George Manville Fenn
George Manville Fenn was a prolific English novelist, journalist, editor and educationalist. Many of his novels were written for young adults. His final book was a biography of his fellow writer for juveniles, George Alfred Henty.
Fenn, the third
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George Manville Fenn was a prolific English novelist, journalist, editor and educationalist. Many of his novels were written for young adults. His final book was a biography of his fellow writer for juveniles, George Alfred Henty.
Fenn, the third child and eldest son of a butler, Charles Fenn, was largely self-educated, teaching himself French, German and Italian. After studying at Battersea Training College for Teachers (1851–1854), he became the master of a national school at Alford, Lincolnshire. Fenn later became a printer, editor and publisher of some short-lived periodicals, before attracting the attention of Charles Dickens and others with a sketch for "All the Year Round" in 1864. He contributed to "Chambers' Journal" and to the magazine "Once a Week". In 1866, he wrote a series of articles on working-class life for the newspaper The Star. These were collected and republished in four volumes and were followed by a similar series in the Weekly Times.
Fenn's first story for boys, Hollowdell Grange, appeared in 1867. It was followed by a succession of other novels for juveniles and adults. Having become the editor of Cassell's Magazine in 1870, he purchased Once a Week and edited it until it closed in 1879. He also wrote for the theatre.
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