Frederic George Kitton

Born in Norwich on May 5, 1856, Frederic George Kitton trained in London as a draughtsman and wood-engraver under W. L. Thomas of The Graphic. He went on to contribute to art periodicals and gradually shifted toward literary work, building a reputation as an author, editor, and illustrator.

Kitton is remembered above all for his books on Charles Dickens, including Dickens and His Illustrators, Charles Dickens: His Life, Writings, and Personality, and the posthumously published The Dickens Country. He also annotated the 1900 Rochester edition of Dickens’s works and was one of the founders of the Dickens Fellowship, showing how central Dickens studies became to his career.

While living in St Albans from 1888 until his death in 1904, he became closely involved with the town’s cultural life. He illustrated local publications, co-edited the Hertfordshire Illustrated Review, and helped the Hertfordshire County Museum, where he became its first prints and drawings curator in 1898. He died on September 10, 1904, leaving behind both a substantial Dickens legacy and a quieter record as an artist and local historian.