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	In 1883, on the presentation of [[Gilbert Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, 1st Earl of Ancaster\|Lord Aveland]], Bradley left Stretton for the vicarage of [[Lenton, Lincolnshire\|Lenton]] with [[Hanby, Lincolnshire\|Hanby]], near Grantham. There, as elsewhere, he was indefatigable as a parochial organiser, establishing a free library, a school bank, winter entertainments, and improvement societies.{{sfn\|Seccombe\|1901}}		In 1883, on the presentation of [[Gilbert Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, 1st Earl of Ancaster\|Lord Aveland]], Bradley left Stretton for the vicarage of [[Lenton, Lincolnshire\|Lenton]] with [[Hanby, Lincolnshire\|Hanby]], near Grantham. There, as elsewhere, he was indefatigable as a parochial organiser, establishing a free library, a school bank, winter entertainments, and improvement societies.{{sfn\|Seccombe\|1901}}

	He died, greatly regretted by all who came into contact with his kindly personality, at the vicarage, [[Lenton]], on 12 December 1889. He was buried in the churchyard of [[St Nicholas' Church, Stretton]], which he had laid out during his incumbency there.{{sfn\|Seccombe\|1901}}		He died, greatly regretted by all who came into contact with his kindly personality, at the vicarage, [[Lenton, Lincolnshire\|Lenton]], on 12 December 1889. He was buried in the churchyard of [[St Nicholas' Church, Stretton]], which he had laid out during his incumbency there.{{sfn\|Seccombe\|1901}}

	==Family==		==Family==

imported>Geoffroi: removed Category:Church of England clergy using HotCat

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removed Category:Church of England clergy using HotCat

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{{Short description|English clergyman and novelist}}
{{EngvarB|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
{{infobox person
| name = Edward Bradley
| image = Edward Bradley (Cuthbert Bede) - self-portrait.jpg
| caption = Self-portrait, frontispiece to ''[[The Adventures of Mr. Verdant Green]]'' (1870s impression).
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1827|3|25}}
| birth_place = [[Kidderminster]], Worcestershire, England
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1889|12|12|1827|3|25}}
| nationality = English
| alma_mater = [[University College, Durham]]
| occupation = Novelist, clergyman
| notable_works = ''[[The Adventures of Mr. Verdant Green]]''
}}
'''Edward Bradley''' (25 March 1827 – 12 December 1889) was an English clergyman and novelist. He was born in [[Kidderminster]] in [[Worcestershire]], and educated at [[Durham University]] from which he took his [[pen name]] '''Cuthbert Bede'''. His most popular book was ''[[The Adventures of Mr. Verdant Green]]'', on the experiences of an [[University of Oxford|Oxford]] undergraduate. There was a sequel, ''Little Mr Bouncer and his friend Verdant Green''. ''Tales of College Life'' (often bound with it), introduces the character of ''Mr Affable Canary''. The celebrated illustrations to the Verdant Green books were the work of the author.

==Life==
[[File:Stretton Rutland St Peters.JPG|thumb|upright=1.5|He was buried at [[St Nicholas' Church, Stretton]], in [[Rutland]], which he had restored and where there are stained-glass windows in his memory]]
He was the second son of Thomas Bradley, surgeon of [[Kidderminster]], who came of a somewhat ancient Worcestershire and clerical family. A brother, Thomas Waldron Bradley, was author of two novels, ''Grantley Grange'' (1874) and ''Nelly Hamilton'' (1875), while an uncle, William Bradley of [[Leamington Spa|Leamington]], wrote ''Sketches of the Poor by a retired Guardian''.

After education at the [[King Charles I School|Kidderminster Grammar School]], Bradley went up in 1845 to [[University College, Durham]], where he was Thorp Scholar and Foundation Scholar. He graduated B.A. in 1848, and took his licentiateship of theology in 1849. Not being of age to take orders, he appears to have stayed a year at Oxford, pursuing various studies, though he never matriculated, and while there he formed a lifelong friendship with [[John George Wood]].

For a year or so he worked in the clergy schools at Kidderminster. In 1850, he was ordained by the [[Bishop of Ely]], [[Thomas Turton]], and appointed to the curacy of [[Glatton]]-with-[[Holme, Cambridgeshire|Holme]] in [[Huntingdonshire]]. He remained there over four years, during which he described for the ''[[Illustrated London News]]'' the extensive work of draining [[Whittlesey Mere]], then being carried out by [[William Wells (1818–1889)|William Wells]] of Holmewood.

