author

William Mackay

b. 1846

A Belfast-born journalist and novelist, he wrote popular late-Victorian fiction with a lively feel for literary life. His work included novels such as Beside Still Waters and the memoir-like Bohemian Days in Fleet Street.

1 Audiobook

Unvarnished Tales

Unvarnished Tales

by William Mackay

About the author

Born in Belfast in 1846, he came from a notably literary family: both of his brothers, Joseph William Mackay and Wallis Mackay, also wrote. Sources describe him as the son of the Rev. Joseph William Mackay, and note that he later moved to London, where he worked as a journalist and publisher.

He is remembered for fiction and literary nonfiction from the late nineteenth century. Confirmed titles include Pro Patria: The Autobiography of an Irish Conspirator (1883), Beside Still Waters (1885), The Popular Idol, and Bohemian Days in Fleet Street. Those works suggest a writer interested both in storytelling and in the world of newspapers, publishing, and public life.

Available reference sources give only a brief outline of his life, but they agree on the essentials: he was an Irish-born writer active in Victorian literary circles, with a career that bridged journalism and books. He is generally listed as living from 1846 to 1907.