author
Thomas Wright
1859–1936
A prolific English biographer and local historian, he spent much of his life in Olney, Buckinghamshire, writing vivid studies of literary figures and the town he knew best.
1 Audiobook
The Life of Sir Richard Burton
by Thomas Wright
About the author
Born in Olney, Buckinghamshire, in 1859, he worked for many years as a schoolmaster and founded Cowper School there in 1882, later serving as its principal. Alongside his teaching, he built a reputation as a hardworking man of letters with a strong interest in local history and literary biography.
His books include studies of Daniel Defoe, Walter Pater, Edward FitzGerald, and William Cowper, as well as works connected to Olney such as The Town of Cowper and The Romance of the Lace Pillow. That mix of careful research and affection for place gave his writing a distinctive character.
He died in 1936, but he remains closely associated with Olney and its literary heritage. For readers who enjoy older biography, regional history, and the world of late Victorian and Edwardian letters, his work still offers an engaging window into both famous lives and the culture around them.