Theodore Watts-Dunton

Born on October 12, 1832, at St Ives in Huntingdonshire, Theodore Watts-Dunton was an English critic, poet, and novelist who was trained in the law before making his name in literature. He was known in his earlier career as Theodore Watts, adding "Dunton" later in life.

He became an influential literary critic and was especially admired for his generosity toward other writers. His long friendship with the poet Algernon Charles Swinburne is one of the best-known parts of his life, and Watts-Dunton played an important role in Swinburne's later years.

His best-known book is the novel Aylwin (1898), a popular work that drew on his fascination with Romani life and the supernatural. He died on September 6, 1914, leaving behind a reputation as a central, if sometimes overlooked, figure in Victorian literary culture.