author
William Bodham Donne
1807–1882
A thoughtful Victorian man of letters, he moved between journalism, libraries, and the London stage. Best known as Examiner of Plays, he also edited historical works and wrote essays that reflected a lifelong love of literature and the classics.
1 Audiobook
Old Roads and New Roads
by William Bodham Donne
About the author
Born on July 29, 1807, William Bodham Donne was an English journalist, essayist, librarian, and public official. He studied at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he was connected with a brilliant intellectual circle, and over time built a career grounded in reading, criticism, and scholarship.
Donne worked in journalism and later became librarian to the Duke of Bedford at Woburn. In 1857 he was appointed Examiner of Plays, the office responsible for licensing plays for performance in Britain, a role that made him an important figure in Victorian theatrical life. He also edited historical and literary material, including volumes connected with the correspondence of George III and Lord North and a translation of Caesar.
He died on June 20, 1882. Though he is less widely remembered than some of his contemporaries, Donne's career gives a vivid picture of the nineteenth-century literary world: learned, practical, and closely tied to the institutions that shaped reading and performance in Britain.