Vaughan Wilkins

March 6, 1890 (age 68)

London, United Kingdom

Vaughan Wilkins began his career as a journalist in 1914 working for the London Standard. He served in the Royal Army from 1915 to 1919, also working, during that period, for publications such as The Daily Call. After World War I, he worked as an editor for several publications, including the Pall Mall Gazette, the Daily Express, the Sunday Referee, and the News Chronicle. In 1937, Wilkins made his debut as a historical novelist with And So - Victoria, which was generally well-received by critics. Wilkins's subsequent historical novels, which occasionally included elements of fantasy and science fiction, proved popular and were for the most part appreciated by readers on both sides of the Atlantic. In 1938, Wilkins followed And So - Victoria with Endless Prelude, a work of historical nonfiction. The volume starts with Queen Victoria's coronation but then goes backward in time to 54 B.C. As the full title proclaims, Wilkins used as his sources letters and diaries, as well as the accounts of chroniclers throughout history. In 1944, Wilkins returned to the novel form, completing Being Met Together. Set during the early nineteenth century, it is the story of an American youth, who, owing to his grandmother's hatred of the British, becomes involved in an attempt to rescue - by using a submarine invented by Robert Fulton - the deposed Emperor of France Napoleon Bonaparte from captivity on the island of St. Helena. There is historical evidence of rescue plans, including blueprints for a submarine, and Wilkins based his work on extensive historical research. With Once Upon a Time, published in 1949, Wilkins turned to the present. This novel follows the adventures of Captain Oliver Granville, who is suffering from amnesia following an accident. When he regains consciousness after the accident, he finds himself one of a group of smugglers. Mixed into the plot are a missing woman and former Gestapo members hunting for a fortune in jewels. The city of Frozen Fire (1950), which takes place in England during the 1820s, is a fantasy about a medieval Welsh kingdom located in South America. Wilkins next explored the often-discussed story of Bonnie Prince Charlie Charles Edward Stuart, who challenged the Hanoverian succession by organizing the Jacobite uprising of 1745, in the 1952 novel Crown Without Sceptre (1952). Instead of focusing on the Prince's rise, leading to the fateful battle of Culloden in 1746, Wilkins picks up the would-be king's story during his declining years in exile, in Italy. A similar story is developed in A King Reluctant (1952). Basing his novel on rumors that Louis XVII, the second son of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, titular king of France from 1793 to 1795, survived the French Revolution, Wilkins creates a story which imagines that the young Dauphin arrives in Wales in a balloon, and comes under the care of a young American woman, who believes that he should never return to France and face the danger of capture and execution. Fanfare for a Witch, published in 1954, mingled elements of English history, namely the events surrounding the troubled relations between George II's eldest son and the rest of the Hanoverians, with a fantastic narrative, including the exploits of a magical empress of Morocco. Wilkins followed Fanfare for a Witch with Valley Beyond Time and Lady of Paris. The last novel Wilkins wrote before his death was Husband for Victoria (1958), published in the United States under the title Consort for Victoria.

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Works

book

And So - Victoria

1937

Endless Prelude

1937

Seven Tempest

1942

Being Met Together

(The story opens in Revolutionary America shortly before t...)

1944

After Bath

1945

Once Upon a Time: an Adventure

1949

The City of Frozen Fire

1950

A King Reluctant

1952

Crown Without Sceptre

(Crown Without Sceptre is a story of the romance based on ...)

1952

Fanfare for a Witch

1954

Valley Beyond Time

1955

Lady of Paris

1956

Husband for Victoria

1958

Vaughan Wilkins Edit Profile

also known as William Vaughan Wilkins

editor novelist author

Background

William Vaughan Wilkins was born on March 6, 1890, in London, United Kingdom. He was the son of William Henry and Lena Charlotte (Law) Wilkins.

Education

Vaughan Wilkins attended Merchant Taylors' School from 1900 till 1907.

$Education period of Vaughan Wilkins in Merchant Taylors\' School$

Career

Vaughan Wilkins began his career as a journalist in 1914 working for the London Standard. He served in the Royal Army from 1915 to 1919, also working, during that period, for publications such as The Daily Call. After World War I, he worked as an editor for several publications, including the Pall Mall Gazette, the Daily Express, the Sunday Referee, and the News Chronicle.

In 1937, Wilkins made his debut as a historical novelist with And So - Victoria, which was generally well-received by critics. Wilkins's subsequent historical novels, which occasionally included elements of fantasy and science fiction, proved popular and were for the most part appreciated by readers on both sides of the Atlantic. In 1938, Wilkins followed And So - Victoria with Endless Prelude, a work of historical nonfiction. The volume starts with Queen Victoria's coronation but then goes backward in time to 54 B.C. As the full title proclaims, Wilkins used as his sources letters and diaries, as well as the accounts of chroniclers throughout history.

In 1944, Wilkins returned to the novel form, completing Being Met Together. Set during the early nineteenth century, it is the story of an American youth, who, owing to his grandmother's hatred of the British, becomes involved in an attempt to rescue - by using a submarine invented by Robert Fulton - the deposed Emperor of France Napoleon Bonaparte from captivity on the island of St. Helena. There is historical evidence of rescue plans, including blueprints for a submarine, and Wilkins based his work on extensive historical research.

With Once Upon a Time, published in 1949, Wilkins turned to the present. This novel follows the adventures of Captain Oliver Granville, who is suffering from amnesia following an accident. When he regains consciousness after the accident, he finds himself one of a group of smugglers. Mixed into the plot are a missing woman and former Gestapo members hunting for a fortune in jewels. The city of Frozen Fire (1950), which takes place in England during the 1820s, is a fantasy about a medieval Welsh kingdom located in South America.

Wilkins next explored the often-discussed story of Bonnie Prince Charlie Charles Edward Stuart, who challenged the Hanoverian succession by organizing the Jacobite uprising of 1745, in the 1952 novel Crown Without Sceptre (1952). Instead of focusing on the Prince's rise, leading to the fateful battle of Culloden in 1746, Wilkins picks up the would-be king's story during his declining years in exile, in Italy.

A similar story is developed in A King Reluctant (1952). Basing his novel on rumors that Louis XVII, the second son of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, titular king of France from 1793 to 1795, survived the French Revolution, Wilkins creates a story which imagines that the young Dauphin arrives in Wales in a balloon, and comes under the care of a young American woman, who believes that he should never return to France and face the danger of capture and execution.

Fanfare for a Witch, published in 1954, mingled elements of English history, namely the events surrounding the troubled relations between George II's eldest son and the rest of the Hanoverians, with a fantastic narrative, including the exploits of a magical empress of Morocco. Wilkins followed Fanfare for a Witch with Valley Beyond Time and Lady of Paris. The last novel Wilkins wrote before his death was Husband for Victoria (1958), published in the United States under the title Consort for Victoria.

Achievements

Vaughan Wilkins was an acclaimed historical novelist who wrote books that were highly valued by reviewers. His book And So - Victoria became a bestseller. He was also a recognized editor of a number of popular publications.