W. B. Rands

David Allan Rands (Independent Scholar - Europe)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.07: English Writing and Culture of the Victorian Period, 1837-1901.
Vol. editors: Gillian Fenwick (University of Toronto), Jessica Gossling (Goldsmiths College, University of London)

Dates

Born 24 Dec 1823
Died 23 Apr 1882
Activity 1843-1882

Places

Born in England
Active in England

Activities

Primary

Children's/Young Adult writer
Journalist
Poet
Story-writer

Resources

Rands' Works

Save to Bookshelf

W. B. Rands (1823-1882), the Victorian “Laureate of the Nursery”, was a prolific and versatile writer in several genres. He is mostly remembered now for his many children’s verses and his two-volume

Chaucer’s England

(1869), but his largest output was in the field of essays, some specifically for children. An intuitive teacher, his stories, essays and poems for children displayed a perceptive, empathic understanding of the child’s mind. He wrote frequently about current social and philosophical topics with acute analysis, and some of his literary criticism for

The Contemporary Review

is worth re-reading. For example, in his preface to the

Complete Poems of George Eliot

(1888; ed. “Matthew Browne”), his observations led him to the conclusion that she was not a natural poet.

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573 words

Citation: Rands, David Allan. "W. B. Rands". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 22 April 2006 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=3707, accessed 26 November 2024.]