Background and early life Marcus Clarke was born in 11 Leonard Place,
Kensington, London, the only son of London barrister William Hislop Clarke and Amelia Elizabeth Matthews Clarke, who died when he was just four years old. He was the nephew of
Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Andrew Clarke, a
Governor of Western Australia, and grandson of a retired military medical officer, Dr Andrew Clarke, who made his fortune in the
West Indies and settled in
Ireland. Clarke also had a slight
stammer which remained his whole life. Marcus Clarke was educated at
Highgate School (1858–62), where his classmates included
Gerard Manley Hopkins, Cyril Hopkins and
E.H. Coleridge. Clarke attracted Hopkins' attention primarily due to his eloquence, leading Hopkins to describe him as a "kaleidoscopic, parti-coloured, harlequinesque, thaumatropic Being" It draws on first-hand experiences of both author and subject. At age 17, his cousin,
Andrew Clarke, suggested he emigrate to
Victoria where another relative, their uncle, James Langton Clarke, was a county court judge working in
Ararat. Writing from his journey to Australia, he sent Hopkins a letter describing a sunset he had witnessed; this letter probably figured as partial inspiration for Hopkins' poem "A Vision of the Mermaids".
Writing career Clarke was already writing stories for the
Australian Magazine, when in 1867 he joined the staff of
The Argus and
The Australasian in
Melbourne through the introduction of Dr. Robert Lewins, writing under the heading 'The Peripatetic Philosopher'. He was noted for his vivid descriptions of Melbourne's street scenes and city types, including the "low life" of opium dens, brothels and gambling houses. He always claimed he was interested in the "parti-colored, patch-worked garment of life". These columns brought Clarke to the attention of the public, who enjoyed his schoolboy humor and his popularity as a writer grew. Clarke contributed to many colonial newspapers and he was the local correspondent for the London
Daily Telegraph. In 1868 Clarke founded the
Yorick Club, which soon numbered among its members the chief Australian
men of letters In 1872, Clarke was appointed secretary to the trustees of the
Melbourne Public Library (now known as
State Library Victoria) and in 1876 became sub (assistant) librarian. It is said he carried out his duties with reasonable efficiency but "levity pursued him", and when he applied for the position of Chief Librarian in 1881, he was refused. As well as holding books, pictures, manuscripts, music scores and journals, two unusual collection items (classified as "Realia") are his death mask and his
Cabbage Tree hat. Clarke and his work have been featured in several exhibitions held at the library, most recently "Bohemian Melbourne" (2014) which was attended by over 70,000 visitors. Clarke was an important literary figure in Australia, and at the centre of a
bohemian circle in Melbourne. Among the writers in contact with him were
Victor Daley,
Thomas Bracken,
John Shillinglaw,
Henry Kendall,
Oliver Wendell Holmes,
Julian Thomas,
Robert P. Whitworth,
Adam Lindsay Gordon and
George Gordon McCrae. As well as friends, he also made enemies. These included
James Neild and
James Smith. In 1877, he served a term as the chairman of the library committee of the
Melbourne Athenaeum (founded 1839) the oldest cultural institution in the city. Anxiety, overwork, disappointment and health problems are said to have hastened his death (officially of
erysipelas) Whilst the match was not high scoring (the Opera House team kicked six goals, the other team only one), nearly a thousand spectators attended the event, and £74/1/6 was raised. In 1884
Marcus Clarke Memorial Volume, assembled by his friend and literary executor Hamilton Mackinnon, was published. It contained a "a selection of his most popular journalism with a biographical introduction" with a dedication to the
5th Earl of Rosebery, Archibald Philip Primrose (Prime Minister of England from March 1894 till June 1895) who was a great support of
His Natural Life. In a five-page letter to his wife Marian Clarke, dated 16 January 1884, Lord Rosebery states that he had always admired the book, had given copies to his friends and compared it favourably with
Oliver Twist and
Victor Hugo's works. == Recognition ==