Firbank, Ronald
Firbank, Ronald,
1886-1926, English author, whose original name was Arthur Annesley Ronald Firbank. Of a delicate and eccentric nature, Firbank lived the life of a leisured aesthete. His novels, which have appealed to a small but appreciative audience, include Vainglory (1915), Valmouth (1919), and Concerning the Eccentricities of Cardinal Pirelli (1926). Written in a highly personal, satiric style with no conventional plots, his books are disciplined journeys into a world inhabited by bizarre characters. His writings have had an influence on the novels of such writers as Evelyn Waugh, Ivy Compton-Burnett, and Aldous Huxley.