F. Anstey

Born Thomas Anstey Guthrie in Kensington on August 8, 1856, he wrote under the pen name F. Anstey and became one of the best-known English humorists of his day. He was educated at King’s College School and Trinity Hall, Cambridge, and was called to the bar in 1880 before turning more fully to writing.

His breakthrough came with Vice Versa (1882), a comic novel about a father and schoolboy son who exchange identities. He went on to write other popular works of humorous fantasy, including The Tinted Venus and The Brass Bottle, and he also became well known for his parodies and contributions to Punch.

Later in life he was known as Sir Thomas Anstey Guthrie. He died on March 10, 1934, but his fiction still stands out for its lightness, imagination, and the way it turns everyday life into cheerful absurdity.