Douglas Brooke Wheelton Sladen

Born in London on February 5, 1856, Douglas Brooke Wheelton Sladen studied at Cheltenham College and Trinity College, Oxford, where he took his B.A. in 1879. Instead of settling into the legal career expected of him, he went to Australia, joined Melbourne society, earned an LL.B. at the University of Melbourne in 1882, and soon became the first lecturer in modern history at the University of Sydney.

After returning to England in 1884, he built a varied writing career. He published poetry, novels, travel books, and anthologies, and became especially known for helping draw attention to Australian writing through collections such as Australian Ballads and Rhymes, A Century of Australian Song, and Australian Poets, 1788-1888. He also edited Who’s Who beginning in 1897 and was known as a sociable figure in artistic and theatrical circles.

Sladen died in 1947. While he is not usually counted among the major literary stars of his time, his work as an anthologist, editor, and literary go-between helped preserve and promote writers who might otherwise have been overlooked.