author
Samuel Phillips
1814–1854
A lively Victorian man of letters, he moved from fiction into journalism and became known for sharp literary writing and for helping interpret the spectacle of the Crystal Palace for a broad public.
1 Audiobook
The Palace and Park Its Natural History, and Its Portrait Gallery, Together with a Description of the Pompeian Court
by Samuel Phillips, Edward Forbes, R. G. (Robert Gordon) Latham, Richard Owen, George Scharf, F. K. J. (Francis Kingston John) Shenton
About the author
Born in London on December 28, 1814, Samuel Phillips was an English journalist and novelist. He studied at University College London and at Göttingen, and later entered Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, before turning fully toward literary work.
Phillips first drew notice with the novel Caleb Stukely and went on to work in journalism, including for the Morning Herald and then as a literary reviewer for The Times. Selections from his newspaper essays were published in book form during his lifetime, showing how comfortably he moved between criticism, commentary, and popular writing.
He also played a part in the world surrounding the Crystal Palace, writing descriptive and guide works that helped Victorian readers and visitors make sense of one of the era's great cultural landmarks. Göttingen awarded him an honorary LL.D. in 1852, and he died in Brighton on October 14, 1854.