In 1857, Bradley was appointed vicar of [[Donington, Shropshire|Donington]] in Shropshire. From 1859 to 1871, he was rector of [[Denton, Cambridgeshire|Denton]]-with-[[Caldecote, Huntingdonshire|Caldecote]], Huntingdonshire. In 1871, he became rector of [[Stretton, Rutland]], where he carried through a much-needed restoration of the church, at a cost of nearly £2,000. To raise the funds he gave lectures in Midland towns, and was much in demand as an authority upon ''Modern Humourists'', ''Wit and Humour'' and ''Light Literature''.{{sfn|Seccombe|1901}}

Bradley was a friend and associate of [[George Cruikshank]], [[Frank Smedley]], [[Mark Lemon]], and [[Albert Richard Smith|Albert Smith]] (for whose serials, ''The Month'', ''The Man in the Moon'' and ''The Town and Country Miscellany'', he began to write about 1850). He generally wrote for the press under the [[pen name]] 'Cuthbert Bede', the names of the two patron saints of Durham.

His one marked literary success was obtained in 1853, when he produced ''[[The Adventures of Mr. Verdant Green]]. With numerous illustrations designed and drawn on the wood by the author''. Bradley had the greatest difficulty in finding a publisher, but part i. was eventually issued by [[Nathaniel Cooke]] of the Strand as one of his shilling ''Books for the Rail'' in October 1853. Part ii. appeared in 1854, and part iii. in 1856. The three parts were then bound in one volume, of which 100,000 copies had been sold by 1870; subsequently the book was issued in a sixpenny form, and the sale was more than doubled. The total amount that Bradley received for his work was £350. The three original parts were scarce and fetched over five guineas in 1890. The picture of 'Master Verdant kissing the Maids on the Stairs after his return from Oxford College' was omitted from the later editions.{{sfn|Seccombe|1901}}

''The Adventures of Mr. Verdant Green'' contains portraits of [[Frederick Charles Plumptre|Dr. Plumptre]], vice-chancellor 1848–62, Dr. Bliss, registrar of the university, and 'the waiter at the Mitre,' while Mr. Bouncer reproduces many traits of the Rev. J. G. Wood.
[[Verdant Green]] himself is a kind of undergraduate [[Samuel Pickwick]], and the book is full of harmless fun.
When we regard the difficulty of the subject, the general fidelity with which one side of university life is depicted, and the fact that Bradley was not himself an Oxford man, we can scarcely refuse a certain measure of genius to the author.
[[Hippolyte Taine]] used it effectively (together with ''[[Pendennis]]'' and ''[[Tom Brown at Oxford]]'') as material for his tableau of an English university in his ''Notes sur l'Angleterre''. A sequel by Bradley, produced many years later as ''Little Mr. Bouncer and his friend Verdant Green'' (1878), did not approach the original in vigour, nor can much success be claimed for the Cambridge rival of ''Verdant Green'', ''The Cambridge Freshman, or Memoirs of Mr. Golightly'' (1871), by Martin Legrand (i.e. James Rice), with illustrations by '[[Phiz]]'.{{sfn|Seccombe|1901}}

In 1883, on the presentation of [[Gilbert Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, 1st Earl of Ancaster|Lord Aveland]], Bradley left Stretton for the vicarage of [[Lenton, Lincolnshire|Lenton]] with [[Hanby, Lincolnshire|Hanby]], near Grantham. There, as elsewhere, he was indefatigable as a parochial organiser, establishing a free library, a school bank, winter entertainments, and improvement societies.{{sfn|Seccombe|1901}}

He died, greatly regretted by all who came into contact with his kindly personality, at the vicarage, [[Lenton]], on 12 December 1889. He was buried in the churchyard of [[St Nicholas' Church, Stretton]], which he had laid out during his incumbency there.{{sfn|Seccombe|1901}}

==Family==
In December 1858 he married Harriet Amelia, youngest daughter of Samuel Hancocks of Wolverley, Worcester. He left two sons, the artist [[Cuthbert Bradley]] and the Rev. Henry Waldron Bradley.{{sfn|Seccombe|1901}} Another son, William Hancocks Bradley, died in 1874, aged 12.

