Maurice Baring (27 April 1874 – 14 December 1945) was an English man of letters, known as a dramatist, poet, novelist, translator and essayist, and also as a travel writer and war correspondent. During World War I Baring served in the Intelligence Corps and Royal Air Force.
He was widely known socially, to some of the Cambridge Apostles, to The Coterie, and to the literary group associating with G. K. Chesterton and Hilaire Belloc in particular. He was staunch in his anti-intellectualism with respect to the arts, and a convinced practical joker.
Previously an agnostic, he converted to Roman Catholicism in 1909, "the only action in my life which I am quite certain I have never regretted." Speaking from personal experience, however, he once advised Belloc to "never, never, never talk theology or discuss the Church with those outside it. People simply do not understand what you are talking about and they merely get angry and come to the conclusion that one doesnt believe in the thing oneself and that one is simply doing it to annoy."
The Maurice Baring Collection includes:
The Blue Rose Fairy Book (English) (as Author)
Lost Diaries (English) (as Author)
Orpheus in Mayfair, and Other Stories and Sketches (English) (as Author)
An Outline of Russian Literature (English) (as Author)
Overlooked (English) (as Author)
Passing By (English) (as Author)
Thoughts on Art and Life (English) (as Translator)