William Sharp
William Sharp was born in Paisley, near Glasgow, in 1855. His father was a successful merchant; his mother was the daughter of the Swedish Vice Consul in Glasgow.
A talented, adventurous boy who read voraciously, he spent summers in the Inner Hebrides, where his family rented houses for the season. He developed there a strong attachment to the land and its inhabitants. In the summer of 1863, his aunt and uncle brought their children from London to spend time with their Scottish cousins.
Sharp became especially attracted to his cousin Elizabeth, a bright girl who shared many of his enthusiasms. They formed a bond of friendship which led eventually to their engagement and marriage. Sharp went on to study literature for two years at Glasgow University, an experience that fed his desire to become a writer and a man of letters. After an adventurous year in Australia, where he was sent to restore his health, Sharp settled in London in 1878. With the help of family and friends, among then Dante Gabriel Rossetti, he began to establish himself as a poet, literary journalist, and editor.
Through his wife’s contacts and those he made among writers and editors, the Sharps became by the end of the 1880s well-established figures in the literary and intellectual life of the city. Sharp published three books of poetry, wrote many articles and reviews, and edited the work of other writers during the decade. At its close, he decided to reduce his editing and reviewing obligations, leave London for a time, and focus on producing literary works of higher quality.
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