ABSTRACT
Hubert Parry’s alarming capacity to live several lives in tandem ensured that he connected with a bewildering spectrum of society ranging from the famous to the infamous, the venerated to the obscure. Throughout his life Parry encountered people from every walk of life; however, the number who could claim to know him intimately was extremely few. After Parry’s death, the ramifications of his social interconnections, his artistic circle and his academic status were soon clouded by an obscurity that became all-pervasive. Parry’s overcrowded schedule after the 1880s often robbed intimate friendships of much potential richness. He sometimes resented the strain of being entertainer to the aristocracy, especially when he felt out of sympathy with the company. In the 1870s, he found the opportunity to articulate his new-found philosophical expansion at ‘The Essay and Discussion Club’, which met at Hugh Montgomery’s house.
