Shirley Brooks

Shirley Brooks (1816-1874) by Frederick Waddy (1848-1901), from Cartoon portraits and biographical sketches of men of the day, 1872. Courtesy Wikisource.

Charles William Shirley Brooks
Born	April 29 1816(1816-Template:MONTHNUMBER-29) London, England
Died	February 23 1874(1874-Template:MONTHNUMBER-23) (aged 57) London, England
Nationality	English
Occupation	journalist, novelist; editor of Punch

Charles William Shirley Brooks (29 April 1816 - 23 February 1874) was an English journalist, novelist, and writer of humorous light verse, who edited humor magazine Punch.

Life

Overview

Journalist and novelist Shirley Brooks was born in London, and began his career in a solicitor's office. He early, however, took to literature, and contributed to various periodicals. In 1851 he joined the staff of Punch, to which he contributed "Essence of Parliament," and on the death of Mark Lemon he succeeded him as editor. He published a few novels, including Aspen Court and The Gordian Knot.

Youth and education

Brooks was born in London, the son of William Brooks, architect (died 11 December 1867, aged 80) by his wife Elizabeth, the eldest daughter of William Sabine of Islington. He was born at 52 Doughty Street, London, 29 April 1816, and after his earlier education was articled, on 24 April 1832, to his uncle, Mr. Charles Sabine of Oswestry, for the term of five years, and passed the Incorporated Law Society's examination in November 1838, but there is no record of his ever having become a solicitor; for the natural bent of his genius impelled him, like Dickens and Disraeli, to lighter studies, and he forsook law for literature.

Early career

During 5 sessions he occupied a seat in the reporters' gallery of the House of Commons, as the writer of the parliamentary summary in the Morning Chronicle. In 1853 he was sent by that journal as special commissioner to inquire into the questions connected with the subject of labor and the poor in Russia, Syria, and Egypt. His letters from these countries were afterwards collected and published in the 6th volume of the Travellers' Library, under the title of the Russians of the South.

In early times, 1842, he signed his articles which were appearing in Ainsworth's Magazine Charles W. Brooks. His 2nd literary signature was C. Shirley Brooks, and finally he became Shirley Brooks. His earliest magazine papers, among which were A Lounge in the Œil de Bœuf, An Excursion of some English Actors to China, Cousin Emily, and The Shrift on the Rail, brought him into communication with Harrison Ainsworth, Laman Blanchard, and other well-known men, and he soon became the centre of a strong muster of literary friends, who found pleasure in his wit and social qualities. As a dramatist he frequently achieved considerable success, without, however, once making any ambitious effort—such, for example, as producing a five-act comedy. His original drama, The Creole, or Love's Fetters, was produced at the Lyceum 8 April 1847 with marked applause. A lighter piece, entitled Anything for a Change, was brought out at the same house 7 June 1848. On 5 Aug. 1850, his 2-act drama, the Daughter of the Stars, was acted at the New Strand Theatre. The exhibition of 1851 gave occasion for his writing The Exposition; a Scandinavian Sketch, containing as much irrelevant matter as possible in one act, which was produced at the Strand on 28 April in that year.

In association with John Oxenford, he supplied to the Olympic, 26 Dec. 1861, an extravaganza, which had the sensational heading Timour the Tartar, or the Iron Master of Samarkand, the explanatory letterpress significantly stating that a trifling lapse between the year 1361 and the year 1861 occasionally occurs. Amongst his other dramatic pieces may be mentioned the Guardian Angel, a farce, the Lowther Arcade, Honours and Tricks, and ‘Our New Governess.

Brooks was in his earlier days a contributor to many of the best periodicals. He was a leader writer on the Illustrated London News, to which journal at a later period he furnished a weekly article under the name of Nothing in the Papers. He conducted the Literary Gazette 1858–9, and edited Home News after the death of Robert Bell in 1867. To a volume edited by Albert Smith in 1849, called Gavarni in London, he furnished 3 sketches — The Opera, The Coulisse, and The Foreign Gentleman; and in companionship with Angus B. Reach he published A Story with a Vengeance in 1852.

At 38 he began to assert his claim to consideration as a popular novelist by writing Aspen Court: A story of our own time. Conscious, as he must have been, of his earliest success of a substantial kind as an imaginative writer, he nevertheless allowed 5 years to elapse before he made his 2nd venture as a novelist. He did so then as the author of a new serial fiction, the Gordian Knot, in January 1858; but this work, although illustrated by J. Tenniel, and consisting of 12 numbers only, remained unfinished for upwards of 2 years.

