Sir Lascelles Wraxall

Born in Boulogne in 1828, Sir Frederic Charles Lascelles Wraxall was the grandson of the writer and politician Sir Nathaniel Wraxall. He was educated at Shrewsbury and entered St Mary Hall, Oxford, at a young age, though he did not take a degree. In 1852 he married Mary Anne Herring, and in 1863 he succeeded to the Wraxall baronetcy.

Wraxall wrote across an unusually wide range of subjects, which is why reference works often describe him as a "miscellaneous writer." He produced biographies and historical works, including books on Caroline Matilda and the House of Denmark, wrote about European politics and war, translated and adapted continental works, and published fiction and adventure narratives as well. That mix of history, travel, and storytelling makes his work appealing to readers who enjoy the energetic, wide-ranging style of Victorian nonfiction.

His life was fairly brief: he died in Vienna on June 11, 1865, at only thirty-seven. Even so, he left behind a varied shelf of books that reflects both his curiosity and the broad, magazine-like literary culture of his time.