William Brighty Rands



William Brighty Rands (December 24, 1823 — April 23, 1882) was an English poet and children's writer, one of the major authors of nursery rhymes of the Victorian era.

Life
He was born in Chelsea, London, a son of a modest candlemaker's family. He attended school from 8 to 13 years of age, and was mostly self-taught, starting to read early and mastering Latin, Greek, and (after starting an office career with an international merchant) also Spanish and French. His appreciation of languages he carried through life, studying Chinese in his later years.

In 1857, he started working as a reporter in the House of Commons for Messrs. Gurney & Co. and was praised for being very helpful. He wrote his works for children when Parliament was not sitting. In 1875 he resigned due to poor health.

He wrote under pseudonyms, among them Matthew Browne, Henry Holbeach, and T. Talker.

He was for some time a regular preacher in a chapel at Brixton, and composed several popular hymns, that as well as his nursery rhymes continued their legacy in several editions throughout the 19th century.

He is also remembered for the 2-volume monography of "Chaucer's England".

He died in East Dulwich, London.

Poetry

 * Lilliput Levee. 1864.
 * Lilliput Lectures. London: Strahan, 1871.
 * Lilliput Revels. New York: G. Routledge, 1871. Microopaque. New York : Readex Microprint, 1970.
 * Lilliput Legends. 1872.
 * W.B. Rand, Lilliput Lyrics, ed. R. Brimley Johnson. London: John Lane, the Bodley Head, 1899.

Prose
Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy the University of Toronto.
 * [Browne, Matthew]. Chaucer's England. London: Hurst and Blackett, 1869.