Neil Wynn Williams

Neil Wynn Williams (14 February 1864 – 1 February 1940) was a British novelist, writer and contributor of short stories and articles to the periodicals and journals of his time.[1][2][3][4][5][6]

Life

Neil Wynn Williams was born in Hampstead on 14 February 1864, the son of William Rudyard Wynn Williams and Elizabeth Blackwell Campbell Williams (née Lambert).[7][8] He was educated at Bedford Modern School between 1887 and 1891.[9]

Wynn-Williams's initial published works were two volumes of Greek folklore, Tales And Sketches of Modern Greece that was published in 1894 and The Bayonet That Came Home: A Vanity Of Modern Greece that was published in 1896.[10] In 1904 he was asked to contribute to a writer's view of Paris and wrote about the catacombs of the City.[11]

Wynn-William's science fiction novel, The Electric Theft, was first published in 1906.[12][13] Although critically judged as having ‘little literary merit’, the novel is suggestive of Ian Fleming’s later James Bond novels: the hero, Reginald Burton, discovers that an anarchist, Boleroff, is in command of a vast electrolytic lake under London that he harnesses for his own means, cutting off London’s electricity supply.[14] All the while Burton is having an affair with a daughter of a wealthy British capitalist.[14] At the end of the novel, Boleroff accidentally kills himself.[14]

Wynn-Williams died in Bedford on 1 February 1940.[15] He and his brother, Douglas Wynn Williams, had been accomplished oarsmen in their schooldays and endowed a rowing prize for the fastest pair at their old school.[9] Wynn-Williams was survived by his wife, whom he’d married in London on 4 September 1903, and three children.[16]

Selected bibliography
  • Tales And Sketches of Modern Greece. Published by The Bedford Publishing Co., London, David Nutt, 1894[17]
  • The Bayonet That Came Home: A Vanity Of Modern Greece. Published by Edward Arnold, London and New York City, 1896[18]
  • Greek Peasant Stories; Or, Gleams And Glooms Of Grecian Colour. Published by Digby, Long & Co., London, 1899[19][20]
  • An Extraordinary Story. Published by George Newnes, Ltd, London, 1899
  • Lady Haife. A Novel, Etc.. Published London, 1901[21][22]
  • The Electric Theft. Published by Small, Maynard & Company, Boston, 1906[14]

References
  1. "Results for 'au:Williams, Neil Wynn.' [WorldCat.org]". worldcat.org. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  2. "Science-fiction, the Early Years". google.co.uk. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  3. "The Economy of the Short Story in British Periodicals of the 1890s". google.co.uk. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  4. "08 Jun 1899 – SHORT STORIES. THE TALE OF THE AMERICAN VOLUNTEE..." nla.gov.au. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  5. "'Photograph of Neil Wynn Williams novelist full face'. Copyright owner of work: Neil..." Government of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  6. "p.256-7. The Literary Year Book, and Bookman's Directory, 1900". forgottenbooks.com. Archived from the original on 7 April 2015. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  7. Certificate of Baptism, London, England. Births and Baptisms, 1813–1906
  8. "- Person Page 22076". thepeerage.com. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  9. School of the Black and Red, A History of Bedford Modern School, by Andrew Underwood, 1981. Updated by Peter Boon, 2010. Paperback, P.294
  10. "Science-fiction, the Early Years". google.co.uk. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  11. "Paris as Seen and Described by Famous Writers". google.co.uk. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  12. "The electric theft". archive.org. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  13. "Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature". google.co.uk. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  14. "The electric theft". worldcat.org. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  15. England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858–1966
  16. London, England, Marriages and Banns, 1754–1921
  17. "Tales and sketches of modern Greece". worldcat.org. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  18. "The bayonet that came home : a vanity of modern Greece". worldcat.org. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  19. "Greek peasant stories; or, Gleams and glooms of Grecian colour". worldcat.org. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  20. "NOVELS OF THE WEEK.*". The Spectator Archive. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  21. "Lady Haife. A novel, etc". worldcat.org. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  22. "Great Battles of the World". Mocavo. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
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