author
Augustus Jessopp
1823–1914
A lively Victorian man of letters, he moved between the pulpit, the schoolroom, and the study, turning Norfolk history and English literary subjects into readable, spirited prose. His essays were known for mixing scholarship with wit, which helped keep his work appealing beyond academic circles.
2 Audiobooks
The Trials of a Country Parson
by Augustus Jessopp
The Coming of the Friars
by Augustus Jessopp
About the author
Born in Cheshunt in 1823, Augustus Jessopp was an English cleric and writer who also spent important parts of his career as a schoolmaster. He studied at St John's College, Cambridge, later became a fellow there, and went on to serve for many years in Norfolk, a county that deeply shaped both his public work and his historical writing.
Jessopp was headmaster of Norwich School from 1859 to 1879, and later held church positions including the rectory of Scarning and an honorary canonry at Norwich Cathedral. Alongside his clerical duties, he wrote widely for periodicals including The Nineteenth Century, building a reputation for essays that could be humorous, argumentative, or sharply observant.
He also published books and scholarly editions connected with local history, biography, and English literature, especially subjects rooted in Norfolk's past. Dying in 1914, he left behind the picture of a learned but approachable Victorian author: a man equally at home in education, religion, and the kind of historical writing meant to be enjoyed as well as consulted.