ABSTRACT
Benjamin Leopold Farjeon was born in 1838, ‘brought up in poverty, almost without education. His home was in Whitechapel. The charmed story of Farjeon’s life has been told by his distinguished daughter, Eleanor, and to understand how he eventually came to have his work published in London it is necessary to know something of his background as she describes it. Sadleir acknowledges Farjeon as ‘one of the most popular writers of sensation fiction of his day, whatever degree of oblivion may have overtaken him’, but describes him, mistakenly, as being of Australian origin. William Tinsley’s first English edition, rewritten by Farjeon for his English market, was in his usual cloth boards, in two volumes, issued in 1870. Farjeon’s work continued to be published from Catherine Street until Tinsley finally had to leave the publishing business. In the meantime, his daughter wrote: he went everywhere, knew everybody, did everything.
