Alfred Ainger

Alfred Ainger (9 February 1837 – 8 February 1904) was an English biographer, critic, and clergyman. Educated at King’s College London and Trinity College, Cambridge, he was ordained in the Church of England and spent much of his career connected with the Temple Church in London, eventually becoming Master of the Temple.

Alongside his church work, he built a strong reputation as a literary man. He wrote on major English authors and became particularly associated with Charles Lamb, editing Lamb’s letters and writings and producing work that helped introduce Lamb to new generations of readers. He also wrote on figures including Crabbe and other writers of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

What makes him interesting now is the mix of warmth and scholarship in his work. He was part of that Victorian tradition of criticism meant not just for specialists, but for general readers who loved books and wanted to feel closer to the people who wrote them.