'The Standard Work in English on the League' and Its Authorship: Charles Howard Ellis, an Unlikely Australian Internationalist

'The Standard Work in English on the League' and Its Authorship: Charles Howard Ellis, an Unlikely Australian Internationalist

Charles Howard ('Dick') Ellis, born in Sydney in 1895 and a Great War veteran, was working as a journalist in Vienna and Geneva when he wrote one of the most comprehensive books of the time on the League: The Origin, Structure and Working of the League of Nations (1928). Dedicated to the p...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:History of European ideas 2016-11, Vol.42 (8), p.1089-1104
Main Author: Cotton, James
Format: Article
Language:eng
Subjects:
Australian literature
Authorship
Charles Howard Ellis
Conflict
Debt
espionage
History of ideas
Intelligence
Internationalism
Konni Zilliacus
League of Nations
Reputations
War
World War I
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Summary:Charles Howard ('Dick') Ellis, born in Sydney in 1895 and a Great War veteran, was working as a journalist in Vienna and Geneva when he wrote one of the most comprehensive books of the time on the League: The Origin, Structure and Working of the League of Nations (1928). Dedicated to the progressive literary figures of the era and showing a particular debt to the writings of the British Labour left, Ellis argued that the internationalism of the age marked a necessary rejection of the anarchic conditions that brought forth the Great War. The League and its associated institutions constituted 'the first step toward a world society' that would facilitate the suppression and ultimate removal of the causes of conflict. A remarkable work in itself, this progressive volume was written by a member of British intelligence who had already made a reputation in this sphere and was to go on to hold very senior positions in the 1940s. The question is considered whether the ideas expressed were a product of Ellis's genuine beliefs, or whether they were a mask for his substantive professional role. The circumstances around the writing of this book are also reviewed in an attempt to answer this question, especially given the hitherto accepted scholarly view that Konni Zilliacus of the League Secretariat was the actual author.
ISSN:0191-6599
1873-541X