Lewis Wingfield

Born on February 25, 1842, Lewis Strange Wingfield was an Irish writer, actor, painter, and traveler, and the youngest son of Richard Wingfield, 6th Viscount Powerscourt. Educated at Eton and Bonn, he was meant for a more conventional path, but he became known instead for a lively, unconventional life and for pursuing art, the stage, and travel.

Wingfield wrote novels as well as travel-based and historical fiction, and he also worked as an actor and painter. Among the works associated with him are The Curse of Koshiu, set in Japan, and My Lords of Strogue, a historical novel. That mix of interests helps explain why his writing can feel both theatrical and vividly observed.

He died on November 12, 1891. Though not as widely remembered as some of his contemporaries, he remains an interesting figure for readers drawn to nineteenth-century writers who crossed boundaries between literature, performance, and visual art.