author
Henry Festing Jones
1851–1928
A close friend and literary executor of Samuel Butler, he turned a solicitor’s training into clear, lively writing on books, travel, and music. His work helped preserve Butler’s legacy while also showing his own sharp, curious mind.
4 Audiobooks
Samuel Butler: A Sketch
by Henry Festing Jones
The Samuel Butler Collection at Saint John's College, Cambridge A Catalogue and a Commentary
by Henry Festing Jones, A. T. (Augustus Theodore) Bartholomew
Diversions in Sicily
by Henry Festing Jones
Castellinaria, and Other Sicilian Diversions
by Henry Festing Jones
About the author
Born in London in 1851, Henry Festing Jones was an English solicitor, writer, and amateur musician. He studied at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, qualified in law, and later became best known for his long friendship with Samuel Butler, eventually giving up legal practice to work closely with him.
After Butler’s death, Jones played a major role in shaping how later readers understood the author of Erewhon. He edited Butler’s notebooks and other writings, and his Samuel Butler, Author of Erewhon (1835–1902): A Memoir won the first James Tait Black Memorial Prize for biography in 1919.
Jones also wrote travel books and essays of his own, especially about Sicily, combining observation, humor, and a strong sense of place. He died in 1928, remembered not only as Butler’s devoted friend and biographer, but as a graceful prose writer in his own right.