Written by William Blanchard Jerrold, who was an English journalist and author. He was born in London, and was the eldest son of the dramatist, Douglas William Jerrold. Abandoning the artistic career for which he had been educated, he began working on newspapers at an early age. He was appointed the Crystal Palace commissioner to Sweden in 1853, and wrote A Brage-Beaker with the Swedes on his return. In 1857 he succeeded his father as editor of Lloyd's Weekly Newspaper, a post which he held for twenty-six years. On his death, he was occupied in writing the biography of Gustave Dor, who had illustrated several of his books.