Dana, R. H., American author and lawyer; born, 1815; died 1882; graduated at Harvard 1837; afterward shipped as a common sailor and made a voyage to California. He described the voyage in “Two Years Before the Mast.” Became a distinguished maritime lawyer, and wrote “The Seaman’s Friend,” “To Cuba and Back,” and edited an edition of Wheaton’s International Law.
Defoe, D., born in London, 1661; died, 1731; a great politician in his time, but best remembered by his “Robinson Crusoe.” His political pamphlets, of which he wrote over four hundred, caused him to be imprisoned and pilloried, and his books to be burned by the common hangman. Among his other writings are “The Memoirs of a Cavalier,” “Captain Singleton,” “A History of the Plague,” and “The History of Colonel Jack.”
Dickens, Charles, born, 1812; died, 1870. As a boy he had a very hard life, and much of the story of “David Copperfield” is autobiographical. He became a reporter, and began to write about 1833. His chief books are “Sketches by Boz,” “Pickwick,” “Oliver Twist,” “Nicholas Nickleby,” “Old Curiosity Shop,” “Barnaby Rudge,” “A Tale of Two Cities,” “Martin Chuzzlewit,” “Bleak House,” “Dombey and Son,” “Little Dorrit,” and “Our Mutual Friend.”
Ingelow, J., English poetess and novelist, born, 1820; died, 1899. Her chief novels are “Off the Skelligs,” “Fated to be Free,” “Don John,” and “Sarah de Berenger.” “The Hightide on the Coast of Lincolnshire,” and “A Story of Doom,” are the best known of her poetical writings.
Kingsley, Charles, an English clergyman and author, born in Devonshire, 1819; died, 1875. From 1844, until his death, he was rector of Eversley, in Hampshire. In 1873 he was appointed Canon of Westminster and Chaplain to Queen Victoria. He wrote “Alton Locke” and “Yeast,” “Two Years Ago,” “Hereward the Wake,” “Hypatia,” and “Westward Ho!” And under the pen-name of “Parson Lot” wrote much on Christian Socialism. A charming book of travel, “At Last,” and “The Heroes,” “Glaucus,” “The Water Babies,” “Prose Idylls,” “Health and Education,” are some of his other books. His “Life,” by his widow, is a most interesting biography.
Kingston, W. H. G., English writer of boys’ stories; born, 1814; died, 1880. His father was a merchant in Oporto, and his voyages thence to London gave him his knowledge of ships and sailing. His first book for boys, “Peter, the Whaler,” had an immense success. Among his most popular books are “The Three Midshipmen,” “The Three Lieutenants,” and “The Three Admirals.” He wrote over 120 books of this kind, all simple, vigorous, and healthy in tone.
Loti, Pierre, French marine officer and author, born in 1850. He entered the navy in 1867, and at first sailed the Pacific Ocean. He went through the Chinese campaign with distinction. Among his numerous books may be cited, “Aziyadé,” “Le Mariage de Loti,” “The Romance of a Spahi,” “The Iceland Fisherman,” “Madame Chrysanthemum,” “The Romance of a Child,” “The Book of Pity and of Death,” and “A Phantom of the East.”
Marryat, Capt. F., English author, born, 1792; died, 1848. In 1806 went as midshipman on board the frigate Impérieuse. He followed the sea until 1830, and then devoted himself to literature. He wrote “Frank Mildmay,” “The King’s Own,” “Peter Simple,” “Jacob Faithful,” “Mr. Midshipman Easy,” “Snarleyyow,” “The Pasha of Many Tales,” etc. In 1837 he visited America, and afterward published his “Diary in America;” “Settlers in Canada,” and “The Children of the New Forest,” were his last works.
Melville, H., American author, born, 1819; died, 1891; became a sailor, and deserted, owing to the captain’s harsh treatment; was kept prisoner by a savage tribe in the Marquesas Islands, and was rescued by an Australian whaler. “Typee” contains an account of this adventure. “Omoo” continues his adventures in the Marquesas. “Moby Dick” and “Red Jacket” are among his best-known sea tales. He also published some volumes of verse.
Reade, C., English novelist and playwright, born, 1814; died, 1884; studied at Oxford, and was called to the bar. He wrote several plays which proved very popular. Of his eighteen novels may be mentioned “Peg Woffington,” “Christie Johnson,” “It is Never Too Late to Mend,” “The Cloister and the Hearth,” “Hard Cash,” “Griffith Gaunt,” “Foul Play,” and “A Terrible Temptation.”