Books and Writers

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B

BACON, SIR FRANCIS (LORD VERULAM & VISCOUNT ST ALBANS)
Statesman, philosopher and essayist. Inherited Gorhambury estate in Hertfordshire in 1601 from his elder brother

BADEN-POWELL, SIR ROBERT STEPHENSON SMYTH, 1ST BARON
Founder of the Boy Scouts. A trial camp was held on Brownsea Island in 1907 and in 1908 Scouting for Boys began to appear in parts. Commissioned in the Hussars, he studied woodcraft, reconnaissance & scouting whilst stationed in India. Fame came during the Boer War, he was involved in the defence of Mafeking. He married in 1912. Talented artist and sculptor

BAKER, DENYS VAL
Novelist & Writer, esp about Cornwall

BALLANTYNE, ROBERT MICHAEL
Writer of boys stories and water colour artist

BALZAC, HONORE DE
Novelist

BARING-GOULD, SABINE
Novelist, Essayist, Hymn Writer ("Onward Christian Soldiers") & Miscellanous Writer. Married Grace Taylor, a young mill-hand, in 1868. They had 15 children. Prolific writer - the British Museum catalogue lists more books by him in his era than any other author

BARRIE, J M (JAMES MATTHEW)
Playwright. Married Mary Ansell in 1894 (divorced 1909). In 1897 he met Sylvia Llewellyn Davies (daughter of George Du Maurier). She was married to a barrister and had several young children. When her husband died in 1907 Barrie assumed financial responsibility for them, and, when their mother died of cancer in 1910 he adopted them. He became devoted to his secretary, Lady Cynthia Asquith in later life

BATES, HERBERT ERNEST
Novelist & Short Story Writer. Lived at Little Chart in Kent 1931-1974

BAUM, LYMAN FRANK
Children's Writer

BAWDEN, EDWARD
Designer, Book Illustrator and water colour painter. An official War Artist in WW2

BAYNES, PAULINE DIANA
Book Illustrator. Married Fritz Gasch 1961

BEARDSLEY, AUBREY VINCENT
Illustrator & Writer. Art Editor of the Yellow Book for four issues. Then became Art editor of The Savoy (it contained his only published written work, three short poems and a short, highly erotic prose version of the Tannhauser story). Became a Catholic in1897. Died of TB

BEATLES

BECKETT, SAMUEL BARCLAY
Playwright, novelist & writer. Nobel Prize 1969. Went to Paris to teach in the late twenties but gave it up when he realised he wasn't suited to teaching. Travelled in Germany and undertook psychotherapy in London before settling in Paris in 1937. Active in the Resistance. From 1946 he wrote in French

BECKFORD, WILLIAM THOMAS
Writer of Oriental tales & Travel books who inherited the Fonthill estate in Wiltshire in 1770. He pulled down the existing house, Fonthill Splendens and in 1796 had the architect James Wyatt build Fonthill Abbey, a Gothic mansion, for him (it collapsed in 1825 !). His library was inherited by his son-in-law the 10th Duke of Hamilton, who had married Beckford's second daughter Susanna

BEE BOOKS

BEERBOHM, SIR MAX (HENRY MAXIMILIAN)
Artist, Book illustrator, Critic and writer. In 1910 married Florence Kahn, an American actress. They lived in Rapallo on the Italian Riviera. In 1956 he married Elisabeth Jungmann

BELLOC, JOSEPH HILAIRE PIERRE RENE
Writer. Moved to England in 1878 & naturalized in 1906. Catholic. Married Elodie Agnes Hogan in 1896

BEMELMANS, LUDWIG
Writer & Artist. Emigrated to USA 1914. Married Madeleine Freund in 1935. He died of cancer

BENNETT, ENOCH ARNOLD
Novelist & Dramatist. 1902 moved to France, married a Frenchwoman, Marguerite Soulie in 1907. Returned to live in England 1908 and lived with Dorothy Cheston for the rest of his life.

BENSON, EDWARD FREDERICK
Novelist. Father was headmaster of Wellington, and later became Archbishop of Canterbury. Brother of A C Benson. He lived in Lamb House, Rye, the former home of Henry James

BENTLEY, NICOLAS CLERIHEW
Book illustrator. Son of E C Bentley. Director of Andre Deutsch from 1950

BERESFORD, ELISABETH
Children's writer. Married broadcaster Max Robertson 1949 (later divorced)

BESANT, SIR WALTER
Novelist, Biographer. Founder of the Society of Authors. Married Mary Foster-Barham in 1874. Founded the Society of Authors in 1884

BETJEMAN, SIR JOHN
Poet & Architectural Writer. 1933 married Penelope Valentine Hester Chetwode. Knighted 1969. Poet Laureate 1972-1984

