author
Tighe Hopkins
1856–1919
A Victorian novelist and journalist with a sharp eye for hidden corners of society, he moved from popular fiction into vivid books about prisons, old Paris, and the lives history tends to leave in the shadows. His work blends storytelling with reporting, making even serious subjects feel immediate and human.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Born in Nottingham on 8 December 1856, though of Irish parentage, Tighe Hopkins was educated at St John's, Leatherhead, and Oundle Grammar School. He married Ellen Crump in 1881, and wrote under the familiar name Tighe Hopkins rather than the fuller William Tighe Hopkins.
He first built his reputation as a novelist in the 1880s, with books including Tozer's and Other Stories, 'Twixt Love and Duty, and Nell Haffenden. Over time, his writing widened beyond fiction into journalism, travel, and historical subjects, with titles such as The Dungeons of Old Paris, An Idler in Old France, and The Women Napoleon Loved.
Hopkins also became known for writing about prison life and penal reform. Books such as The Silent Gate and Wards of the State show his interest in the realities of punishment and the treatment of prisoners, giving his work a thoughtful, investigative side as well as a narrative one. He died on 14 February 1919.