Ernest Bramah - Early Career

Early Career

Bramah dropped out of the Manchester Grammar School at 16, having been close to the bottom of each class in each subject. He went into farming, first as a farm pupil and then in his own right. He was supported by his father who had risen in a short time from a factory hand to a wealthy man. The farming enterprise cost his father £100,000 in today’s money. It was while farming that he began to contribute local vignettes to the Birmingham News. Later he wrote a tongue-in-cheek book about his adventure in farming which found few buyers and was remaindered and pulped.

After the farming debacle, his father agreed to support him while he made his way in Grub Street. He obtained a position as secretary to Jerome K. Jerome and rose to edit one of Jerome's magazines. After leaving Jerome he edited other journals for a publishing firm that went into bankruptcy.