![Percy Bolingbroke St John](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/Percy_Bolingbroke_St_John.jpg)
Percy Bolingbroke St John (4 March 1821 – 1889) was an English journalist.
[Robert J. Kirkpatrick, ''From the Penny Dreadful to the Ha'penny Dreadfuller'' (London: British Library, 2013), p. 23.]
Early life
Percy St. John was the eldest son of
James Augustus St John. He was born in
Plymouth
Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west.
Plymouth ...
, in
Devon
Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...
,
and probably raised in
Camden Town
Camden Town (), often shortened to Camden, is a district of northwest London, England, north of Charing Cross. Historically in Middlesex, it is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Camden, and identified in the London Plan as o ...
. He accompanied his father on some of his travels, particularly to
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
for research, and he also travelled in America.
Career
In the United States, Percy St. John wrote several books and articles under various pseudonyms.
In 1838, he published ''The Young Naturalist's Book of Birds: Anecdotes of the Feathered Creation''. A year later, he wrote his first work of fiction, which appeared in the ''Chamber's Journal'', followed by further stories in ''Ainsworth Magazine'' and ''Bentley's Miscellany''. In 1845, he published the novel ''The Trapper's Bride – A Tale of the Rocky Mountains''.
In 1846, Percy St. John was appointed the Paris correspondent for the Glasgow newspaper the ''North British Daily Mail''.
That year, St. John edited the ''Mirror of Literature'', and in 1861 the ''London Herald''. As correspondent to various newspapers, his miscellaneous contributions to the press were numerous; and he was also a frequent contributor of papers to ''
Chambers's Journal
''Chambers's Edinburgh Journal'' was a weekly 16-page magazine started by William Chambers in 1832. The first edition was dated 4 February 1832, and priced at one penny. Topics included history, religion, language, and science. William was so ...
'' and other magazines.
In 1858, he launched the ''Guide to Literature, Science, Art, and General Information'', but it only ran for one year. From 1863 onwards, he became well-known as a writer for boys' papers. Amongst his pseudonyms were Captain Flack, Paul Periwinkle, Henry L. Boone, Warren St John, Harry Cavendish and J.T. Brougham.
[Robert J. Kirkpatrick, ''From the Penny Dreadful to the Ha'penny Dreadfuller'' (London: British Library, 2013), p. 24.]
Between 1883-5, Percy St. John edited the first five volumes of ''Dicks' English Literary of Standard Works''.
Despite some successes, Percy St. John was often short of money, and he had to apply to the
Royal Literary Fund The Royal Literary Fund (RLF) is a benevolent fund that gives assistance to published British writers in financial difficulties. Founded in 1790, and granted a royal charter in 1818, the Fund has helped an extensive roll of authors through its long ...
for support, receiving grants in 1855 of £30, and in 1874 and 1879 of £60 each.
Marriages
In 1841, Percy St. John's married Mary Agar Hansard, but it was illegal, because she was his aunt, being his mother's sister. In 1845, their son, Oliver Cromwell St. John, was born.
According to the 1851 census, Mary was residing in England with Oliver, while Percy lived in Paris, so the marriage may have been annulled. Mary died on 16 February 1895, at the age of 88.
In 1852, Percy St. John re-married, his second wife being Frances Deane, with whom he had two further children.
Death
![Family grave of James Augustus St John in Highgate Cemetery](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/Family_grave_of_James_Augustus_St_John_in_Highgate_Cemetery.jpg)
St John died in a lodging-house London on 15 March 1889 and was buried alongside his father in
Highgate Cemetery
Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in north London, England. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East Cemeteries. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for some of the people buried there as ...
in north London.
Works
St John began to write tales when still young, and translated about thirty of
Gustave Aimard
Gustave Aimard (13 September 1818 – 20 June 1883) was the author of numerous books about Latin America and the American frontier.
Aimard was born ''Olivier Aimard'' in Paris. As he once said, he was the son of two people who were married, " ...
's Indian tales into English. His translations appeared between 1876 and 1879. His original works included:
* ''Young Naturalist's Book of Birds'', London, 1838.
* ''Trapper's Bride; and Indian Tales'', London, 1845; several subsequent editions.
* ''French revolution in 1848: The three days of February, 1848; with sketches of Lamartine, Guizot, etc.'', 1848.
* ''Paul Peabody'', London, 1853 (incomplete); another edit. London, 1865.
* ''Our Holiday: a Week in Paris'', London, 1854.
* ''Lobster Salad'' (with Edward Copping), London, 1855.
* ''Quadroona, or the Slave Mother'', London, 1861.
* ''The Red Queen'', London, 1863.
* ''Snow Ship'' (adventures of Canadian emigrants), London, 1867; various editions subsequently.
* ''The Young Buccaneer'', London, 1873.
* ''The North Pole'' (a narrative of Arctic explorations), London, 1875.
* ''Polar Crusoes'', London, 1876.
* ''The Sailor Crusoe'', London, 1876.
* ''The Arctic Crusoe, A Tale of the Polar Sea; or, Arctic Adventures on the Sea of Ice,'' 1854
He wrote a
Dick Turpin
Richard Turpin (bapt. 21 September 1705 – 7 April 1739) was an English highwayman whose exploits were romanticised following his execution in York for horse theft. Turpin may have followed his father's trade as a butcher ear ...
novel, ''The Blue Dwarf'' (1869), and a serial under the same title in 1874–5.
Notes
;Attribution
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:St John, Percy Bolingbroke
1821 births
1889 deaths
Burials at Highgate Cemetery
English male journalists
19th-century British journalists
19th-century English male writers