author

of Exeter F.S.A. William Cotton

Best known for a practical Victorian guide to saving, banking, and investing, this Exeter-based writer brought everyday money questions down to earth. He also had a strong local historian’s eye, writing books that preserved the civic past of Devon and Exeter.

1 Audiobook

Everybody's Guide to Money Matters With a description of the various investments chiefly dealt in on the stock exchange, and the mode of dealing therein

Everybody's Guide to Money Matters With a description of the various investments chiefly dealt in on the stock exchange, and the mode of dealing therein

by of Exeter F.S.A. William Cotton

About the author

William Cotton was an English banker, Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, and treasurer of the county of Devon. Sources connected with his books describe him as a longtime Exeter figure with a practical interest in finance and public administration.

His best-known book, Everybody's Guide to Money Matters (1898), was written to help ordinary readers understand banking, investments, and the risks waiting for unwary investors. The same source also credits him as the originator of the postal order system, which helps explain the book’s clear, hands-on approach to money.

Cotton also wrote on the history of Exeter and Devon, including An Elizabethan Guild of the City of Exeter and Gleanings from the Municipal and Cathedral Records Relative to the History of the City of Exeter. I couldn't confirm a suitable portrait image from the pages available here, so no profile image is included.