Gilbert Frankau was born in London on April 21, 1884, the eldest son of Arthur Frankau (ca. 1845-1904) and his wife Julia (nèe Davis, 1859-1916). His father ran Joseph Frankau & Co., the cigar importing business that had been established by Gilbert's paternal grandfather, who had moved from Diespak, Bavaria, to London in 1837. Gilbert's mother wrote fiction under the pseudonym “Frank Danby”. Her novels included Dr Phillips, a Maida Vale Idyll (1887), in which she attacked the aspirations and values of middle-class Jews, and Pigs in Clover (1903).
Although both his parents were Jewish, Gilbert Frankau was discouraged from identifying with Jews and Judaism, and was baptised into the Anglican Church at …
1073 words
Citation: Pendlebury, Alyson. "Gilbert Frankau". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 27 November 2002 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=5205, accessed 25 November 2024.]