==Works==
[[File:Caldwell_Castle_by_Cuthbert_Bede.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Caldwall Castle]], [[Kidderminster]] by Cuthbert Bede, 1846]]
Commencing with ''Bentley's'' in 1846, Bradley (as E. B. or 'Cuthbert Bede') contributed to a great number of papers and periodicals, including [[Punch (magazine)|''Punch'']] (1847–55), ''All the Year Round,'' ''Illustrated London Magazine'' (1853–55), ''The Field,'' ''St. James's'' and ''The Gentleman's'' magazines, ''Leisure Hour,'' ''Quiver,'' ''Notes and Queries'' (1852–1886), ''[[The Boy's Own Paper]]'', ''[[London Figaro]]'' and the ''Illustrated London News,'' for which paper he conducted a double [[acrostic]] column, commencing 30 August 1856. He claimed to have reintroduced the double acrostic into England.{{sfn|Seccombe|1901}}

He wrote under the name of 'Cuthbert Bede, BA' a few novels and tales, ''Fairy Fables'' (1858), ''Glencraggan'' (1861), ''Fotheringhay'' (1885), etc. His most popular book was ''[[The Adventures of Mr. Verdant Green]]'', on the experiences of an [[University of Oxford|Oxford]] undergraduate. There was a sequel, ''Little Mr Bouncer and his friend Verdant Green''. ''Tales of College Life'' (often bound with it), introduces the character of ''Mr Affable Canary''. The celebrated illustrations to the Verdant Green books were the work of the author.

==Bibliography==
*{{Internet Archive|22581790.1799.emory.edu|The Adventures of Mr. Verdant Green, an Oxford Freshman}} (3 parts, 1853–57)
*''Photographic Pleasures'' (1855)
*''Fairy Fables'' (1858)
*''Glencraggan'' (1861)
*''A Tour in Tartan-land'' (1863)
*''Little Mr Bouncer and his friend, Verdant Green''
*''Tales of College Life''
*{{Internet Archive|10621195.1805.emory.edu|The White Wife: With other stories, supernatural, romantic and legendary}}

==References==
{{reflist}}
;Attribution
{{DNBSupp|wstitle=Bradley, Edward |first=Thomas|last=Seccombe}}

==Sources==
*[http://www.authorandbookinfo.com/cgi-bin/auth.pl?B006944 Author and Bookinfo.com]

==External links==
*{{wikisource author-inline|Edward Bradley}}
*{{commons category-inline|Edward Bradley}}
* {{Gutenberg author |id=1528| name=Cuthbert Bede}}
* {{Internet Archive author |name=Cuthbert Bede |birth=1827 |death=1889}}
*[http://special.lib.gla.ac.uk/exhibns/month/oct2009.html Photographic Pleasures at Glasgow University library]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bradley, Edward}}
[[Category:1827 births]]
[[Category:1889 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Kidderminster]]
[[Category:19th-century English Anglican priests]]
[[Category:Alumni of University College, Durham]]
[[Category:English male novelists]]
[[Category:19th-century English novelists]]
[[Category:19th-century English male writers]]
[[Category:Burials in Rutland]]
[[Category:Writers from Worcestershire]]
[[Category:19th-century pseudonymous writers]]
[[Category:English illustrators]]
[[Category:People from Huntingdonshire]]
[[Category:Clergy from Shropshire]]
[[Category:People from Cambridgeshire]]
[[Category:People from Rutland]]
[[Category:English lecturers]]
[[Category:19th-century English short story writers]]
[[Category:English male short story writers]]
[[Category:Victorian novelists]]
[[Category:Victorian short story writers]]
[[Category:English philanthropists]]
[[Category:English fantasy writers]]
[[Category:19th-century English poets]]
[[Category:English male poets]]
[[Category:Victorian poets]]
[[Category:19th-century English non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:English male non-fiction writers]]

Edward Bradley (writer) - Revision history

imported>Rodw: Disambiguating links to Lenton (link changed to Lenton, Lincolnshire) using DisamAssist.

imported>Geoffroi: removed Category:Church of England clergy using HotCat