Theodore Watts-Dunton

Jodie Matthews (University of Huddersfield)

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 12 Oct 1832
Died 6 Jun 1914
Activity 1874-1914

Places

Born in England
Active in England

Activities

Primary

Poet

Resources

Watts-Dunton's Works

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Theodore Watts-Dunton was known primarily as a literary critic for the

Athenaeum

and

Encyclopaedia Britannica

, for his romantic writing about the Romani people of England and Wales in poetry and prose fiction, and for his literary and artistic friendships, in particular his long-time support and companionship to the poet Algernon Charles Swinburne. While successful in his own lifetime, his work has fallen out of favour and is no longer generally well-known.

Walter Theodore Watts was born in 1832 in St. Ives, Huntingdonshire to John King Watts, a solicitor, and his East Anglian mother, Susannah Dunton. Theodore incorporated her surname into his own by deed poll in 1897. He was apparently enchanted by literature from a young age, with a formative experience being that of reading Spenser’s

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1051 words

Citation: Matthews, Jodie. "Theodore Watts-Dunton". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 24 February 2010 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=4630, accessed 25 November 2024.]