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. Bleiler, Everett Franklin (1990). Science-fiction, the Early Years. google.co.uk. ISBN 9780873384162. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  3. Chan, Winnie (23 January 2007). The Economy of the Short Story in British Periodicals of the 1890s. google.co.uk. ISBN 9781135868574. 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. Bleiler, Everett Franklin (1990). Science-fiction, the Early Years. google.co.uk. ISBN 9780873384162. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  11. Singleton, Esther (1904). "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. Reginald, R.; Menville, Douglas; Burgess, Mary A. (September 2010). Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature. google.co.uk. ISBN 9780941028769. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  14. The electric theft. worldcat.org. OCLC 7011356.
  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. OCLC 266997198.
  18. The bayonet that came home : a vanity of modern Greece. worldcat.org. OCLC 58650610.
  19. Greek peasant stories; or, Gleams and glooms of Grecian colour. worldcat.org. OCLC 52277964.
  20. "NOVELS OF THE WEEK.*". The Spectator Archive. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  21. Lady Haife. A novel, etc. worldcat.org. OCLC 315309603.
  22. "Great Battles of the World". Mocavo. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
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