W. H. Mallock’s Jenkinson and Thomas Love Peacock’s Jenkison; a Likely Connection

Abstract

IF the figure of Jenkinson in W. H. Mallock’s The New Republic (1877) was recognizable from the outset as a caricature of Benjamin Jowett, it has never been really clear why Mallock lighted on the name ‘Jenkinson’ rather than any other to send up his victim. One theory is that Mallock had the Oxford don Richard Jenkyns in mind. Jenkyns was well known in his time, a predecessor of Jowett as Master of Balliol, and in that sense Jowett himself, for those in the know, might be seen as ‘Jenkinson’, that is ‘son of” Jenkyns.1 But while this is possible, it is not totally convincing. Jenkyns (died 1854) had nothing in common with Jowett in terms of personality or outlook2 and wasn’t his immediate predecessor as Master, both of which weaken the ‘son of’ idea. Furthermore there is no obvious reason why Mallock, who was a student at Balliol (1870–74) long after Jenkyns’ time should have selected him rather than anyone else when it came to deciding a name for Jowett in his satire. A more likely source for Mallock’s Jenkinson can be found in Peacock’s character Jenkison, the statu-quo-ite in Headlong Hall (1816). Mallock acknowledged Peacock as his main source for the New Republic3 and the country house setting, the conviviality, the eccentric personalities and the witty debates on controversial subjects can all be described as Peacockian. But in this instance, I would suggest, Mallock also borrows from Peacock in a more specific way taking up not only a name but also aspects of what Jenkison represents for his caricature of Jowett.