He began his journalism and publishing career by writing a column for the
Morning Post in 1866. His coverage of the
Siege of Paris sent by balloon and pigeon post ensured his fame. He borrowed £200 to found
Vanity Fair in 1868. Shattered by the death of his wife Jessica (née Gordon) in childbirth, he sold his stake in
Vanity Fair in 1887 for £20,000. He founded
The Lady magazine in 1885, supposedly spurred by advice Jessica had once given to him. He became a competent sailor and wrote for decades in support of the
Royal Navy. Bowles (nicknamed
Jehu Junior after a biblical prophet who effected the downfall of his enemies) compiled the biographical notes that went with the caricatures. He was editor for twenty years and shaped magazine policy so that no-one was exempt from his enquiring eye. This approach made for an entertaining and popular magazine. The targets of Jehu Junior's satire usually considered themselves honoured to have been chosen, and although the scrutiny was acute, it was humorous rather than malicious. Bowles managed to achieve this extraordinarily difficult balancing act throughout his association with the magazine.
Political career At the
1892 general election, he was elected as
Conservative Party Member of Parliament for
King's Lynn and served in the
House of Commons until losing his seat at the
1906 election. He was re-elected at the
January 1910 as a
Liberal, but lost his seat again at the
December 1910 election. He stood in the
1916 Harborough by-election as an independent.
Litigation In 1912, Bowles brought (and personally argued) a claim in the High Court against the Bank of England, in which he succeed in establishing that the long-standing practice of informally collecting income tax before the act of Parliament imposing it for the year had been passed was unlawful. This led to the passing of the
Provisional Collection of Taxes Act 1913 (
3 & 4 Geo. 5. c. 3), which for the first time authorised taxes to be collected on the basis of
Budget resolutions passed by the House of Commons (a procedure that remains in place to this day). ==Personal life==