author
Walter Thornbury
1828–1876
A lively Victorian man of letters, he wrote across history, poetry, art, fiction, and London lore. Best remembered now for his writing on J. M. W. Turner and the city he knew so well, he brought curiosity and color to almost everything he touched.
5 Audiobooks
Old and New London, Volume I A Narrative of Its History, Its People, and Its Places
by Walter Thornbury
The Monarchs of the Main; Or, Adventures of the Buccaneers. Volume 1 (of 3)
by Walter Thornbury
The Monarchs of the Main; Or, Adventures of the Buccaneers. Volume 3 (of 3)
by Walter Thornbury
The Monarchs of the Main; Or, Adventures of the Buccaneers. Volume 2 (of 3)
by Walter Thornbury
Haunted London
by Walter Thornbury
About the author
Born in London on November 13, 1828, George Walter Thornbury was the son of a solicitor and was educated in Surrey. Although he was originally expected to enter the church and also spent time studying art, he turned instead to writing and journalism.
Thornbury became a notably versatile Victorian author. He contributed to major periodicals including Athenaeum, Household Words, and All the Year Round, and published work in many forms: poems, novels, essays, art criticism, and books of topographical and historical writing. He is often noted as the first biographer of J. M. W. Turner, and his books on London helped preserve the atmosphere, stories, and odd corners of the city for later readers.
He died in London on June 11, 1876, aged just 47. Even with his short life, his range was remarkable, and his work still appeals to readers interested in Victorian London, nineteenth-century journalism, and the literary world around Dickens and Turner.