and times, which was published in 2004. JMC’s attention to detail is astonishing; I’m not surprised the book took him seven years to write! The tiny details that he’s bothered to track down, without the modern godsend of Google, demonstrate his intense interest in Denton and his work. As well as his writing, JMC charts Denton’s artistic career, which is a topic that I know little about and makes me keen to know and better understand that side of his creative output.
I’m now reading Michael De-La-Noy’s biography of Denton, which was published 20 years earlier in 1984. His journalist background shows up in more of a story-telling style, although he relies on quoting large chunks of Denton’s own stories and journals. That’s OK, as he also provides alternative perspectives from Denton’s family and friends. What’s not OK is that MDN sits in judgement in a way that JMC doesn’t; for example, he sneers at Denton’s mother for “mollycoddling” him. His tone throughout is that of an editorial opinion piece, and I’m not interested in MDN’s opinion. I’m interested in hearing a factual account of Denton’s life, insights from his friends and family, and how he was perceived by contemporary commentators.
What exasperates me about both biographies is how often Denton’s activities and motivations are ascribed to his sexual orientation. He was a whole human being, as fabulous and as flawed as anyone else, perhaps more intensely both. As Edith Sitwell said many times, he was a born writer, a great writer. Of course Denton is an important LGBT role model, publishing homoerotic stories pre-LGBT social acceptance and celebration. He gaily referred to himself as a “real, live fairy”, but it broke my heart a little to see one of his letters refer matter-of-factly to “homosexuality and other neurotic abnormalities”. He shrugged it off when In Youth Is Pleasure was displayed in a bookshop under the banner “Of interest to students of abnormal psychology”. But let’s not just celebrate Denton for being a brave and honest LGBT author. He wrote about much more than homoerotic experiences. Gay or straight, his writing is exceptional, full stop.
Both biographies were written when many of Denton’s inner circle were still alive. First-hand accounts of Denton’s life and times, albeit remembered several decades later, add poignance and intensity. MDN does this better, as he met up with Denton’s family to provide context to his early life, and he quotes extensively from Denton’s correspondence with his friends. However, of Denton’s two biographers, I would far rather have a natter over a cuppa with JMC. He celebrates all of Denton’s work. He lets us see Denton as his contemporaries saw him without constantly adding his own two penn’orth. And he didn’t rely on huge swathes of Denton’s own words to tell his story. Thank you, James Methuen-Campbell, for an insightful and respectful Denton biography.