George Robert Sims

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George Robert Sims (1884)
George Robert Sims (c. 1890)
George Robert Sims (c. 1910)

George Robert Sims (born September 2, 1847 in Kennington , London Borough of Lambeth , † September 4, 1922 City of Westminster , London ) was an English writer , journalist and social reformer .

Life

Sims was the eldest child (of six) of the merchant George Sims and his wife, the suffragette Louisa Amelie Stevenson. He spent his childhood in Islington and his school days in Eastbourne . He then attended the Hanwell Military College and later studied at the University of Bonn .

Sims wrote poetry as a child; He made his debut as a writer during his studies in Bonn. Among several plays that he wrote during this time, there was also an adaptation of Roderich Benedix 's "Doctor Wasp", which was also performed at the university.

When Sims continued his studies in France, he got to know and appreciate the works of Honoré de Balzac . He began to translate them and in 1874 was able to publish his “ Contes drôlatiques ” in English. After returning to London, he worked for a short time in his father's business. But in 1874 he finished his work there and settled as a freelance writer near Regent's Park .

In 1876 Sims married Sarah Elizabeth Collins for the first time. When she died after ten years of marriage, he married Anne Maria Harris after the obligatory year of mourning. Since his second wife died soon, he married Elizabeth Florence Wykes in 1901. All three marriages remained childless.

In addition to his own literary work, Sims was a sought-after contributor to various newspapers and magazines, and over the years he became one of the most famous authors of the Victorian era . His works include short stories and novels as well as plays and poetry.
During the 1880s he gained recognition as a journalist; committed social reformer, which is also evident in his works, he remained until the end of his life. Today the ballad "It is Christmas Day in the Workhouse" is still known.

Quote

The Times wrote of George Sims on September 6, 1922:

... so attractive and original was the personality revealed in his abundant output ... for he was a wonderful hard worker ... that no other journalist has ever occupied quiet the same place in the affections not only of the great public but also of people of more discriminating taste ...
Sims was indeed a born journalist with the essential "flair" added to shrew'd common sense, imagination, wide sympathies, a vivid interest in every side of life, and the most ardent patriotism ... He was ... a highly successful playwright ... a zealous social reformer, an expert criminologist, a connoisseur in good eating and drinking, in racing, in dogs, in boxing, and in all sorts of curious out-of-the-way people and things .

Works (selection)

Novels
  • Memories of a mother-in-law . Engelhorn, Stuttgart 1894.
  • The young woman Kaudel . Engelhorn, Stuttgart 1906.
  • Li Ting of London .
  • Mary Jane married .
  • Memoirs of a landlady .
  • Memoirs of Mary Jane .
  • Furnished rooms . Engelhorn, Stuttgart 1895.
  • Rogues and vagabonds .
  • The ten commandments .
Plays
  • The English rose .
  • The gay city . 1881.
  • Thr fold ladder .
  • The light of home .
  • The master and the man .
  • The member for Slocum . 1881.
  • The star of India .
  • The gypsy earl .
  • The white rose .
Libretti
  • Blue-eyed Susan .
  • Carmen up to data . 1890 (with Henry Pettitt )
  • The Dandy Fifth .
  • Faust up to data . 1888 (with Henry Pettitt)
  • Harbor lights . 1885 (with Henry Pettitt)
  • Little Christopher Columbus . 1893 (with Cecil Raleigh )
  • The trumpet call . 1891 (with Williams Buchanan )

literature

  • George R. Sims: My life. Sixty years recollections of bohemian London . Nash Publ., London 1917.
  • George R. Sims: Without the limelight. Theatrical life as it is . Chattoo & Windus, London 1900.
  • Peter J. Keating: The working classes in Victorian fiction . Routledge & Kegan Paul, London 1972, ISBN 0-7100-6991-X .
  • Sarah Kemp, Charlotte Mitchell, David Trotter: The Oxford companion to Edwardian fiction . Oxford University Press, New York 2002, ISBN 0-19-860534-X (formerly Edwardian fiction. An Oxford companion ).

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Sims, George Robert
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Sims, George
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British writer, journalist and social reformer
DATE OF BIRTH September 2, 1847
PLACE OF BIRTH Kennington , London Borough of Lambeth
DATE OF DEATH September 4, 1922
Place of death City of Westminster , London