Arthur William à Beckett (1844-1909) was a native of Fulham, London. Beckett primarily worked as a journalist, though he also wrote novels, plays, and other creative works. He was a writer and editor for numerous periodicals, including Glow-Worm (1865-1868), Britannia (1868-1870), Tomahawk (circa 1867-1870), Naval and Military Magazine (circa 1897-1899), the Sunday Times (1893-1895), and most notably, Punch (1874-1902). Beckett was a member of the Society of Authors from 1891-1903 and held leadership roles in the Newspaper Society (1893-1894) and the Institute of Journalists (1900-1901).
John Palgrave Simpson (1807-1887) was born in Norwich, England. Simpson received his higher education from Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, and began his literary career around 1844. His early works included novels, nonfiction works, and contributions to several periodicals, including The Times, Blackwood's Magazine, Bentley's Miscellany, and possibly Fraser's Magazine. After moving to London in 1850, Simpson began a career as a playwright, writing and co-writing approximately 60 plays between 1850 and 1885. Simpson was secretary of the Dramatic Authors' Society from 1868-1883.
Beckett wrote Victorian detective novel, Fallen Among Thieves, in 1868. Beckett and Simpson co-published From Father to Son, a dramatization of Fallen Among Thieves, in 1881.
Sources
Kent, Charles, and Donald Hawes. "Simpson, John Palgrave (1807-1877)." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Online Edition. Oxford University Press: 2007. doi: 10.1093/ref:odnb/25588.
Morris, A. J. A. "A Beckett, Arthur William (1844-1909)." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Online Edition. Oxford University Press: 2008. doi: 10.1093/ref:odnb/30318.
Nicholl, Allardyce. A History of Late Nineteenth Century Drama, 1850-1900. Volume II. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1946.
Author: Dana Miller
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