Alexander James Duffield (1821–1890) was an English mining engineer, Hispanist and writer.

Life

Duffield was born at

Tettenhall Tettenhall is an historic village within the City of Wolverhampton, England. Tettenhall became part of Wolverhampton in 1966, along with Bilston, Wednesfield and parts of Willenhall, Coseley and Sedgley. History Tettenhall's name derives fr ...

, near

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunians ...

in Staffordshire. He married and emigrated to South America, spending some years in Bolivia and Peru as a mining chemist, and learning Spanish. He had plans, which proved unsuccessful, to introduce

alpaca The alpaca (''Lama pacos'') is a species of South American camelid mammal. It is similar to, and often confused with, the llama. However, alpacas are often noticeably smaller than llamas. The two animals are closely related and can success ...

s into Australia, several times visited

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

, and reported to the

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

government on labour for the sugar plantations. Subsequently he travelled in Spain and other countries, and for some time held an appointment under the government of Canada.

Works

Duffield published: *''Masston: a Story of these Modern Days'' (London, 1877), novel, with

Walter Herries Pollock Walter Herries Pollock (21 February 1850 – 21 February 1926) was an English writer, poet, lecturer and journalist. He is best known as editor of the '' Saturday Review'', a position he held from 1884 to 1894, but also had published various misc ...

. *''Peru in the Guano Age: being a short Account of a recent Visit to the Guano Deposits, with some Reflections on the Money they have produced and the Uses to which it has been applied'' (1877). *''Needless Misery at Home and abounding Treasure in the West under our own Flag; Old Town and New Domains, or Birmingham and Canada revisited'' (1880), advocacy of English parishes purchasing land in Canada . *''The Prospects of Peru, the End of the Guano Age and a Description thereof, with some Account of the Guano Deposits and "Nitrate" Plains'' (1881). *''

Don Quixote is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615, its full title is ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'' or, in Spanish, (changing in Part 2 to ). A founding work of West ...

'' (1881, translator), as ''The Ingenious Knight Don Quixote de la Mancha, a New Translation from the Originals of 1605 and 1608, with some Notes of Bowie, J. A. Pellicer, Clemencin, and others'' (1881, 3 vols.) This was work begun with Henry Edward Watts, of which two separate versions appeared. It hada bibliographical account of the books of chivalry connected with the story, and passages in verse rendered by James Young Gibson. *''Don Quixote, his Critics and Commentators, with a brief Account of the Minor Works of Cervantes and a Statement of the Aim of the greatest of them all'' (1881). *''The Beauty of the World: a Story of this Generation'', 1886

885 Year 885 ( DCCCLXXXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – Emperor Charles the Fat summons a meeting of officials at Lobith (moder ...

3 vols. *''Recollections of Travels Abroad'' (1889). Duffield also contributed a note on "The Lost Art of Hardening Copper" to

Heinrich Schliemann Johann Ludwig Heinrich Julius Schliemann (; 6 January 1822 – 26 December 1890) was a German businessman and pioneer in the field of archaeology. He was an advocate of the historicity of places mentioned in the works of Homer and an archaeolog ...

's ''Ilios; the City and Country of the Trojans'' (Leipzig, 1880).

Notes

Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Duffield, Alexander James 1821 births 1890 deaths English engineers English translators 19th-century British translators English male novelists 19th-century English novelists 19th-century English male writers English male non-fiction writers