
author
1816–1872
A lively Victorian journalist and humorist, this Punch writer brought wit, social observation, and a sharp eye for everyday life to his work. His writing ranges from comic sketches and plays to vivid pieces about London and its people.

by William Makepeace Thackeray, Gilbert Abbott À Beckett, Henry Mayhew, Horace Mayhew, Albert Smith

by William Makepeace Thackeray, Gilbert Abbott À Beckett, Henry Mayhew, Horace Mayhew, Albert Smith
Born in London in 1816, Horace Mayhew was a journalist, dramatist, and humorist best known for his work with Punch. He was the younger brother of Henry Mayhew, and he built a literary career of his own through comic writing, stage work, and magazine journalism.
He wrote plays, sketches, and prose works including The Tooth-Ache, and he was associated with the brisk, satirical style that made Victorian periodicals so popular. His writing often mixed comedy with close observation of ordinary life, giving it both charm and a strong sense of place.
Mayhew died in 1872. Though he is less widely remembered than some of his contemporaries, his work still offers a vivid glimpse of 19th-century London and the playful, fast-moving world of Victorian journalism.