Baron Corvo

Frederick William Rolfe (1860–1913) was an English writer, artist, and photographer who styled himself “Baron Corvo.” Born in London, he trained for the Roman Catholic priesthood but was not ordained, and later lived a peripatetic life marked by financial insecurity and frequent quarrels with patrons and friends. Rolfe is best known for the novel *Hadrian the Seventh* (1904), a fantasy of a failed seminarian who becomes pope, and for *The Desire and Pursuit of the Whole* (published posthumously). His work blends satire, autobiography, and Catholic themes, and his eccentric persona helped shape his enduring literary reputation.