BEWICK, THOMAS
Wood Engraver with his brother John. Apprenticed to the Newacstle engraver Ralph Beilby. Called the restorer of wood engraving. Worked in black and white. His pupils included John Bewick, Robert Johnson, Charlton Nesbit, Luke Clennel & William Harvey

BIBLE, THE

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL BOOKS

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL SERIES

BINYON, ROBERT LAURENCE
Poet, Playwright, Translator & Critic. Married Cicely Pryor Powell in 1904

BIRD BOOKS

BIRMINGHAM, GEORGE A
Novelist, Playwright and Humorist. Married Adelaide Wynne in 1889. A rector, he scandalized his protestant parishioners by learning Irish and joining the Gaelic League

BIRO, VAL (BALINT STEPHEN)
Artist, Writer and Illustrator. Came to Britain in 1939 to study art. He worked for the Sylvan Press, C & J Temple and John Lehmann. Designed dustwrappers

BLACK : TWENTY SHILLING SERIES, A & C COLOUR BOOKS

BLACKWOOD, ALGERNON HENRY
Novelist & Short Story Writer. Emigrated to America in 1889, returning to England in 1899. Lived in Switzerland 1908-14 and became an undercover agent during the First World War.

BLAKE, QUENTIN SAXBY
Book illustrator & Writer. The 1st Children's Laureate

BLAKE, WILLIAM
Artist, Poet, Mystic & Engraver. Apprenticed to the engraver James Basire 1772-9. Married Catherine Boucher in 1782 and, together they wrote, illustrated, printed and bound their own books. Blake perfected the process of illuminated printing

BLOCH, ROBERT
Science Fiction & Horror Novelist. Married Marion Holcombe in 1940 and Eleanor Alexander in 1964

BLOOMSBURY GROUP

BLUNDEN, EDMUND CHARLES
Poet & Critic. Married Sylvia Norman in 1933 & Claire Poynting in 1945

BLY, ROBERT ELWOOD
Poet, Editor & Translator. Married Carolyn McLean in 1955

BLYTON, ENID
The most successful Children's writer of the 20thC.

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE
Founded in 1793

BOER WAR

BOND, MICHAEL
Children's writer

BOOKER PRIZE
Leading British annual literary prize, launched in 1968 by the cash & carry firm of Booker McConnell for the best novel in English. In 1995 it was worth £20,000 (and in 1997). It is awarded for a novel first published between 1st October and 30th September in the year of the award. In 1999 it was £21,000. Each of the judges is expected to read well over 100 books for a fee of £3000. In 2003 it became the Man Booker Prize. The archive is held at Oxford Brookes University. In 2005 the Man Booker International Prize was inaugurated.

BOOKER PRIZE AUTHORS

BORROW, GEORGE HENRY
Author and Traveller who had an ear for languages. Became agent of the British & Foreign Bible Society. Married Mary Clarke in 1840

BOSWELL, JAMES
Lawyer and writer. Married Margaret Montgomerie in 1769. The Boswell papers were discovered at Malahide Castle in Scotland and sold to Yale University in 1949. He is buried at Auchinleck House

BOWEN, ELIZABETH (DOROTHEA COLE)
Novelist & short story writer. Spent much of her early life living with relatives in England because of her father's ill-health. Married Alan Cameron 1923

BOWLES, WILLIAM LISLE
Poet, Antiquary & Critic. Married Madgaden Wake in 1797. He achieved fame by calling Alexander Pope a second rank poet which provoked a war of words which even included Byron

BRADBURY, RAY (RAYMOND DOUGLAS)
Science fiction Novelist

BRADDON, MARY ELIZABETH
Sensation Novelist (probably the most successful Victorian woman in terms of sales) Poet, & Editor. Her books earned £2000 each in the 1860's. In 1861 she began living with the publisher John Maxwell (his wife was confined to a lunatic asylum) and then married him in 1874. She was stepmother to his five children and then had children of her own with him

BRADFORD, BOOKS ON

BRAND, MAX
Writer of westerns, detective stories and the Dr Kildare series. Died from a shell fragment in his chest whilst a War Correspondent in Italy

BRAZIL, ANGELA
Novelist. Remained single

BRENT-DYER, ELINOR M
Writer of nearly 100 girl's stories. Created the Chalet School Series

BRERETON, CAPT (LT COL) FREDERICK SADLEIR
Writer of boys stories. Cousin of Henty. Married Ethel Lamb in 1898 and Isobel Murdoch in 1953

BRIDGES, ROBERT SEYMOUR
Poet Laureate from 1913. Playwright & Critic. Married Monica Waterhouse in 1884

