Walter Besant (b. 14 August 1836, Portsea, Portsmouth, d. 9 June 1901, London) was an English novelist, man of letters, humanitarian, and historian. A prolific novelist, he is best remembered for All Sorts and Conditions of Men (1882) and for a series of highly-popular novels co-authored with James Rice, including By Celia’s Arbour: a Tale of Portsmouth Town (1878). Besant, who followed a stylistically conventional and largely unremarkable form of realist fiction, is little read today. His non-fiction works include The Art of Fiction (1884) and The Pen and the Book (1899).
The son of a Portsmouth merchant, Besant was first educated in the city before studying at Stockwell Grammar School, King’s College, London, and Christ’s College, Cambridge. He spent six years teaching mathematics at the Royal College, Mauritius, before returning to the UK in 1867 and pursuing a writing career. In 1884 he co-founded and chaired the Society of Authors.
His local connections have been explored by staff at the University of Portsmouth, including Dr Paraic Finnerty, Dr Alison Habens, and Dr Christopher Pittard, and by local author Matt Wingett. Habens and Wingett have recently published a new edition of Celia's Arbour:
If you have any comments, corrections, or suggestions in relation to the map please contact Dr Mark Frost, English Literature Department, University of Portsmouth: mark.frost@port.ac.uk