Charles William Shirley Brooks
| Charles William Shirley Brooks | |
|---|---|
From The History of "Punch" (1895)
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| Born |
29 April 1816 London, England |
| Died | 23 February 1874 (aged 57) London, England |
| Nationality | English |
| Occupation | journalist, novelist; editor of Punch |
Charles William Shirley Brooks (29 April 1816 – 23 February 1874) was a journalist and novelist. Born in London, he began his career in a solicitor's office. Shortly afterwards he took to writing, and contributed to various periodicals. In 1851 he joined the staff of Punch, to which he contributed "Essence of Parliament," and on the death of Mark Lemon in 1870 he succeeded him as editor. He published a few novels, including Aspen Court and The Gordian Knot.
Brooks was the son of William Brooks, architect, who died on 11 Dec. 1867, aged 80, by his wife Elizabeth, the eldest daughter of William Sabine of Islington. He was born at 52 Doughty Street, London, 29 April 1816, and after his earlier education was articled, on 24 April 1832, to his uncle, Mr. Charles Sabine of Oswestry, for the term of five years, and passed the Incorporated Law Society's examination in November 1838, but there is no record of his ever having become a solicitor, for the natural bent of his genius impelled him, like Dickens and Disraeli, to lighter studies, and he forsook law for literature.
During five sessions he occupied a seat in the reporters' gallery of the House of Commons, as the writer of the parliamentary summary in the Morning Chronicle. In 1853 he was sent by that journal as special commissioner to inquire into the questions connected with the subject of labour and the poor in Russia, Syria, and Egypt. His letters from these countries were afterwards collected and published in the sixth volume of the Travellers' Library, under the title of the Russians of the South.
In early times, 1842, he signed his articles which were appearing in Ainsworth's Magazine Charles W. Brooks. His second literary signature was C. Shirley Brooks, and finally he became Shirley Brooks. His full Christian names were Charles William Shirley, the latter being an old name in the family. His first magazine papers, among which were A Lounge in the Œil de Bœuf, An Excursion of some English Actors to China, Cousin Emily, and The Shrift on the Rail, brought him into communication with Harrison Ainsworth, Laman Blanchard, and other well-known men, and he soon became the centre of a strong muster of literary friends, who found pleasure in his wit and social qualities. As a dramatist he frequently achieved considerable success, without, however, once making any ambitious effort—such, for example, as producing a five-act comedy. His original drama, The Creole, or Love's Fetters, was produced at the Lyceum 8 April 1847 with marked applause. A lighter piece, entitled Anything for a Change, was brought out at the same house 7 June 1848. Two years afterwards, 5 Aug. 1850, his two-act drama, the Daughter of the Stars, was acted at the New Strand Theatre. The exhibition of 1851 gave occasion for his writing The Exposition: a Scandinavian Sketch, containing as much irrelevant matter as possible in one act, which was produced at the Strand on 28 April in that year.
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