Christopher John Brennan

Christopher John Brennan (1870-1932) born in Sydney of Irish parents, was educated at various Catholic schools, including St. Ignatius (riverview) College, and at the University of Sydney, where he specialized in classics and philosophy. A travelling scholarship enabled him to continue his studies for two years (1892-94) in Berlin, where he met his future wife.

During the major part of the first quarter of the 20th century he lectured in the University of Sydney, first as an assistant on the French and German staffs, then (from the end of 1921) as Associate-Professor of German and Comparative Literature.

Estranged from his wife, involved in a tragical love affair, and having lost his University post in 1925, he endured several years of hardship and unspeakable distress that undermined his health. But his last few years were more serene, if not positively happy, and were marked by a return to the faith of his fathers. He died of stomach cancer, and was buried according to the rites of his Church at the Gore Hill cemetary (Sydney).

Edited from the rear dustjacket of his Prose.