Robert Edward Francillon (1841–1919) was an English journalist and author. He was active in the later decades of the 19th century, and rose to be managing editor of '' The Globe''.

Life and career

Born in

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...

, Francillon trained as a barrister but turned to journalism. He was at various times a contributor to ''

Blackwood's Magazine ''Blackwood's Magazine'' was a British magazine and miscellany printed between 1817 and 1980. It was founded by publisher William Blackwood and originally called the ''Edinburgh Monthly Magazine'', but quickly relaunched as ''Blackwood's Edinb ...

'' and an editor of ''

Tatler ''Tatler'' (stylised in all caps) is a British magazine published by Condé Nast Publications. It focuses on fashion and lifestyle, as well as coverage of high society and politics. It is targeted towards the British upper and upper-middle c ...

''. He contributed for many years to the Christmas numbers of ''

The Gentleman's Magazine ''The Gentleman's Magazine'' was a monthly magazine founded in London, England, by Edward Cave in January 1731. It ran uninterrupted for almost 200 years, until 1907, ceasing publication altogether in 1922. It was the first to use the term ''m ...

'', and sold many short stories to newspapers. (Most of those that were published in Australia can be read on-line thanks to the

Trove Trove is an Australian online library database owned by the National Library of Australia in which it holds partnerships with source providers National and State Libraries Australia, an aggregator and service which includes full text documen ...

service of the National Library of Australia.) His novel ''Jack Doyle's Daughter'' lets a

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

gentleman loose in Bohemian London. It has been called an "incoherent" tale involving an "heiress with six possible fathers". Francillon's review "

George Eliot Mary Ann Evans (22 November 1819 – 22 December 1880; alternatively Mary Anne or Marian), known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator, and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She wrot ...

's First Romance (1876)" defends ''

Daniel Deronda ''Daniel Deronda'' is a novel by English author George Eliot, pen name of Mary Ann Evans, first published in eight parts (books) February to September 1876. It was the last novel she completed and the only one set in the Victorian society of ...

'' from early critics. He notes that as a romance it differs in kind from ''

Adam Bede ''Adam Bede'' was the first novel by English author George Eliot, pen name of Mary Ann Evans, first published in 1859. It was published pseudonymously, even though Evans was a well-published and highly respected scholar of her time. The novel ...

'' or ''

Middlemarch ''Middlemarch, A Study of Provincial Life'' is a novel by English author George Eliot, the pen name of Mary Ann Evans. It appeared in eight installments (volumes) in 1871 and 1872. Set in Middlemarch, a fictional English Midlands town, in 1829 ...

'': "It lies so far outside George Eliot's other works in every important respect as to make direct comparison impossible." In 1890, Francillon was reported to be the managing editor of the London newspaper ''The Globe''. Along with

Swinburne Algernon Charles Swinburne (5 April 1837 – 10 April 1909) was an English poet, playwright, novelist and critic. He wrote many plays – all tragedies – and collections of poetry such as '' Poems and Ballads'', and contributed to the Eleve ...

, Francillon, belonged to Thomas Purnell's literary club "Decemviri", and was an early member of the neo-Jacobite body known as the

Order of the White Rose The Order of the White Rose of Finland (; ) is one of three official Order (decoration), orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty, and the Order of the Lion of Finland. The President of Finland is the Grand Master of all ...

. Francillon married a daughter of the composer

John Barnett John Barnett (15 July 1802 – 16 April 1890) was an English composer and writer on music. Life Barnett was the eldest son of a Prussian Jew named Bernhard Beer, who changed his surname on settling in England as a jeweller. According to some h ...

, who was also a goddaughter of

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic music, Romantic period. With a diverse List of compositions by Franz Liszt, body of work spanning more than six ...

Some works by Francillon

;Short stories and novelettes, published in Australian newspapers *''Olympia'' *''A Queen of Trumps'' *''Queen Cophetua'' *''A Bad Bargain'' *''Esther's Glove'' *''The Seal of the Snake'' *''The Way of the Wind'', first published in the ''London Almanac'' in 1888 *''Golden Rod'' *''No Conjuror'' *''Fad and Her Fetish'' *''The Luck of Luke Parris'' *''Veni, Vidi, Vici'' *''A Learned Lady'' *''Silver and Gold'' *''Double Sixes'' *''M or N'' *''Owen Murtagh's Girl'' *''An Obstinate Blockhead'' ;Songs * * * ;Books * * * * * * *

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Francillon, Robert Edward 1841 births 1919 deaths English male short story writers English short story writers 19th-century English novelists Converts to Roman Catholicism Neo-Jacobite Revival