William Frederick Deacon (1799-1845), Warreniana (1824). Book on Demand, 2013. Courtesy Amazon.com.
William Frederick Deacon (26 July 1799 - 18 March 1845) was an English poet, journalist, and miscellaneous writer.[1][2]
Life[]
Youth and education[]
Deacon was born in Caroline Place,[1] Mecklenburgh Square, London, the eldest son of a London merchant.[2]
He was educated under Dr. Valpy at the Reading School, where Thomas Noon Talfourd was a schoolfellow.[2]
He attended St Catharine Hall, Cambridge, but did not graduate.
Career[]
Abandoning the intention of taking holy orders, Deacon entered on a literary career and found a publisher in William Hone for his earliest poem, a production of promise, entitled Hacho, or the Spell of St. Wilten.[2]
He next undertook the editorship of a daily journal, The Déjeuné, or Companion for the Breakfast Table,’ which was issued every morning from 21 October to 15 December, 1820, when the issue was changed to 3 times a week and shortly after ceased. This venture was published by Gold & Northouse, who also put forth a London Magazine (1820-1821) as a rival to the better known periodical of the same name, edited by John Scott and published by Baldwin, and they enlisted Deacon as a chief contributor.[2]
His health failing, he retired to Llangadock in South Wales, from which place he wrote for counsel and guidance to Sir Walter Scott, who sent him some kind and interesting letters. At this time his father tried in vain to turn his attention from literature to commerce. In 1823 he published a volume of clever sketches of Welsh manners and scenery, entitled The Innkeeper's Album. On 1824 appeared his Warreniana, with Notes, Critical and Explanatory, by the Editor of a Quarterly Review, consisting of a series of burlesque imitations of popular authors in the style of the Rejected Addresses, and in praise of Warren's Blacking shoe polish. It was published by Longman's and met with much success. It was reprinted in 1851. He also wrote November Tales, a collection of tales and essays.[2]
In 1829 he lost an annuity of £100, hitherto received from a relative, and was driven to depend entirely on his literary efforts. After acting for a short period as assistant in a school at Dulwich, he joined the staff of the Sun newspaper as contributor of its literary criticism, and became esteemed as a critic of sound judgment and taste. This engagement continued until his death. He wrote also in Blackwood's Magazine, and a series of papers from that magazine, The Picture Gallery (1837–9), was subsequently reprinted. In 1835 he published his humorous tale in 2 volumes, The Exile of Erin; or, The sorrows of a Bashful Irishman, which attained considerable popularity both at home and in America.[2]
Deacon lived many years in comparative seclusion, happy in the society of his wife and children, in Malvern Terrace, Islington, where he died in his 46th year.
Writing[]
Deacon left behind him the manuscript of a novel called Annette, which was published in 3 volumes in 1853, with a prefatory memoir by Sir T.N. Talfourd.[2]
Publications[]
Poetry[]
- Hacho; or, The spell of St. Wilten. London: William Hone, [1820?][2]
- Warreniana; with notes, critical and explanatory. London: Longmn, Hurst, Rees, Orme, Brown, & Green, 1824; Boston: Wells & Lilly, 1824
- also published in Parodies of the Romantic Age (edited by John Strachan), Volume IV. London: Pickering & Chatto, 1999.
Novels[]
- The Exile of Erin; or, The sorrows of a bashful Irishman. (2 volumes), London: Whittaker, 1835
- also published as The Adventures of a Bashful Irishman. London: Routledge, Warne, & Routledge, 1862.
- Annette: A tale (with memoir by Sir T.N. Talfourd). (3 volumes), London: Henry Colburn, 1852. Volume I, Volume II,Volume III
Short fiction[]
- The Inn-keeper's Album. London: T. M'Lean, 1823.
- November Nights; or, Tales for winter evenings. London: T. Maclean, 1826.
- The Picture Gallery. London: Bushill & Deacon, 1858.
Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.[3]
See also[]
References[]
Sutton, Charles William (1888) "Deacon, William Frederick" in Stephen, Leslie Dictionary of National Biography 14 London: Smith, Elder, pp. 248-249 . Wikisource, Web, June 2, 2016.
Notes[]
External links[]
- Poems
- William Frederick Deacon (1799-1845) info & 4 poems at English Poetry, 1579-1830
- Books
- William Frederick Deacon at Amazon.com
- About
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: Deacon, William Frederick
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