ABSTRACT
Alfred John Glasspool (1850–1928) provides a striking example of the parallel careers of some temperance writers. He started work in 1867 as a messenger for the Corporation of the City of London and, after a successful career, retired as Keeper of the Guildhall in 1914. However, most of his free time was devoted to temperance-related activity, and his success with local Bands of Hope led to his appointment as an honorary speaker for the national Union in 1872 which set a pattern for his continuing work with children and adults until well after the First World War. His writing career in the service of temperance was also a long one; from the age of twenty-one until his death at seventy-eight he published poems, short and serial stories, dialogues, scientific articles, many model lessons, three popular novels and the best-selling textbook The Band of Hope Companion, almost all of which appeared originally in periodicals. Glasspool’s life illustrates that a career in writing, gaining recognition and satisfaction, need not be financially rewarded to merit study and respect.
