Robert Edward Francillon (1841–1919) was an English journalist and author. He was active in newspapers and periodicals the later decades of the 19th century and rose to be managing editor of '' The Globe''.

Life and career

Francillon trained as a barrister but turned to journalism. He was at various times a contributor to ''

Blackwood's Magazine ''Blackwood's Magazine'' was a British magazine and miscellany printed between 1817 and 1980. It was founded by the publisher William Blackwood and was originally called the ''Edinburgh Monthly Magazine''. The first number appeared in April 1817 ...

'' and an editor of ''

Tatler ''Tatler'' is a British magazine published by Condé Nast Publications focusing on fashion and lifestyle, as well as coverage of high society and politics. It is targeted towards the British upper-middle class and upper class, and those interes ...

''. He contributed for many years to the Christmas numbers of ''

The Gentleman's Magazine ''The Gentleman's Magazine'' was a monthly magazine founded in London, England, by Edward Cave in January 1731. It ran uninterrupted for almost 200 years, until 1922. It was the first to use the term ''magazine'' (from the French ''magazine'' ...

'', and sold many short stories to newspapers. (Most of those that were published in Australia can be read on-line thanks to the

Trove Trove is an Australian online library database owned by the National Library of Australia in which it holds partnerships with source providers National and State Libraries Australia, an aggregator and service which includes full text document ...

service of the National Library of Australia.) His novel ''Jack Doyle's Daughter'' lets a

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...

gentleman loose in Bohemian London. It has been called an "incoherent" tale involving an "heiress with six possible fathers". Francillon's review "

George Eliot Mary Ann Evans (22 November 1819 – 22 December 1880; alternatively Mary Anne or Marian), known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator, and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She wro ...

's First Romance (1876)" defends ''

Daniel Deronda ''Daniel Deronda'' is a novel written by Mary Ann Evans under the pen name of George Eliot, first published in eight parts (books) February to September 1876. It was the last novel she completed and the only one set in the Victorian society ...

'' from early critics. He notes that as a romance it differs in kind from ''

Adam Bede ''Adam Bede'' was the first novel by Mary Ann Evans (George Eliot), and was published in 1859. It was published pseudonymously, even though Evans was a well-published and highly respected scholar of her time. The novel has remained in print ev ...

'' or ''

Middlemarch ''Middlemarch, A Study of Provincial Life'' is a novel by the English author Mary Anne Evans, who wrote as George Eliot. It first appeared in eight installments (volumes) in 1871 and 1872. Set in Middlemarch, a fictional English Midland town, ...

'': "It lies so far outside George Eliot's other works in every important respect as to make direct comparison impossible." In 1890, Francillon was reported to be the managing editor of the London newspaper ''The Globe''. Along with

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 ...

, Francillon, belonged to Thomas Purnell's literary club "Decemviri", and was an early member of the neo-Jacobite body known as the

Order of the White Rose The Order of the White Rose of Finland ( fi, Suomen Valkoisen Ruusun ritarikunta; sv, Finlands Vita Ros’ orden) is one of three official orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty, and the Order of the Lion of Finland. T ...

. Francillon married a daughter of the composer

John Barnett John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

, who was also a goddaughter of

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...

Some works by Francillon

;Short stories and novelettes, published in Australian newspapers *''Olympia'' *''A Queen of Trumps'' *''Queen Cophetua'' *''A Bad Bargain'' *''Esther's Glove'' *''The Seal of the Snake'' *''The Way of the Wind'', first published in the ''London Almanac'' in 1888 *''Golden Rod'' *''No Conjuror'' *''Fad and Her Fetish'' *''The Luck of Luke Parris'' *''Veni, Vidi, Vici'' *''A Learned Lady'' *''Silver and Gold'' *''Double Sixes'' *''M or N'' *''Owen Murtagh's Girl'' *''An Obstinate Blockhead'' ;Songs * * ;Books * * * Several editions, including free on-line transcriptions

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Francillon, Robert Edward 1841 births 1919 deaths English male short story writers English short story writers 19th-century English novelists Converts to Roman Catholicism Neo-Jacobite Revival