BROOKS, CHARLES WILLIAM SHIRLEY (1816-1874)

This article appears in Volume V04, Page 649 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: BRI-BUN

BROOKS, CHARLES WILLIAM SHIRLEY (1816-1874) , English novelist, playwright and journalist, was born on the 29th of April 1816. He was the son of a London architect, and was articled in 1832 to a solicitor for five years. He became parliamentary reporter for the Morning Chronicle, and in 1853 was sent by that

paper

PAPER
PAPER (Fr. papier, from Lat. papyrus)

special

SPECIAL

commissioner

COMMISSIONER

to investigate the subject of labour and the poor in southern Russia, Egypt and Syria; the result of his inquiries appearing first in the form of letters to the editor, and afterwards is a separate volume, under the title of The Russians of the South (1856). He wrote, sometimes alone, sometimes in conjunction with others, slight dramatic pieces of the

burlesque

BURLESQUE (Ital. burlesco, from burla, a joke, fun, playful
trick
- TRICK
)

kind, among which- may be mentioned Anything for a

Change

CHANGE (derived through the Fr. from the Late Lat. cambium, cambiare, to barter; the ultimate derivation is probably from the root which appears in the Gr. 冠 urmu', to bend)

(1848), The Daughter of the Stars (185o). Brooks was for many years on the staff of the Illustrated London News, contributing the weekly article on the politics of the day, and the two

series

SERIES (a Latin word from serere, to join)

entitled " Nothing in the Papers " and " By the Way." In 1851 he joined the staff of Punch, and noteworthy among his numerous contributions were the weekly satirical summaries of the parliamentary debates, entitled " The Essence of Parliament." His long service as newspaper reporter gave him

special

SPECIAL

aptitude for this playful parody. In 1870, on the death of Mark Lemon, " dear old Shirley," as his friends used to call him, was chosen to succeed to the editorial chair. His first novel,

Aspen

ASPEN

Court, was published in 1855. It was followed by The Gordian Knot (186o), The Silver Cord (1861) and Sooner or Later (1868). Brooks was a great

letter

LETTER (through Fr. lettre from Lat. littera or litera, letter of the alphabet; the origin of the Latin word is obscure; it has probably no connexion with the root of linere, to smear, i.e. with wax, for an inscription with a stilus)

-writer, deliberately cultivating the practice as an art, and imitating the style in vogue before

newspapers

NEWSPAPERS

and telegraphs suppressed private letters. He had an astonishing memory, was brilliant as an epigrammatist, was a great reader and a most genial companion. He was in his element with a group of children, reading to them, sharing their fun and always remembering the birthdays. He died in London, on the 23rd of February 1874, and was buried near his friends Leech and Thackeray, in Kensal Green cemetery.
See G. S. Layard, A Great " Punch" Editor: Being the Life, Letters and Diaries of Shirley Brooks (1907.)

End of Article: BROOKS, CHARLES WILLIAM SHIRLEY (1816-1874)

If you wish, you can link directly to this article.

<a href="http://jcsm.org/StudyCenter/Encyclopedia/BRI_BUN/BROOKS_CHARLES_WILLIAM_SHIRLEY.html">
BROOKS, CHARLES WILLIAM SHIRLEY (1816-1874)
</a>

(Previous)
BROOKLYN

(Next)
BROOKS, PHILLIPS (1835-1893)

JCSM was founded in 1997 and exists to help the community and bring people into a life-changing and productive relationship with Jesus Christ. JCSM offers over 200,000 free web pages, including its weekly inspirational emails that were sent continuously for over a decade.

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries
P.O. Box 9297
San Diego, CA 92169
1-888-887-0417 or Email