Guy Boothby
Encyclopedia
Guy Newell Boothby was an Australia
n novelist and writer.
, son of Thomas Wilde Boothby, who for a time was a member of the South Australian Legislative Assembly. Guy Boothby's grandfather was Benjamin Boothby
(1803-1868), judge of the supreme court of South Australia from 1853 to 1867. When Boothby was six he travelled to England with his mother, and thus was educated at Salisbury
, Lord Weymouth's Grammar (now Warminster School
) and Christ's Hospital
, London
.
In 1890 Boothby wrote the libretto for a comic opera, Sylvia, which was published and produced at Adelaide in December 1890, and in 1891 appeared The Jonquil: an Opera. The music in each case was written by Cecil James Sharp. Around this time Boothby accepted a role as private secretary to the mayor
of Adelaide, Lewis Cohen
, but was "not contented" with the work. There was little opportunity for Boothby to progress in the Adelaide Corporation: thus, with the support of Chohen, Boothby moved to Brisbane where he believed that he would find "a wider opening for his talents". From Brisbane Boothby made his way to England, arriving in London in 1894.
In 1894 he published On the Wallaby or Through the East and Across Australia, an account of the travels of himself and his brother, including a description of their journey across Australia from Cooktown to Adelaide. In the same year his first novel, In Strange Company, was published in London and was quickly successful. Boothby moved to the United Kingdom
in 1894. He wrote over 50 books over the course of a decade, before dying of pneumonia
in Bournemouth
.
. He was once well known for his series of five novels about Doctor Nikola, an occultist anti-hero seeking immortality and world domination. In A Prince of Swindlers he created the character of Simon Carne, a gentleman thief in the Raffles
mould: Carne first appeared in Pearson's Magazine
in 1897, predating Raffles by two years.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n novelist and writer.
Biography
Boothby was born in AdelaideAdelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
, son of Thomas Wilde Boothby, who for a time was a member of the South Australian Legislative Assembly. Guy Boothby's grandfather was Benjamin Boothby
Benjamin Boothby
Benjamin Boothby was a South Australian colonial judge, who was removed from office for misbehaviour.Boothby was born in Doncaster, Yorkshire. He assisted Sir Thomas Wilde in his electoral campaigns and read in his chambers. He was called to the Bar at Gray's Inn in 1841.In 1853, Boothby was...
(1803-1868), judge of the supreme court of South Australia from 1853 to 1867. When Boothby was six he travelled to England with his mother, and thus was educated at Salisbury
Salisbury
Salisbury is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England and the only city in the county. It is the second largest settlement in the county...
, Lord Weymouth's Grammar (now Warminster School
Warminster School
Warminster School, originally called Lord Weymouth's Grammar School, is a co-educational independent day and boarding school at Warminster, Wiltshire, for students aged three to eighteen...
) and Christ's Hospital
Christ's Hospital
Christ's Hospital is an English coeducational independent day and boarding school with Royal Charter located in the Sussex countryside just south of Horsham in Horsham District, West Sussex, England...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
In 1890 Boothby wrote the libretto for a comic opera, Sylvia, which was published and produced at Adelaide in December 1890, and in 1891 appeared The Jonquil: an Opera. The music in each case was written by Cecil James Sharp. Around this time Boothby accepted a role as private secretary to the mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Adelaide, Lewis Cohen
Lewis Cohen (mayor)
Lewis Cohen was Mayor of Adelaide from 1889 to 1890. Again in 1901 to 1904, and a third term in 1909 to 1911. He was knighted in 1924 to become Sir Lewis Cohen....
, but was "not contented" with the work. There was little opportunity for Boothby to progress in the Adelaide Corporation: thus, with the support of Chohen, Boothby moved to Brisbane where he believed that he would find "a wider opening for his talents". From Brisbane Boothby made his way to England, arriving in London in 1894.
In 1894 he published On the Wallaby or Through the East and Across Australia, an account of the travels of himself and his brother, including a description of their journey across Australia from Cooktown to Adelaide. In the same year his first novel, In Strange Company, was published in London and was quickly successful. Boothby moved to the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in 1894. He wrote over 50 books over the course of a decade, before dying of pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
in Bournemouth
Bournemouth
Bournemouth is a large coastal resort town in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. According to the 2001 Census the town has a population of 163,444, making it the largest settlement in Dorset. It is also the largest settlement between Southampton and Plymouth...
