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Neil Wynn Williams

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Neil Wynn Williams
Born(1864-02-14)14 February 1864
Hampstead, London, England
Died1 February 1940(1940-02-01) (aged 75)
Bedford, England
EducationBedford Modern School
Known forAuthor

Neil Wynn Williams (14 February 1864 – 1 February 1940) was a British novelist, writer and contributor of short stories and articles to the periodicals and journals of his time.[1][2][3][4][5][6]

Life

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Neil Wynn Williams was born in Hampstead on 14 February 1864, the son of William Rudyard Wynn Williams and Elizabeth Blackwell Campbell Williams (née Lambert).[7] He was educated at Bedford Modern School between 1887 and 1891.[8]

Wynn-Williams's initial published works were two volumes of Greek folklore, Tales And Sketches of Modern Greece that was published in 1894 and The Bayonet That Came Home: A Vanity Of Modern Greece that was published in 1896.[9] In 1904 he was asked to contribute to a writer's view of Paris and wrote about the catacombs of the city.[10]

Wynn-William's science fiction novel, The Electric Theft, was first published in 1906.[11][12] Although critically judged as having ‘little literary merit’, the novel is suggestive of Ian Fleming’s later James Bond novels: the hero, Reginald Burton, discovers that an anarchist, Boleroff, is in command of a vast electrolytic lake under London that he harnesses for his own means, cutting off London's electricity supply.[13] All the while Burton is having an affair with a daughter of a wealthy British capitalist.[13] At the end of the novel, Boleroff accidentally kills himself.[13]

Wynn-Williams died in Bedford on 1 February 1940.[14] He and his brother, Douglas Wynn Williams, had been accomplished oarsmen in their schooldays and endowed a rowing prize for the fastest pair at their old school.[8] Wynn-Williams was survived by his wife, whom he had married in London on 4 September 1903, and three children.[15]

Selected bibliography

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  • Tales And Sketches of Modern Greece. Published by The Bedford Publishing Co., London, David Nutt, 1894[16]
  • The Bayonet That Came Home: A Vanity Of Modern Greece. Published by Edward Arnold, London and New York City, 1896[17]
  • Greek Peasant Stories; Or, Gleams And Glooms Of Grecian Colour. Published by Digby, Long & Co., London, 1899[18][19]
  • An Extraordinary Story. Published by George Newnes, Ltd, London, 1899
  • Lady Haife. A Novel, Etc.. Published London, 1901[20][21]
  • The Electric Theft. Published by Small, Maynard & Company, Boston, 1906[13]

References

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  1. ^ "Results for 'au:Williams, Neil Wynn.' [WorldCat.org]". worldcat.org. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  2. ^ Bleiler, Everett Franklin (1990). Science-fiction, the Early Years. ISBN 9780873384162. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  3. ^ Chan, Winnie (23 January 2007). The Economy of the Short Story in British Periodicals of the 1890s. ISBN 9781135868574. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  4. ^ "08 Jun 1899 – SHORT STORIES. THE TALE OF THE AMERICAN VOLUNTEER". nla.gov.au. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  5. ^ "'Photograph of Neil Wynn Williams novelist full face'. Copyright owner of work: Neil..." Government of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  6. ^ "p.256-7. The Literary Year Book, and Bookman's Directory, 1900". forgottenbooks.com. Archived from the original on 7 April 2015. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  7. ^ Certificate of Baptism, London, England. Births and Baptisms, 1813–1906
  8. ^ a b School of the Black and Red, A History of Bedford Modern School, by Andrew Underwood, 1981. Updated by Peter Boon, 2010. Paperback, p. 294
  9. ^ Bleiler, Everett Franklin (1990). Science-fiction, the Early Years. ISBN 9780873384162. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  10. ^ Singleton, Esther (1904). "Paris as Seen and Described by Famous Writers". google.co.uk. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  11. ^ "The electric theft". archive.org. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  12. ^ Reginald, R.; Menville, Douglas; Burgess, Mary A. (September 2010). Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature. ISBN 9780941028769. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  13. ^ a b c d The electric theft. OCLC 7011356.
  14. ^ England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858–1966
  15. ^ London, England, Marriages and Banns, 1754–1921
  16. ^ Tales and sketches of modern Greece. OCLC 266997198.
  17. ^ The bayonet that came home : a vanity of modern Greece. OCLC 58650610.
  18. ^ Greek peasant stories; or, Gleams and glooms of Grecian colour. OCLC 52277964.
  19. ^ "NOVELS OF THE WEEK.*". The Spectator Archive. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  20. ^ Lady Haife. A novel, etc. OCLC 315309603.
  21. ^ "Great Battles of the World". Mocavo. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
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