John G. (John George) Edgar

Born in 1834, he was the fourth son of the Rev. John Edgar of Hutton, Berwickshire. Before fully turning to writing, he worked in business in Liverpool and traveled to the West Indies on mercantile affairs, but he soon left commerce behind for a literary career.

He became known for clear, fast-moving books aimed largely at boys, especially works drawn from British history and heroic lives. Among his best-known titles are The Boyhood of Great Men, History for Boys, Boy Princes, The Heroes of England, The Wars of the Roses, The Crusades and the Crusaders, and Sea Kings and Naval Heroes. He was also the first editor of Every Boy's Magazine and wrote political articles for the London press.

Edgar was especially associated with early English and Scottish history and with the storytelling traditions of the border country. His career was productive but brief: after years of intense work, his health failed, and he died on April 22, 1864.