.
Writing
Some of Boothby's earlier works relate to stories of Australian life, but later he turned to genre fictionGenre fiction
Genre fiction, also known as popular fiction, is a term for fictional works written with the intent of fitting into a specific literary genre in order to appeal to readers and fans already familiar with that genre....
. He was once well known for his series of five novels about Doctor Nikola, an occultist anti-hero seeking immortality and world domination. In A Prince of Swindlers he created the character of Simon Carne, a gentleman thief in the Raffles
A. J. Raffles
Arthur J. Raffles is a character created in the 1890s by E. W. Hornung, a brother-in-law to Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes. Raffles is, in many ways, a deliberate inversion of Holmes — he is a "gentleman thief," living in the Albany, a prestigious address in London, playing...
mould: Carne first appeared in Pearson's Magazine
Pearson's Magazine
Pearson's Magazine was an influential publication which first appeared in Britain in 1896. It specialised in speculative literature, political discussion, often of a socialist bent, and the arts. Its contributors included Upton Sinclair, George Bernard Shaw, Maxim Gorky and H. G...
in 1897, predating Raffles by two years.
Doctor Nikola
- A Bid for Fortune: or, Dr Nikola's Vendetta (1895) (AKA Enter, Dr Nikola)
- Dr Nikola (1896) also as Dr. Nikola Returns
- The Lust of Hate (1898)
- Dr Nikola's Experiment (1899)
- "Farewell, Nikola" (1901)
Other works
Other books written by Guy Boothby include:- On the Wallaby: or, Through the East and Across Australia (1894)
- A Lost Endeavour (1895)
- The Marriage of Esther: a Torres Straits Sketch (1895)
- In Strange Company: a Story of Chili and the Southern Seas (1896)
- The Beautiful White Devil (1897)
- Bushigrams (1897)
- The Fascination of the King (1897)
- The Phantom Stockman (1897)
- Sheila McLeod: a Heroine of the Back Blocks (1897)
- The Duchess of Wiltshire's Diamonds (1897)
- Across The World For a Wife (1898)
- Billy Binks, Hero: and Other Stories (1898)
- Love Made Manifest (1899)
- Pharos, The Egyptian (1899)
- The Red Rat's Daughter (1899)
- A Sailor's Bride (1899)
- "Long Live the King!" (1900)
- A Maker of Nations (1900)
- A Prince of Swindlers (1900) (AKA The Viceroy's Protegé)
- The Woman of Death (1900)
- The Boundary Rider: a Play in One Act (1901)
- A Cabinet Secret (1901)
- The Jonquil (1901)
- A Millionaire's Love Story (1901)
- My Indian Queen: Being a Record of Sir Charles Verrinder, Baronet, in the East Indies (1901)
- The Mystery of the Clasped Hands (1901)
- The Rickshaw: a Farce in Two Acts (1901)
- My Strangest Case (1901)
- The Childerbridge Mystery (1902)
- The Curse of the Snake (1902)
- The Kidnapped President (1902)
- Uncle Joe's Legacy: and Other Stories (1902)
- Connie Burt (1903)
- The Countess Londa (1903)
- The League of Twelve (1903)
- A Queer Affair (1903)
- A Two-fold Inheritance (1903)
- A Bid for Freedom (1904)
- A Bride from the Sea (1904)
- A Consummate Scoundrel (1904)
- A Desperate Conspiracy (1904)
- The Lady of the Island (1904) ("A Professor of Egyptology", "The Black Lady of Brin Tor", "A Strange Goldfield")
- An Ocean Secret (1904)
- A Brighton Tragedy (1905)
- A Crime of the Under-seas (1905)
- For Love of Her (1905)
- In Spite of the Czar (1905)
- A Lost Endeavor (1905)
- The Race of Life (1906)
- A Royal Affair: and Other Stories (1906)
- A Stolen Peer (1906)
- The Man of the Crag (1907)
- In the Power of the Sultan (1908)