author
Theodore Watts-Dunton
1832–1914
A lively Victorian man of letters, he moved easily between criticism, poetry, and fiction while staying deeply connected to the literary world around him. He is often remembered for his long friendship with Algernon Charles Swinburne, but his own writing and sharp critical voice made him a notable figure in late 19th-century English literature.
2 Audiobooks
Old Familiar Faces
by Theodore Watts-Dunton
Aylwin
by Theodore Watts-Dunton
About the author
Born in St Ives, Huntingdonshire, on October 12, 1832, he was educated for the law and worked as a solicitor in London before literature became his main calling. He wrote extensively as a critic, especially on poetry, and became a familiar presence in major literary circles of his time.
He contributed to important periodicals including The Examiner and The Athenaeum, where he spent many years as a leading poetry critic. He also wrote for the Encyclopaedia Britannica and was known for friendships with writers and artists of the Victorian period, most famously Algernon Charles Swinburne, whose household and career he helped steady in later life.
As an author, he published poetry as well as prose, and his best-known novel is Aylwin (1898), a romantic work shaped by his interest in Romani life and folklore. Originally known as Theodore Watts, he added his mother’s surname and became Watts-Dunton in the 1890s; he died in London on June 6, 1914.