Robert Smith Surtees

Born in 1805, Robert Smith Surtees was an English editor, novelist, and sporting writer who became famous under the name R. S. Surtees. He first gained attention through Jorrocks's Jaunts and Jollities, a series that introduced the comic cockney sportsman John Jorrocks, one of his best-known characters.

Surtees wrote about hunting, horses, and rural society with a style that was funny, energetic, and full of detail. Among his best-known novels are Handley Cross, Mr. Sponge's Sporting Tour, and Ask Mamma, books that helped define the sporting novel in Victorian England.

Although his work grew out of the hunting world, its appeal has lasted because of its vivid characters and its warm, often satirical view of people and manners. He died in 1864, but he is still remembered as one of the great comic voices of English sporting fiction.