author
Herbert C. MacIlwaine
A Belfast-born writer, music teacher, and publisher’s reader, he moved between literary life and folk culture with unusual ease. His work ranges from fiction shaped by Australian experience to early writing on Morris dancing in England.
1 Audiobook
The Morris Book, Part 1 A History of Morris Dancing, With a Description of Eleven Dances as Performed by the Morris-Men of England
by Cecil J. (Cecil James) Sharp, Herbert C. MacIlwaine
About the author
Born in Belfast in 1859, Herbert Charles MacIlwaine was the son of the Rev. Dr. William MacIlwaine. Archival and reference sources describe him as an Irish writer and music teacher, and note that he later worked in London as a publisher’s reader.
He spent several years in Australia, and that experience fed into his fiction, which often drew on bush life and colonial settings. He also wrote novels published in Britain, showing a career that moved comfortably between popular storytelling and literary work behind the scenes.
MacIlwaine is also remembered for his connection to English folk culture. He worked with Cecil J. Sharp on The Morris Book, an early and influential publication on Morris dancing, and he served as musical director for the Esperance Girls' Club in London. He died in 1916.