English writer and educationalist (1831–1909) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"George Fenn" redirects here. For the athlete, see George Frenn.
George Manville Fenn (3 January 1831 in Pimlico – 26 August 1909 in Isleworth) was a prolific English novelist, journalist, editor and educationalist.[1] Many of his novels were written with young adults in mind. His final book was his biography of a fellow writer for juveniles, George Alfred Henty.
Fenn, the third child and eldest son of a butler, Charles Fenn, was largely self-educated, teaching himself French, German and Italian. After studying at Battersea Training College for teachers (1851–1854), he became the master of a national school at Alford, Lincolnshire.
Grave of George Manville Fenn in Isleworth Cemetery
Fenn later became a printer, editor and publisher of some short-lived periodicals, before attracting the attention of Charles Dickens and others with a sketch for All the Year Round in 1864. He contributed to Chambers's Journal and to the magazine Once a Week. In 1866, he wrote a series of articles on working-class life for the newspaper The Star. These works were collected and republished in four volumes, followed by a similar series in the Weekly Times.
Fenn's first story for boys, Hollowdell Grange, appeared in 1867. It was followed by a succession of other novels for juveniles and adults. The Star-Gazers (1894), for example, was a three-volume "astronomical romance" for adults.[2] Having become the editor of Cassell's Magazine in 1870, Fenn then purchased Once a Week and edited it until it closed in 1879. He also wrote for the theatre. Fenn authored many historical fiction novels, including Crown and Sceptre: A West-Country Story (1889) about the English Civil War, Ned Ledger (1899), focusing on naval combat during War of the Austrian Succession, The King's Sons (1901) about King Alfred, and Marcus, the Young Centurion (1904), about Julius Caesar.[3]
Fenn and his family lived at Syon Lodge, Isleworth, Middlesex, where he built up a library of 25,000 volumes and took up telescope making. His last book was a biography of a great fellow writer of boys' stories, George Alfred Henty.
In 1855, George Manville Fenn married Susanna Leake; they had two sons and six daughters.[4] He died at his home on 26 August 1909.[5]
Novels
Cabby (1864)
Hollowdell Grange (1866)
Webs in the Way (1867)
Bent, Not Broken (3 vols, 1867)
Mad (1868)
By Birth a Lady (1871)
The Sapphire Cross (1871)
Thereby Hangs a Tale (1876)
A Little World (1877, reprinted 1882 as Poverty Corner: A City Story)
The Chemist, 64-page story for March issue of Once a Week
Pretty Polly (3 vols, 1878)
The Parson o' Dumford (1879)
The Clerk of Portwick (1880)
Bunyip Land (1880)
Off to the Wilds (1880)
Devon Boys (1880)
The Vicar's People (1881)
Eli's Children (1882)
Dutch the Diver (1883)
Middy and Ensign (1883)
Nat the Naturalist (1883)
Son Philip (1883)
The Silver Cañon (1884)
The Golden Magnet (1884)
Sweet Mace (1884)
The Rosery Folk (1884)
Through Forest and Stream: The Quest of the Quetzal (1884)
The Dark House (1885)
Morgan's Horror (1885)
Eve At the Wheel (1885)
Menhardoc (1885)
Dick o' the Fens (1885)
A Terrible Coward (1885)
The New Forest Spy: a Tale of a Lost Cause (1885)
Patience Wins (1886)
Brownsmith's Boy (1886)
The Master of the Ceremonies (1886)
The Chaplain's Craze (1886)
Double Cunning (1886)
The Bag of Diamonds (1887)
One Maid's Mischief (1887)
This Man's Wife (1887)
Yussuf the Guide (1887)
Quicksilver (1888)
Mother Carey's Chicken (1888)
The Man With a Shadow (1888)
The Story of Antony Grace, or, Some Stained Pages (1887)
Commodore Junk (1888)
Of High Descent (1889)
The Lass That Loved a Soldier (1889)
Three People's Secret (1889)
Crown and Sceptre: A West Country Story (c. 1889)
Three Boys, or The Chiefs of the Clan Mackhai (1889)
In the King's Name (1890)
Cormorant Crag (1890)
Will of the Mill (1890)
The Adventures of Don Lavington (1890)
Cutlass and Cudgel (1890)
Mass' George (1890)
Charge! (1890)
Lady Maude's Mania (1890)
The Mynns' Mystery (1890)
A Double Knot (1890)
A Fluttered Dovecote (1890)
The New Mistress (1891)
Mahme Nousie (1891)
The Crystal Hunters (1891)
Burr Junior (1891)
The Rajah of Dah (1891)
To the West (1891)
Syd Belton (1891)
The Weathercock (1892)
The Dingo Boys (1892)
Gil the Gunner (1892)
King of the Castle (1892)
The Grand Chaco (1892)
Witness to the Deed (1893)
A Sylvan Courtship (1893)
Nurse Elisia (1893)
Sail-Ho! (1893)
Steve Young (1893)
The Black Bar (1893)
Blue Jackets: The Log of the Teaser (1893)
A Life's Eclipse (1894)
First In the Field (1894)
Fire Island (1894)
The Star-Gazers (1894)
The White Virgin (1894)
Real Gold (1894)
The Vast Abyss (1894)
The Tiger Lily (1894)
In an Alpine Valley (1894)
An Electric Spark (1895)
The Queen's Scarlet (1895)
Planter Jack (1895)
In Honour's Cause (1896)
The Black Tor (1896)
Sappers and Miners (1896)
Jack At Sea; or All Work and No Play Made Him a Dull Boy (1896)
