author
Thomas Seccombe
1866–1923
A prolific literary scholar and biographer, he helped shape one of Britain’s great reference works while writing hundreds of lives himself. His books on figures such as Samuel Johnson and the poets laureate show a strong feel for English literary history.
1 Audiobook
George Borrow Times Literary Supplement, 10th July 1903
by Thomas Seccombe
About the author
Born in 1866, this English writer was educated at Felsted and Balliol College, Oxford, where he took a first in Modern History in 1889. He went on to become assistant editor of the Dictionary of National Biography from 1891 to 1901, contributing more than 700 entries himself.
He wrote across biography, criticism, and literary history, and is often described as a miscellaneous writer in the broad, old-fashioned sense: someone equally at home with lives of major figures, editorial work, and surveys of English literature. His published books include The Age of Johnson and The Poets Laureate of England.
He died in 1923. Although he is not widely remembered as a household name, his work fed directly into the reference tradition that still shapes how many readers first meet writers, scholars, and historical figures.