George P. R. James
George Payne Rainsford James was a British novelist born in London, whose family background was steeped in medicine and literary influence. His father, Pinkston James, served as a physician to the Prince Regent, while his grandfather had close ties to the notable lexicographer Samuel Johnson. Beginning his military career at a young age, James fought against Napoleon and later pursued his literary ambitions, inspired by figures like Washington Irving. He achieved significant success in the 1830s with novels such as "Richelieu: A Tale of France" and "Darnley, or the Field of the Cloth of Gold," leading to his appointment as historiographer royal to King William IV.
Despite a prolific output, including seven publications in a single year, he struggled with financial issues and faced criticism for his literary style, often characterized by repetitive themes. In 1850, seeking a better life, he moved his family to the United States, where he continued to write and took on diplomatic roles. His later years were marked by health problems and personal struggles, culminating in his death in Venice in 1860. While James was a popular author during his lifetime, contemporary recognition of his work is limited, as it is often viewed as lacking depth in character development and broader human themes.
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George P. R. James
- Born: August 9, 1801
- Birthplace: London, England
- Died: June 9, 1860
- Place of death: Venice, Italy
Biography
George Payne Rainsford James was born in London to Pinkston James, a prominent doctor, and Jean Churnside James. Pinkston James was physician to the Prince Regent, and his father, Robert James, also a doctor, made his fortune inventing the extremely popular medication known as James’s Powder for Fevers. George James grew up surrounded by literary influences, as his grandfather was quite close to Samuel Johnson, the playwright Thomas Sheridan lived two doors down the street, and at age thirteen George met Lord Byron, who gave him the nickname “little devil.”
At the age of fourteen, James joined the army to fight Napoleon, and after his discharge, he traveled about Europe. In 1816, he met Washington Irving, who encouraged his literary ambitions, but it was not until 1825 that James completed a draft of his first novel. After receiving a favorable opinion of the work from Sir Walter Scott, he submitted Richelieu: A Tale of France to a publisher, and its appearance in 1829 met with such great success that James’s publisher offered him five hundred pounds for his second novel, Darnley, or the Field of the Cloth of Gold, which was published in 1830.
James was appointed as historiographer royal to William IV on the strength of his nonfiction work the History of the Life of Edward the Black Prince (1836). Although he experienced great productivity and popularity during the 1830’s, he was not taken seriously by literary critics, who called him the Solitary Horseman because so many of his novels opened with a scene of a solitary man on horseback. In 1839 alone, he published seven books, believing that the more quickly he wrote, the better the result.
His prodigious output continued into the 1840’s. Despite this, he was suffering financial difficulties and in 1850 he decided to move his wife, Frances Thomas, and his four children to the United States, in hopes of making a better living there. He continued his writing, and also served as British consul in Norfolk and later Richmond, Virginia. James eventually was transferred to Venice due to ill health; he suffered from gout, diphtheria and heart palpitations, among other maladies. His health did not improve, and he began drinking heavily and suffered from depression. He died in Venice in 1860, and his wife and family moved back to the United States.
Although extremely popular during his lifetime, George P. R. James is remembered today, if at all, as a minor novelist. His work, while enlightening on details of history, remains weak in portraying human character and concerns, and fails to rise above the era in which it was written to convey universal truths about the human condition.