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Vaughan Wilkins

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William Vaughan Wilkins (March 6, 1890 – February 1959) was an English historical novelist and journalist born and raised in England.[1] Wilkins was interested in Welsh history, and some of his stories have Welsh settings, causing some writers to mistakenly describe Wilkins as Welsh.[1]

Biography

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Vaughan Wilkins was born in Camberwell, London. His father, William Henry Wilkins, was a clergyman (born in Nottingham in 1857) and his mother, Charlotte Wilkins, née Law, a voice teacher (born in London).[2] He married Mary Isabel Stanistreet and had two children.

Wilkins spent some time working as a journalist for the Daily Express. He was noted for his novel And So - Victoria about Queen Victoria, which became a surprise bestseller in the United States.[1][3] Fanfare for a Witch focuses on intrigue in the court of George II.[4] Wilkins also wrote two "lost world" fantasy novels inspired by Celtic mythology, The City of Frozen Fire (1950) and Valley Beyond Time (1955).[5]

His grave is in the churchyard in Farnsfield, Notts and states that his birthplace was Ross-on-Wye.[citation needed]

Bibliography

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  • Sidelights on Industrial Revolution (Jarrolds, 1925)
  • And So – Victoria (Cape, 1937)
  • Endless Prelude (Routledge, 1937)
  • Looking Back To See Straight (Individualist Bookshop,1942)
  • Seven Tempest (Cape, 1942)
  • Being Met Together (Cape, 1944)
  • After Bath, or, if you prefer, the Remarkable case of the flying hat… (Cape, 1945)
  • Once Upon A Time, An Adventure (Cape, 1949)
  • The City of Frozen Fire (Cape, 1950)
  • [Introduces] Hermsprong; or, Man as he is not…by Robert Bage (Turnstile Press, 1951)
  • A King Reluctant (Cape, 1952)
  • Crown Without Sceptre (Cape, 1952)
  • Fanfare for a Witch (Cape, 1954)
  • Valley Beyond Time (Cape, 1955)
  • And So – Victoria (Revised edition, Pan, 1956)
  • Lady of Paris (Cape, 1956)
  • Dangerous Exile (Retitled edition of A King Reluctant, Pan, 1957)
  • Husband for Victoria (Cape, 1958)

of which:

History

  • Endless prelude: an historical anthology
  • Sidelights on industrial evolution

For children

  • After Bath or (if you prefer) The Remarkable Case of the Flying Hat

References

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  1. ^ a b c Stanley Kunitz and H. W. Wilson Twentieth Century Authors: A Biographical Dictionary of Modern Literature. Supplement, Volume 1. New York, 1955. (p. 1083)
  2. ^ "Vaughan Wilkins (1890-1959)". 13 November 2013.
  3. ^ TIME magazine review of "And So-Victoria"
  4. ^ "Have You Read..."Fanfare for a Witch" by Vaughan Wilkins". Meridan Record, August 5th, 1954 (p.4).
  5. ^ Brian Stableford, "Wilkins, Vaughan (William)" in St. James Guide To Fantasy Writers, ed. David Pringle, St. James Press, 1996, ISBN 1-55862-205-5, p. 611-12.
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