FARJEON, BENJAMIN LEOPOLD (1838-1903) was of Jewish parents, and was born in the East End of London in 1838. Brought up humbly in Whitechapel, he was first employed at the age of 13 as devil in the Nonconformist newspaper office, where he spent more than three years. At 13 he wrote verse. He had a passion for books, and studied at a night school.

At the age of 16 Farjeon differed with his father on religion and, assisted by an uncle, he sailed for Victoria in the Ocean Wave (1854). On the voyage he produced two handwritten copies of The Ocean Record and, being transferred to the cabin on the invitation of the captain, he published twelve more issues before the end of the voyage. After a few weeks in various employments in Melbourne, Farjeon found his way to the goldfields, where he spent several years, starting newspapers here and there, each of which contained his feature 'Salmagundi on the Goldfields.' His experiences are recounted in some of his novels.

In 1861 he sailed for Otago (acting as correspondent of the Melbourne Argus) and he soon joined the staff of the Otago Daily Times, acting as manager and sub-editor under the editorship of the proprietor, Vogel (q.v.). In Dunedin Farjeon made the acquaintance of many artists who were attracted to the province by the goldfields. These included Joseph Jefferson, who arrived in 1864, and whose daughter Margaret he married in June 1877. In Nov 1864 he became a partner with Vogel in the ownership of the paper, following on the retirement of Cutten. At Christmas 1865 Farjeon published his first novel, Shadows on the Snow (which he dedicated to Charles Dickens and sent to him in the hope that he would reprint it in All the Year Round). In 1866 he published Grif, also from the office of his paper, and sent proofs to the same master. Dickens replied in May 1866 with a criticism which, while not flattering, at any rate induced Farjeon to put into effect his resolve of going to live in London. He accordingly retired from the management of the Times, and in Dec 1867 left the Colony. In London Farjeon lived a cheerful Bohemian life, meeting everybody and being seen everywhere. He met Dickens in 1870, the year in which Grif was published. This was his greatest success, the sales totalling 300,000. Blade o' Grass followed in 1871 and its sequel, Golden Grain, ten years later, followed by Joshua Marvel, London's Heart, Great Porter Square (which was the Prince of Wales's favourite), Set in a Silver Sea, The Sacred Nugget, Bread and Cheese and Kisses, The King of Noland, Something Occurred, Aaron the Jew, A Secret Inheritance, The House of White Shadows, The Betrayal of John Fordham, Miriam Rozella (contributed to the Daily Mail), The Mesmerists, and The Mystery of the Royal Mail.

Farjeon had a strong dramatic interest. In Dunedin he assisted Vogel in the dramatisation of Lady Audley's Secret (1863), and he had half a dozen of his own plays produced (including Grif). He was one of the founders of the Garrick Club in Dunedin, and he wrote the prologue for its first production, Money, in which he himself took a part. He adopted the additional name 'Leopold' when he became an author.

Farjeon died on 23 Jul 1903. A daughter, Eleanor Farjeon, is the author of many works of fiction and an autobiographical work, A Nursery in the Nineties (1935).

Eleanor Farjeon, op. cit. (p) and personal information; Paul; Otago Witness, pass. (notably 24 Nov 1866); Otago Gazette, Nov 1864.

Reference: Volume 1, page 137

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