Frederick William Robinson (23 December 1830 – 6 December 1901) was an English novelist, magazine editor and drama critic.

Life

Robinson was born in

Spitalfields Spitalfields is a district in the East End of London and within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The area is formed around Commercial Street (on the A1202 London Inner Ring Road) and includes the locale around Brick Lane, Christ Church, ...

in 1830, the second son of William Robinson of Acre Lane, Brixton, who owned much house property in London. His mother's surname was St John. After his education he acted for some time as his father's secretary, but he soon embarked upon a literary career, his first novel ''The House of Elmore'', begun before he was eighteen, being published in 1855. It met with success and was followed by upwards of fifty other works of fiction. ''Grandmother's Money'' (1860) secured a wide vogue, which was maintained in an anonymous series of semi-religious novels: ''High Church'' (1860); ''No Church'' (1861); ''Church and Chapel'' (1863); ''Carry's Confession'' (1865); ''Beyond the Church'' (1866), and ''Christie's Faith'' (1867). He was equally successful with two works of a different character: ''Female Life in Prison, by a Prison Matron'' (1862) and ''Memoirs of Jane Cameron, Female Convict'' (1863). These sketches and stories, based upon actual records, were so realistic in treatment as to be mistaken for literal history. Donations for prisoners reached Robinson, and his revelations led to improvement in the conditions of prison life. Robinson was also a pioneer in novels of low life, which included ''Owen, a Waif'' (1862), ''Mattie, a Stray'' (1864), and ''Milly's Hero'' (1865).

Later works

Among his later works of fiction are ''Anne Judge, Spinster'' (1867), ''No Man's Friend'' (1867) and ''The Courting of Mary Smith'' (1886). ''Poor Humanity'' (1868) was dramatised by the author and played with some success at the

Surrey Theatre The Surrey Theatre, London began life in 1782 as the Royal Circus and Equestrian Philharmonic Academy, one of the many circuses that provided entertainment of both horsemanship and drama (hippodrama). It stood in Blackfriars Road, near the jun ...

with William Creswick in the chief role, a returned convict. Robinson's last complete novel, ''The Wrong that was done'', appeared in 1892, and a volume of short stories, ''All they went through'', in 1898. Robinson contributed to ''

Family Herald ''The Family Herald: A Domestic Magazine of Useful Information & Amusement'' (1843–1940) was a weekly story paper launched by George Biggs in 1842, and re-established in May 1843 with James Elishama Smith and mechanised printing. By 1855 it had ...

'', ''

Cassell's Magazine ''Cassell's Magazine'' is a British magazine that was published monthly from 1897 to 1912. It was the successor to ''Cassell's Illustrated Family Paper'', (1853–1867) becoming ''Cassell's Family Magazine'' in 1874, ''Cassell's Magazine'' in 1897 ...

'' and other periodicals, and for some years wrote dramatic criticisms for '' The Daily News'', ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

'', and other papers. His novels appeared in the three-volume form, and with the extinction of that mode of publication his popularity waned. Gerald le Grys Moorgate wrote in the ''

Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'' in 1912: "A disciple of

Defoe Defoe may refer to: People *Defoe (surname), most notably English author Daniel Defoe Places *Defoe, Webster County, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Other uses *Defoe (comics), a zombie story *Defoe Shipbuilding Company, a former ship ...

and

Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian er ...

, he wrote too rapidly to put such power as he possessed to the best purpose. Yet his work found constant readers in

Dante Gabriel Rossetti Gabriel Charles Dante Rossetti (12 May 1828 – 9 April 1882), generally known as Dante Gabriel Rossetti (), was an English poet, illustrator, painter, translator and member of the Rossetti family. He founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhoo ...

and other men of note."

''Home Chimes''

In 1884 Robinson brought out a weekly penny magazine, called ''

Home Chimes ''Home Chimes'' was a London magazine published between 1884 and 1894 by Richard Willoughby, and edited by F. W. Robinson.Theodore Watts-Dunton Theodore Watts-Dunton (12 October 1832 – 6 June 1914), from St Ives, Huntingdonshire, was an English poetry critic with major periodicals, and himself a poet. He is remembered particularly as the friend and minder of Algernon Charles Swinbu ...

, and contained contributions by

Swinburne Algernon Charles Swinburne (5 April 1837 – 10 April 1909) was an English poet, playwright, novelist, and critic. He wrote several novels and collections of poetry such as ''Poems and Ballads'', and contributed to the famous Eleventh Edition ...

, Moy Thomas, and Phil Robinson. In February 1886 the paper was converted into a fourpenny monthly, and was carried on in that form until the end of 1893. Much early work by

J. M. Barrie Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, (; 9 May 1860 19 June 1937) was a Scottish novelist and playwright, best remembered as the creator of Peter Pan. He was born and educated in Scotland and then moved to London, where he wrote several succe ...

Jerome K. Jerome Jerome Klapka Jerome (2 May 1859 – 14 June 1927) was an English writer and humourist, best known for the comic travelogue ''Three Men in a Boat'' (1889). Other works include the essay collections '' Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow'' (1886) an ...

, and

Israel Zangwill Israel Zangwill (21 January 18641 August 1926) was a British author at the forefront of cultural Zionism during the 19th century, and was a close associate of Theodor Herzl. He later rejected the search for a Jewish homeland in Palestine and be ...

, in whom the editor inspired great attachment, appeared in it. Robinson's friends of an older generation included, besides Swinburne and Watts-Dunton,

Ford Madox Brown Ford Madox Brown (16 April 1821 – 6 October 1893) was a British painter of moral and historical subjects, notable for his distinctively graphic and often William Hogarth, Hogarthian version of the Pre-Raphaelite style. Arguably, his mos ...

Philip Bourke Marston Philip Bourke Marston (13 August 1850 – 13 February 1887) was an English poet. Life He was born in London 13 August 1850, the son of John Westland Marston. Philip James Bailey and Dinah Maria Mulock were his sponsors, and the most popular of ...

and his father

John Westland Marston John Westland Marston (30 January 1819 – 5 January 1890) was an English dramatist and critic. Life He was born at Boston, Lincolnshire, on 30 January 1819, was son of the Rev. Stephen Marston, minister of a Baptist congregation. In 1834, h ...

, and Sir

Henry Irving Sir Henry Irving (6 February 1838 – 13 October 1905), christened John Henry Brodribb, sometimes known as J. H. Irving, was an English stage actor in the Victorian era, known as an actor-manager because he took complete responsibility ( ...

. Chess-playing was among his accomplishments. He died at Elmore House, St James's Road,

Brixton Brixton is a district in south London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th ce ...

, on 6 December 1901, and was buried at

West Norwood Cemetery West Norwood Cemetery is a rural cemetery in West Norwood in London, England. It was also known as the South Metropolitan Cemetery. One of the first private landscaped cemeteries in London, it is one of the " Magnificent Seven" cemeteries of L ...

. His wife, Rosalie Jane ''née'' Stephens, whom he married in 1853, survived him, with six sons and five daughters.

References

Attribution *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Frederick William 1830 births 1901 deaths People from Spitalfields 19th-century English novelists English magazine editors Burials at West Norwood Cemetery