Dictionary / Encyclopedia Article
Reference
William Hepworth Dixon
FEHLBAUM, Valérie
FEHLBAUM, Valérie. William Hepworth Dixon. In: Dictionary of Nineteenth Century Journalism in Great Britain and Ireland. Academia Press, 2009.
Available at:
http://archive-ouverte.unige.ch/unige:88407
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Dixon, William Hepworth (1821-1879).
Journalist, essayist, traveller, and historian. ‘One of the most conspicuous working men of letters in the nineteenth century’ according to the Daily Telegraph* obituary, William Hepworth Dixon originally studied Law, but never practised. He began contributing articles, signed simply ‘W.H.D.’, to the North of England Magazine (1842-3), and wrote for Douglas Jerrold’s* Illuminated Magazine* (1843). In 1846 he became editor of the Cheltenham Journal and then moved to London where he started writing for the Athenaeum* and the Daily News*, two series of papers in the latter on ‘The Literature of the Lower Orders’ and ‘London Prisons’ bringing him a certain notoreity. In 1850 he published John Howard, and the Prison World of Europe. His daughter Ella*, who helped him with his last work, Royal Windsor, described him as a ‘knight of the inkstand’ since he often wrote to defend people and causes, such as his Life of William Penn (1851) in answer to Macaulay’s criticism, his Life of Blake (1851), and his Personal History of Lord Bacon (1861), followed by The Story of Lord Bacon’s Life (1862). He became editor of the Athenaeum in January 1853 and resigned in August 1869, and thereafter continued to travel widely and write books about his experiences in Palestine, America, and various parts of Europe. He also tried his hand at fiction without much success. In 1863 he helped to found the Palestine Exploration Fund, and later became chairman. He was invited to stand for Marylebone at the general election of 1868, but declined. In the following year he became a J.P. for Middlesex and Westminster, and was a member of the London Schools Board from 1870-72. ‘His life was laborious and he died in harness’ declared the above-mentioned Daily Telegraph obituary.
Two daughters, Ella and Marion, also pursued careers in journalism, the latter primarily as an art critic contributing articles to the Magazine of Art* (1891-1991), the Ladies’ Realm (1899-1906) and Studio (1908-1913). She also contributed two short stories to the Yellow Book* and wrote book reviews for her sister’s Englishwoman* (1895).
VF (339 words) AE Joanne Shattock
Sources: DNB; ODNB; Athenaeum 3 Jan. 1880; Daily Telegraph 29 Dec. 1879; Dixon (1930).
Headword Index Athenaeum Daily News Daily Telegraph Ella Hepworth Dixon Englishwoman
Illuminated Magazine Douglas Jerrold Magazine of Art Yellow Book
Name Index
Dixon, William Hepworth, John Howard, and the Prison World of Europe Dixon, William Hepworth, Royal Windsor
Dixon, William Hepworth, Life of William Penn Dixon, William Hepworth, Life of Blake
Dixon, William Hepworth, Personal History of Lord Bacon Dixon, William Hepworth, The Story of Lord Bacon’s Life
Theme Index Biography Signature Travel articles
References
Dixon, Ella Hepworth. As I Knew Them. London: Hutchinson and Company 1930.
Unsigned Obituaries: Athenaeum 3 Jan. 1880, pp. 19-20; Daily Telegraph 29 Dec. 1879, p. 5;
Illustrated London News 3 Jan. 1880, p. 23; The Times 29 Dec. 1879, p. 4.
