author

Arthur Kitson

1848–1915

Best remembered for a detailed life of Captain James Cook, this lesser-known Victorian writer came from a prominent Yorkshire family but seems to have followed a far more wandering path of his own.

1 Audiobook

The Life of Captain James Cook, the Circumnavigator

The Life of Captain James Cook, the Circumnavigator

by Arthur Kitson

About the author

Arthur Octavius Kitson was born in Leeds in 1848 and died in 1915. He is known as the author of The Life of Captain James Cook, a substantial biography of the explorer that was later issued in a popular condensed edition.

What can be confirmed about his life suggests an unusual story. He came from a wealthy industrial family in Yorkshire, and later sources describe him as having spent time in Australia and the Pacific before returning to England. He married Linda Elizabeth Douglas Leroy in Rockhampton, Queensland, in 1881.

There is some long-standing confusion between Arthur Octavius Kitson and another Arthur Kitson, a later inventor and monetary reformer. For this author, the clearest reliable point is his connection to Cook scholarship and his 1907 biography of Captain James Cook. No suitable verified portrait image was found from the sources checked, so a profile image is not included.