BRIGGS, RAYMOND (REDVERS)
Writer and illustrator of children's books. Married artist Jean Taprell Clark in 1963 (she died in 1973)

BRITAIN IN PICTURES SERIES

BRITISH MUSEUM
Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury

BRITTAIN, VERA MARY
Socialist and writer. Married Professor George E Catlin 1925

BRITTON, JOHN
Book illustrator, esp of steel engravings. Topographer. Worked with E W Brayley

BROCK, HENRY MATTHEW
Book illustrator & Landscape painter. Married his cousin, Doris Joan Pegram in 1912

BROCK, CHARLES EDMUND
Book illustrator & Portrait painter

BRONTE, CHARLOTTE
Novelist. Married one of her father's curates, Rev Arthur Bell Nicholls in 1854. She died from TB after only nine months of marriage. Nicholls lived with Rev Patrick Bronte until he died in 1865. He returned to Ireland and lived until 1906

BRONTE, EMILY JANE
Novelist. The family moved to Haworth parsonage in 1820. Died of TB

BRONTES, BOOKS ABOUT THE

BROOKS, EDWY SEARLES
Writer of Boy's Stories

BROWN, FREDERIC
Novelist

BROWN, GEORGE MACKAY
Novelist. Became a Catholic 1961

BROWNE, GORDON FREDERICK
Book illustrator. The younger son of H K Browne

BROWNING, ELIZABETH BARRETT
Poet. Spinal injury in a fall from a pony meant she never went to school. Secretly married Robert Browning in 1846. Her father never saw her again. They lived in Italy. Died of TB in her husband's arms and is buried in Florence.

BROWNING, ROBERT
Poet. Secretly married and eloped with Elizabeth Barrett in 1846. They lived in Pisa, Florence and Venice. After Elizabeth's death in 1861 he settled in London. Died of pneumonia in Venice. Buried in Westminster Abbey

BUCHAN, JOHN, 1ST BARON TWEEDSMUIR
Novelist, Poet, Biographer, Historian & statesman. Married Susan Gosvenor in 1907

BUCKLAND-WRIGHT, JOHN
Moved to England. Artist - self taught. Married Mary Anderson 1929. Lived in Paris 1930-9

BUKOWSKI, CHARLES
Poet & Novelist

BULLFIGHTING BOOKS, IN ENGLISH

BUNYAN, JOHN
Religious writer. Son a tinker. Drafted into military service in 1644. Became pastor of Baptist church in Bedford in 1655. Arrested in 1660 for preaching without a licence, he was imprisoned at Bedford, where he wrote 6 books. Released 1672 but put back in prison 3 years later

BURGESS, ANTHONY
Novelist, critic, reviewer, translator

BURKE, THOMAS
Novelist, Poet, Essayist & Short Story Writer (esp of stories set in London's East End)

BURLINGTON FINE ARTS CLUB

BURNET, GILBERT
Historian, Biographer & Theologist. Married twice

BURNETT, FRANCES ELIZA HODGSON
Novelist. Involved in Christian Science, Theosophy and Spiritualism. Emigrated with her family to the USA in 1865. Married Dr Swan Burnett 1873 (divorced 1898). Married Stephen Townsend (divorced 1901)

BURNS, ROBERT
Poet. Having got Jean pregnant he was pursued by her father and so he planned to escape to America. But his first book of poems made him money and famous. Married Jean Armour in 1788. He farmed and was an excise officer, but when his farm failed he moved to Dumfries. Hard drinking led to endocarditis of which he died

BURROUGHS, WILLIAM SEWARD
Writer. Homosexual. Drug addict 1944

BURROUGHS, EDGAR RICE
Novelist (esp science fiction, westerns, detectives, historical and adventure books). His books have sold well in excess of 36 million copies

BURTON, SIR RICHARD FRANCIS
Traveller, Explorer, Translator and writer. Married Isabel Arundell (1831-96). Explored Somaliland (1854), the Nile (1856-9) and in North America in 1860. British Consul in Brazil (1864-9), Damascus (1869-71), Trieste (1872-5). On the night of his death Isabel burned all his unpublished notes and 41 unpublished MSS, hoping to preserve her husband's reputation

BUTLER, GWENDOLINE
Crime Novelist. Married Lionel Butler, Professor of Medieval History at St Andrews, in 1949

BUTTERFLIES & MOTHS

BYRON, GEORGE GORDON NOEL, LORD
Romantic Poet. Lame from birth. Married heiress Anne Isabella Milbanke in 1815 (she left him 1816). Spent much of his life travelling in Spain, Portugal, Italy, Turkey & Greece. Ostracised from England for having an incestuous affair with Augusta Leigh, his half-sister. Fought with the Greeks against the Turks. Died in Greece of malaria (or rheumatic fever)