Walter Besant
Sir Walter Besant was a notable British author and social reformer born in Portsea, England, in 1836. The third son in a large family, he developed a passion for literature early on, influenced by classic writers like Sir Walter Scott and Charles Dickens. Besant's educational journey began at home, followed by attendance at Stockwell grammar school and King's College, London, where he initially pursued a clerical career but ultimately gravitated toward writing.
His literary career, marked by both successes and setbacks, included teaching mathematics and working as a secretary for the Palestine Exploration Fund. Besant gained fame for his novels, particularly "All Sorts and Conditions of Men," which explored themes of social reform, and enjoyed collaborations with fellow writer James Rice. He was also known for his historical works, such as a four-volume series on London. A committed advocate for social change, Besant worked to improve public health, education, and women's rights, and he founded the Society of Authors to protect writers' interests. His contributions to society were recognized when he was knighted in 1895.
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Walter Besant
Novelist
- Born: August 14, 1836
- Birthplace: Portsea, England
- Died: June 9, 1901
- Place of death: London, England
Biography
Sir Walter Besant, the third son in a family of ten children, was born in Portsea, England, in 1836 to William Besant and Sarah Ediss Besant. His father, a wine merchant, was an avid book collector and young Besant’s interest in literature grew from reading the works of such classic writers as Sir Walter Scott and Charles Dickens. Besant was first educated at home, and in 1851 he attended Stockwell grammar school. In 1854, he entered King’s College, London, with the intent of becoming a clergyman. Although he majored in mathematics, Besant found literature more enjoyable. The works of the Romantics interested him and placed doubts in his mind about Anglican orthodoxy. After a failed attempt at journalism, Besant taught mathematics at Leamington College, and later accepted a position as senior professor at the Royal College, Mauritius.
In Mauritius, he studied French literature and suffered the rejection of his first novel. He also published Studies in Early French Poetry (1868), the first of many works about French culture and history. In 1868, he was appointed secretary to the Palestine Exploration Fund, a position he held for eighteen years. In 1871, he coauthored Jerusalem: The City of Herod and Saladin with Edward Palmer. Besant married Mary Barham in 1874 and fathered four children.
In time, he found himself financially secure and able to write full time. One of his most popular books was Ready-Money Mortiboy, coauthored with James Rice, which was initially serialized in the periodical Once a Week and published as a three- volume novel in 1872. During the following ten years, Besant and Rice produced numerous short stories and nine novels, the most successful of which was The Golden Butterfly (1876). After Rice’s death in 1882, Besant became one of the earliest writers to hire a literary agent.
Besant is often described as a British reform writer, and his works generally focused on social conditions. His most famous novel, All Sorts and Conditions of Men (1882), presents two lovers in London passionately bent on social reform. Besides historical novels set in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Besant also published a popular four-volume historical series, London (1892), Westminster (1895), South London(1898), and East London (1901). Enormously prolific, he also wrote essays, Christmas books, short stories, and plays. Although Besant can count many popular novels among his major achievements, he is also remembered as a social reformer who ceaselessly worked to develop public hospitals and libraries and to increase educational opportunities and women’s rights. He also founded the Society of Authors to improve the rights of authors. He was knighted for his charitable work in 1895.