EVINGTON’S LITERARY GENIUS - E. PHILLIPS OPPENHEIM
You may know that Leicester is famous for all sorts of talented stars from sporting legends to iconic actors. What you may not know is that it is also famous for the literary genius Edward Phillips Oppenheim.
Born in 1866 Oppenheim was born into Victorian Leicester and more specifically Evington. Oppenheim and his parent lived in Evington in a house which is now the well known pub, The Cedars. Oppenheim lived in Leicester for most of his childhood and attended Wyggeston Grammar school now know as Wyggeston and Queen Elizabeth I College. Oppenheim’s father was a leather merchant and he worked in his father’s business for almost twenty years but left to become a writer shortly after his father’s death. For the early part of his writing career Oppenheim published under the pseudonym of Anthony Partridge this was very unusual for a male writer as many female writers were known for using male pseudonyms to enable them to get published however this was very rare amongst male writers.
Oppenheim wrote genre fiction also known as popular fiction this consisted of novels and short stories. It is thought that he composed one hundred and fifty novels. His best known work was of course ‘The Great Impersonation’ (1920) Oppenheim lived in the United States for most of his career and most of his writings were published in the American Times magazine, he even featured on the cover of the September 1927 issue. Whilst in America Oppenheim met his future wife Elise Clara Hopkins with whom he a daughter, Josephine. They settled in Leicester despite allegations that he had various affairs with other women. His success as a literary man enabled him to buy both a French villa and a yacht which he called the Echo I.
Towards the end of his life Oppenheim suffered prostate problems and soon died in his home in Guernsey, The Channel Islands. Though Oppenheim only came from the small suburb of Evington he managed to have a taste of real fortune in which he relished. Owning various properties and living all over the world, he lived the life of a very exciting Victorian gentleman and was established as a major and successful writer.
Aleesha Patel