William Hamilton Maxwell | |
|---|---|
_Portrait_in_his_%2527Wanderings_in_the_Highlands_and_Islands%2527.jpg) | |
| Born | 1792 |
| Died | 1850 |
| Genre | Novelist |
| Subject | Military history, military fiction |
William Hamilton Maxwell (30 June 1792 inNewry, County Down, Ireland – 29 December 1850 inMusselburgh, Scotland) was an Irishnovelist,historian andclergyman.[1]
Maxwell William Hamilton, son of merchant James Maxwell and his wife, a daughter of William Hamilton, was born on June 30, 1792, in Market Street, Newry, County Down. Educated at David Henderson's Newry school and alsoTrinity College, Dublin, where he commenced his tertiary learning.[1] He claimed to have entered theBritish Army and seen service in thePeninsular War and theBattle of Waterloo, but this is generally believed to be untrue.[2] Compelled by circumstances, he pursued a path in holy orders. After his ordination in 1813, he was first assigned to the humblecuracy of Clonallon, overlookingCarlingford Bay.Afterwards he took orders, but was deprived of his living for non-residence.[3]
His novels,O'Hara (1825), andStories from Waterloo (1834) started the school of rollicking military fiction, which culminated in the novels ofCharles Lever. Maxwell also wrote aLife of theDuke of Wellington (1839–1841), and aHistory of theIrish Rebellion of 1798 (1845) - written in a spirit hostile to the rebels, and accompanied with similarly hostile illustrations byGeorge Cruikshank.[4]
Maxwell married Mary Dobbin, daughter of Thomas Dobbin.[5]
On December 29, 1850, William Hamilton Maxwell passed away inMusselburgh,Scotland. He was fifty-five years old.[6]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Cousin, John William (1910).A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature. London: J. M. Dent & Sons – viaWikisource.
