A SHORT BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY OF ENGLISH LITERATURE

BY JOHN. W. COUSIN

LONDON: PUBLISHED

by J.M. DENT & SONS. LTD

AND IN NEW YORK

BY E.P. DUTTON & CO

INTRODUCTION

The primary aim of this book is to give as much information about English authors, including under this designation American and Colonial writers, as the prescribed limits will admit of. At the same time an attempt has been made, where materials exist for it, to enhance the interest by introducing such details as tend to illustrate the characters and circumstances of the respective writers and the manner in which they passed through the world; and in the case of the more important, to give some indication of the relative place which they hold and the leading features of their work.

Including the Appendix of Living Writers, the work contains upwards of 1600 names; but large as this number is, the number of those who have contributed something of interest and value to the vast store of English Literature is larger still, and any attempt to make a book of this kind absolutely exhaustive would be futile.

The word "literature" is here used in a very wide sense, and this gives rise to considerable difficulty in drawing the line of exclusion. There are very many writers whose claim to admission may reasonably be considered as good as that of some who have been included; but even had it been possible to discover all these, their inclusion would have swelled the work beyond its limits. A line had to be drawn somewhere, and the writer has used his best judgment in making that line as consistent as possible. It may probably, however, be safely claimed that every department of the subject of any importance is well represented.

Wherever practicable (and this includes all but a very few articles), various authorities have been collated, and pains have been taken to secure accuracy; but where so large a collection of facts and dates is involved, it would be too sanguine to expect that success has invariably been attained.

J.W.C.

January, 1910.

The following list gives some of the best known works of Biography:—

LIST OF CONTRACTIONS USED THROUGHOUT THE WORK

ABBOTT, JACOB (1803-1879). —Educationalist and miscellaneous author, b. at Hallowell, Maine, ed. at Bowdoin Coll. and Andover, entered the ministry of the Congregational Church, but was best known as an educationist and writer of religious and other books, mainly for the young. Among them are Beechnut Tales and The Rollo Books, both of which still have a very wide circulation.

ABBOTT, JOHN STEVENS CABOT (1805-1877). —Historian, etc., b. Brunswick, Maine, and ed. at Bowdoin Coll. He studied theology and became a minister of the Congregational Church at various places in Massachusetts and Connecticut. Owing to the success of a little work, The Mother at Home, he devoted himself, from 1844 onwards, to literature, and especially to historical writing. Among his principal works, which were very popular, are: History of Napoleon Bonaparte (1852-55), History of the Civil War in America (1863-66), and History of Frederick the Great (1871).

À BECKETT, GILBERT ABBOTT (1811-1856). —Comic writer, b. in London, the s. of a lawyer, and belonged to a family claiming descent from Thomas à Becket. Destined for the legal profession, he was called to the Bar. In addition to contributions to various periodicals and newspapers, including Punch, The Illustrated London News, The Times, and Morning Herald, he produced over fifty plays, many of which attained great popularity, and he also helped to dramatise some of Dickens' works. He is perhaps best known as the author of Comic History of England, Comic History of Rome, Comic Blackstone, etc. He was also distinguished in his profession, acted as a commissioner on various important matters, and was appointed a metropolitan police magistrate.

ABERCROMBIE, JOHN (1780-1844). —Physician and writer on mental science, s. of a minister, was b. at Aberdeen, and ed. at the Grammar School and Marischal College there. He studied medicine at Edinburgh, in which city he practised as a physician. He made valuable contributions to the literature of his profession, and pub. two works, Enquiry Concerning the Intellectual Powers (1830) and The Philosophy of the Moral Feelings (1833), which, though popular at the time of their publication, have long been superseded. For his services as a physician and philanthropist he received many marks of distinction, including the Rectorship of Marischal College.

ABERCROMBIE, PATRICK (1656-1716). —Antiquary and historian, was physician to James II. in 1685; he was a Jacobite and opposed the Union in various pamphlets. His chief work was Martial Achievements of the Scots Nation (1711-16).