Forest Gate journalist Robert Nurden discovered there was more to his grandfather than met the eye when he began research on a biography about the extraordinary life of Stanley James, an East London minister who died before Robert was born.

What is your book about?

It is a biography of my unorthodox grandfather, Stanley James, who as a young man in the Canadian West was by turns a cowboy, shepherd, navvy, hobo and newspaper reporter, soldier in the Spanish-American war, poet, playwright and actor. Returning to his native England, he married and became a Nonconformist minister who both charmed and alienated his East End congregation with his socialism and pacifism. In 1923 he converted and reinvented himself as one of the best-known Catholic writers of the English-speaking world, with nine books to his name. Widely respected for his knowledge, passion and insight, he worked alongside Bertrand Russell and counted G.K. Chesterton among his friends.

Yet the chance discovery of hundreds of secret letters and the diaries of three young women from Leyton, Walthamstow and Manor Park revealed a hidden side of his personality. These documents show in intriguing and often explicit detail that, as a husband and father of seven, he had an affair and liaisons with female members of his congregation.

What gave you the idea to write it?

I had always been fascinated by my grandfather, yet none of my relatives was able to give me the whole truth. It was a labour of love. More specifically, I had more or less retired as a journalist so for the first time I had the time to research and write the book.

It’s a very personal story; did you ever consider not publishing it?

What I found out about his intriguing life along the way completely changed the book and gave it universal appeal. I hope I have been able to put a controversial life under the psychological, cultural and political microscopes.

How long did it take to research and write?

About three years. I made two visits to Canada where Stanley lived for six years in the 1890s and was able to speak to my mother before she died. I wrote and researched simultaneously. Fascinating facts were coming to light and added, even at the eleventh hour.

What was your family’s reaction?

On the whole, positive – to varying degrees. My sister and cousins were for the most part very supportive. If my mother or any of my uncles and aunts had been alive, there might have been problems. Meeting new relatives has been wonderful.

Has writing the book affected how you will now talk about your Grandfather?

I now have facts about the real man. I feel closer to him even though some things I found out don’t put him in a good light. But he is as interesting as I thought he might be, full of contradictions.

Do you have any plans to write another book?

I would be interested in writing an account of the James family from my grandmother’s perspective. She was the long-suffering one who held a family of seven children together against all the odds and without much emotional or material support.

You can purchase the book through Amazon here.

www.robertnurden.com

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