George Du Maurier

Born in Paris in 1834, George du Maurier became a French-British cartoonist, illustrator, and novelist whose work captured the look and manners of late Victorian life. He joined the staff of Punch in the 1860s and became one of its best-known artists, admired for drawings that mixed humor with close social observation.

Later in life, he turned to fiction and found a wide readership. His novels include Peter Ibbetson, Trilby, and The Martian, with Trilby becoming especially famous and helping fix his name in literary history.

Du Maurier died in London in 1896. He is also remembered as the grandfather of novelist Daphne du Maurier, but his own reputation rests firmly on the lively cartoons and popular fiction that made him a distinctive voice of his era.