Tom Hood

author

Tom Hood

1835–1874

A lively Victorian humorist and editor, he mixed wit, illustration, and storytelling in a career cut short in his thirties. Best known for comic writing and for editing Fun, he also wrote novels and books for children.

2 Audiobooks

Practical Guide to English Versification With a Compendious Dictionary of Rhymes, an Examination of Classical Measures, and Comments Upon Burlesque and Comic Verse, Vers de Société, and Song-writing

Practical Guide to English Versification With a Compendious Dictionary of Rhymes, an Examination of Classical Measures, and Comments Upon Burlesque and Comic Verse, Vers de Société, and Song-writing

by Tom Hood

Fairy Realm: A Collection of the Favourite Old Tales Told in Verse

Fairy Realm: A Collection of the Favourite Old Tales Told in Verse

by Tom Hood

About the author

Born in Essex in 1835, Tom Hood was an English humorist, playwright, author, and illustrator. He was the son of the poet and writer Thomas Hood, and he grew up in a literary family that also included his sister, Frances Freeling Broderip, who became a children's writer.

Hood wrote across several forms, from illustrated books and comic pieces to novels and children's stories. His first illustrated book was Pen and Pencil Pictures (1857), and his best-known novel is often noted as Captain Master's Children (1865). He also became editor of the comic magazine Fun in 1865, contributing writing and artwork that helped shape its light, satirical tone.

His career was productive but brief: he died in 1874 at just 39. Even so, he left behind a body of work that shows the cheerful, inventive side of Victorian literature, with a gift for blending humor, lively storytelling, and visual flair.