Punch

Sidney Brooks in the History of Punch (London: Cassell, 1895), 356.

The most important and interesting event in Shirley Brooks's life was his connection with Punch In 1851 he joined the staff of Punch, to which he contributed "Essence of Parliament," He made use of the pen name "Epicurus Rotundus" as the signature to his articles.

From this period until his decease, he was a contributor to the columns of that periodical, and in 1870 he succeeded Mark Lemon as editor.

On 14 March 1872 Brooks was elected a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London. He was always a hard and industrious worker, and the 4 years during which he acted as editor of Punch formed no exception to the rule.

Death found him in the midst of his books and papers working cheerfully amongst his family. 2 articles, "Election Epigrams" and "The Situation," were written on his death-bed, and before they were published he was dead. He died at 6 Kent Terrace, Regent's Park, London, on 23 February 1874, and was buried in Kensal Green cemetery on 28 February.

Writing

His collected humorous verse was published posthumously in 1875 as Wit and Humour: Poems from Punch, edited by his son, Reginald Shirley Brooks.

The works by Brooks not already mentioned are:

1. Amusing Poetry, 1857.
2. The Silver Cord: A story, 1861, 3 vols.
3. Follies of the Year, by J. Leech (with notes by S. Brooks), 1866.
4. Sooner or Later (with llustrations by G. Du Maurier), 1866-68, 3 vols.
5. The Naggletons and Miss Violet, and her Offer, 1875.

Recognition

Brooks's widow, Emily Margaret Brooks (daughter of Dr. William Walkinshaw of Naparima, Trinidad) was granted a Civil List pension of 100l pounds on 19 June 1876. She died on 14 May 1880.

Publications

Poetry

• Wit and Humour: Poems from Punch (edited by Reginald Shirley Brooks). London: Bradbury, Agnew, 1875.

Plays

• Our New Governess: A comedy in two acts. London: W. Barth, 1845.
• The Wigwam: A burletta in one act. London: Johnson, 1847; London: Dicks, 1890.
• The Creole, Or Love's letters: An original drama in three acts. London: Thomas Hailes Lacy, 1847.
• Anything for a Change: A petite comedy in one act. London & New York: Samuel French, 1848.
• The Daughter of the Stars: A drama in two acts. London: Thomas Hailes Lacy, 1850.
• The Guardian Angel: A farce in one act. London: Thomas Hailes Lacy, 1851.
• The Exposition: A Scandinavian sketch containing as much irrelevant matter as possible in one act. London: Thomas Hailes Lacy, 1861.

Novels

• Aspen Court: A story for our time. New York: Stringer & Townsend, 1856.
• The Gordian Knot: A study of good and of evil. London: R. Bentley, 1860.
• The Silver Cord: A novel. New York: Harper & Bros., 1861.
• Sooner or Later (illustrated by G. Du Maurier). (3 volumes), London: Bradbury, Evans, 1868.
• The Naggletons: From Punch. London: Bradbury, Agnew, 1883.
• Mrs. Lygon: A domestic detective story (illustrated by Stephen Fiske). St. Paul, MN: Price-McGill, 1892.
• The Naggletons; and Miss Violet, and her offers.. London: Bradbury, Agnew, 1875.

Non-fiction

• The Russians of the South. London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1854.

Children's books

• King Jollyboy's Royal Story Book: For little folks. Boston: Mayhew & Baker, 1858.

Edited

• Amusing Poetry: A selection. London: Lambert, 1857; London: Chatto, 1874.

Letters

• George Somes Layard, Shirley Brooks of "Punch": His life, letters and diaries. New York: Henry Holt, 1907.

Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.

See also

• List of British poets

References

•  Boase, George Clement (1886) "Brooks, Charles William Shirley" in Stephen, Leslie Dictionary of National Biography 6 London: Smith, Elder, pp. 437-438  . Wikisource, Web, Mar. 5, 2020.

External links

Poems

• Brooks, Shirley (1816-1874) (7 poems) at Representative Poetry Online

Books

• Shirley Brooks at Amazon.com

About

• Anonymous (1873). Cartoon portraits and biographical sketches of men of the day. Illustrated by Frederick Waddy. London: Tinsley Brothers. pp. 128–33. http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Cartoon_portraits_and_biographical_sketches_of_men_of_the_day/Shirley_Brooks. Retrieved 2011-03-13. 

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, the Dictionary of National Biography (edited by Leslie Stephen & Sidney Lee). London: Smith, Elder, 1885-1900. Original article is at: Brooks, Charles William Shirley