William Henry Wills (journalist)
William Henry Wills
Early career
Born in
He was one of the original writers on
Association with Dickens
On his return to London he wrote for the Punch Almanack in 1846, but his contributions were thenceforth infrequent.[2][6] Also in 1846 Harry Wills began his lifelong association with Charles Dickens, when he became one of the sub-editors of The Daily News under Dickens' editorship.[7] He continued in this role when John Forster replaced Dickens as editor. In 1850, on Forster's suggestion, Wills joined Dickens as secretary, sub-editor and proprietor of the new journal Household Words, Wills holding an interest of one-eighth share, which was increased to three-sixteenths in 1856.[1] He was given the same position by Dickens when, ten years later, All the Year Round was incorporated with it,[2][6] but by now Wills had a quarter share.[1]
His business capacity was invaluable to Dickens, and he was one of the most intimate friends of the novelist in later life. Despite this, Dickens accorded him no higher title than "subeditor". But as far as the reading public was concerned, Wills was as much a part of the two periodicals as was Dickens. Of Household Words (or at times of both Household Words and All the Year Round), he was variously referred to as "acting editor" (Wills' obituary in
In 1850 Wills edited Sir Roger de Coverley by the Spectator, illustrated with engravings from designs by Frederick Taylor (Boston, Massachusetts, 1851; reissued in the Traveller's Library, 1856). At the end of 1851 Wills accompanied Dickens on his theatrical tour in connection with the
Wills also published Old Leaves Gathered from Household Words (1860), dedicated to Dickens. In 1861 he issued Poets' Wit and Humour, illustrated by a hundred engravings from drawings by Charles Bennett and G. H. Thomas. Two pieces, A Lyric for Lovers and an Ode to Big Ben, the latter of which originally appeared in Punch, were from his own pen. The book was republished in 1882. Wills also republished under the title Light and Dark some of his contributions to Chambers's Edinburgh Journal.[2]
He was a fluent writer both in prose and verse, with a faint tinge of pedantry, which afforded Dickens much amusement.
Wills was a highly trusted friend to Dickens, who entrusted Wills with the task of forwarding his letters to Ellen Ternan during Dickens's 1867–8 American reading tour.[1] In 1868, while Dickens was still in America, Wills suffered a concussion from an accident while hunting when he was thrown from his horse, and was disabled from his duties as editor of All the Year Round. He never recovered, and retired from active work. The remaining years of his life Wills spent at his home, Sherrards at Welwyn in Hertfordshire. In Welwyn he acted as magistrate and Chairman of the Board of guardians. He died there on 1 September 1880,[2] and was buried on 6 September.[1] In 1883 his widow Janet Hills left Welwyn and moved to London.[7]
Personal life
Wills married Janet Chambers (1812–1892), the youngest sister of
She had an extensive knowledge of Scottish literature, and a large fund of anecdotes, and was for many years the centre of a wide literary and social circle. She died on 24 October 1892. At her death the sum of £1,000 accrued to the newspaper press fund, in which Wills had interested himself after the failure of the Guild of Literature and Art.
References
This article is based in part on Wills' entry in the Dictionary of National Biography, a work published in 1900 and now in the public domain
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Stedman, Jane W. (2004). "Wills, William Henry (1810–1880)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 15 August 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f William Henry Wills in the Dictionary of National Biography, 1885–1900, Volume 62
- ^ Nisbet, Ada Dickens and Ellen Ternan University of California Press (1952), University of Cambridge Press (1953)
- ^ 'Dickens Onstage: Up Into the Clouds Together', New York Public Library Online Exhibition Archive
- ^ a b Wills on Spartacus Educational
- ^ a b c d e William Henry Wills on Dickens Journals Online
- ^ a b c 'Sherrards Secluded Mansion, Hidden History' on 'Our Welwyn Garden City' website
- ^ A. Lohrli, 'Wife to Mr Wills', The Dickensian, 81 (1985), pg 24
External links
- Works by or about William Henry Wills at Internet Archive
- William Henry Wills on Spartacus Education website
- The William Henry Wills Papers in the University of California Collection
- Digital copy of Charles Dickens as Editor, being letters written to William Henry Wills, his sub-editor (1912)
- Correspondence to William Henry Wills to Henry Morley relating to the business of Household Words 1844–1868 – University of Sussex Special Collections website