author
John Petch Hewby
1835–1896
Best known for lively books on the card game whist, this late-Victorian writer mixed instruction with humor and a strong opinion about how the game ought to be played.
2 Audiobooks
The Decline and Fall of Whist: An Old Fashioned View of New Fangled Play
by John Petch Hewby
Whist; or, Bumblepuppy? Thirteen Lectures Addressed to Children
by John Petch Hewby
About the author
John Petch Hewby was an English author born in 1835 and died in 1896. Surviving catalog and ebook records show that he wrote several works on whist, including Whist; or, Bumblepuppy? Thirteen Lectures Addressed to Children and The Decline and Fall of Whist: An Old Fashioned View of New Fangled Play.
His writing suggests a teacherly, conversational style: he explained rules and strategy, but also used wit and argument to defend older standards of play. That makes his books more than simple manuals—they also capture a slice of card-playing culture in the late nineteenth century.
Some booksellers and bibliographic records also connect him with the name "Pembridge," but the strongest details consistently confirmed here are his dates and his whist books. I couldn't verify a reliable portrait image from the sources I found, so none is included.