Sir (Francis) Osbert (Sacheverell) Sitwell - Life, Writing career, Death

Writer, born in London, UK, the brother of Edith and Sacheverell Sitwell. He was educated at Eton, served in World War 1, began writing poetry, and acquired notoriety with his satirical novel of the Scarborough social scene, Before the Bombardment (1927). He is best known for his five-volume autobiographical series, beginning with Left Hand: Right Hand (1944). Other collections of essays include Penny Foolish (1935) and Pound Wise (1963). He became a baronet in 1942.

Sir Francis Osbert Sacheverell Sitwell, 5th Baronet, (December 6, 1892 – May 4, 1969) was an English writer. His elder sister was Dame Edith Louisa Sitwell and his younger brother was Sir Sacheverell Sitwell;

Life

He was born on 6 December 1892 at 3 Arlington Street, London. His parents were Sir George Reresby Sitwell, fourth baronet, genealogist and antiquarian, and Lady Ida Emily Augusta (née Denison).

Army

Late in 1914 this civilised life was exchanged for the trenches of France near Ypres. In the same year, he began literary collaborations and anthologies with his brother and sister as a literary clique generally called the Sitwells.

Writing career

In 1918 he left the Army with the rank of Captain and devoted himself to poetry, art criticism and controversial journalism.

Works

His first work of fiction, Triple Fugue, was published in 1924, and visits to Italy and Germany produced Discursions on Travel, Art and Life (1925).

When his father died in 1943, and he succeeded to the baronetcy, he started an autobiography that would run to five volumes. The subsequent volumes were The Scarlet Tree (1946), Great Morning (1948), Laughter in the Next Room (1949) and Noble Essences: a Book of Characters (1950).

Sitwell, as his autobiography bears out, was familiar with almost everyone 'in society', and was a friend of Queen Elizabeth, the wife of King George VI. At the time of the abdication of King Edward VIII he wrote a poem, 'Rat Week', attacking those 'friends' of the King who deserted him when his alliance with Mrs Simpson became common knowledge in England.

He received many awards in the 1950s and in 1962 completed a postscript to his autobiographies Tales my Father Taught Me. His last book Pound Wise was published the following year.

Death

At the time of his death, Sitwell had been suffering from Parkinson's disease for several years, and he died on 4 May 1969 at Montegufoni, a castle near Florence.