William Black

A carte-de-visite portrait of the novelist William Black (1841-1898). During his own lifetime Black's novels were immensely popular, and were compared favourably with those of Anthony Trollope. However, his fame and popularity did not survive long into the twentieth century.

Born in Glasgow, he was educated at Glasgow School of Art. His first novel James Merle: An Autobiography appeared in 1864 and was followed in 1867 Love or Marriage. Black is best remembered – when he’s remembered at all – for his novels with a Scottish setting, most notably A Daughter of Heth (1871), A Princess of Thule (1874) and Macleod of Dare (1878). The miscellaneous The Strange Adventures of a Phaeton (1872) combines elements of fiction, romance, guidebook and natural description.

Photographed by Elliott and Fry of 55 Baker Street, London.