Editing James Payn

{{Short description|English novelist and editor (1830–1898)}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
{{Infobox person
|name = James Payn
|image = Picture of James Payn.jpg
|caption = James Payn, by W. & D. Downey, carbon print on card mount, 1890.
|birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1830|2|28}}
|birth_place = near [[Maidenhead]], Berkshire, England
|death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1898|3|25|1830|2|28}}
|death_place = [[Maida Vale]], London, England
|alma_mater = [[Trinity College, Cambridge]]
|spouse = Louisa Adelaide Edlin
|children =
}}
[[File:James Payn Vanity Fair 8 September 1888.jpg|thumb|right|{{center|"The Heir of the Ages"<br>Payn as caricatured by Ape ([[Carlo Pellegrini (caricaturist)|Carlo Pellegrini]]) in [[Vanity Fair (British magazine)|Vanity Fair]], 8 September 1888}}]]
'''James Payn''' ({{IPAc-en|p|eɪ|n}}; 28 February 1830 – 25 March 1898) was an English novelist and editor.<ref>{{Citation |first=George |last=Wilman |title=Sketches of living celebrities |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=alwBAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA77 |year=1882 |publisher=Griffith and Farran |location=London |pages=77–80 |chapter=James Payn}}</ref> Among the periodicals he edited were ''[[Chambers's Journal]]'' in Edinburgh and the ''[[Cornhill Magazine]]'' in London.

==Family==
Payn's father, William Payn (1774/1775–1840), was clerk to the [[Thames Navigation Commission|Thames Commissioners]], and at one time treasurer to the county of [[Berkshire]]. Payn was educated at [[Eton College|Eton]] and then entered the [[Military Academy at Woolwich]], but his health was unequal to a military career and he proceeded in 1847 to [[Trinity College, Cambridge]].<ref>{{acad |id=PN849J |name=Payn, James}}</ref> There he was among the most popular men and served as president of the [[Cambridge Union Society|Union]]. Before going to Cambridge he had published some verses in [[James Henry Leigh Hunt|Leigh Hunt]]'s Journal, and while still an undergraduate put out a volume of ''Stories from Boccaccio'' in 1852 and one of ''Poems'' in 1853.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}

In the year Payn left Cambridge, he met and soon married Miss Louisa Adelaide Edlin (born 1830 or 1831),<ref name="ODNB" >ODNB biography, subscription required. [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/21640 Retrieved 3 December 2010.]</ref> sister of Judge Sir Peter Edlin, later chairman of the London Quarter Sessions.<ref>Victorian memoirs mentioning Edlin: [http://www.victorianlondon.org/publications/roundlondon1-8.htm] Parliamentary question on his salary: [https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1891/may/14/sir-peter-edlin] Letter to ''The Times'' 1 March 1894: [http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~fultondata/Biog02.htm]. All retrieved 3 December 2010.</ref> They had nine children, the third of whom, Alicia Isabel (died 1898), married ''The Times'' editor [[George Earle Buckle]].<ref name="ODNB"/>

==Editor and novelist==
Payn then settled down in the [[Lake District National Park|Lake District]] to a literary career and contributed regularly to ''[[Household Words]]'' and ''[[Chambers's Edinburgh Journal|Chambers's Journal]]''. In 1858 he moved to [[Edinburgh]] to act as joint editor of the latter, and became its sole editor in 1860 with much success for 15 years. Meanwhile he moved to London in 1861.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}} In the ''Journal'' he published in 1864 his most popular story, ''[[Lost Sir Massingberd]]''.<ref>"Personal Character of James Payn," ''The Literary Digest,'' 4 June 1898.</ref> Thereafter he was engaged in writing novels, including ''Richard Arbour or the Family Scapegrace'' (1861),<ref>John Payn. "[https://archive.org/stream/myfirstbookexper00jeroiala#page/n41/mode/2up The Family Scapegrace]." In: ''My First Book,'' Chatto & Windus, 1897.</ref> ''Married Beneath Him'' (1865), ''Carlyon's Year'' (1868), ''A County Family'' (1869), ''By Proxy'' (1878), ''A Confidential Agent'' (1880), ''Thicker Than Water'' (1883), ''The Canon's Ward'' (1883), ''A Grape from a Thorn'', ''The Talk of the Town'' (1885), and ''The Heir of the Ages'' (1886).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Payn, James |website=British Library (catalogue.bl.uk) |url=http://explore.bl.uk/primo_library/libweb/action/search.do?fn=search&ct=search&initialSearch=true&mode=Advanced&tab=local_tab&indx=1&dum=true&srt=rank&vid=BLVU1&frbg=&tb=t&vl%282084770715UI0%29=creator&vl%282084770715UI0%29=title&vl%282084770715UI0%29=any&vl%281UIStartWith0%29=contains&vl%28freeText0%29=payn%2C+james&vl%28boolOperator0%29=AND&vl%282084770717UI1%29=any&vl%282084770717UI1%29=title&vl%282084770717UI1%29=any&vl%281UIStartWith1%29=contains&vl%28freeText1%29=&vl%28boolOperator1%29=AND&vl%282084770716UI2%29=any&vl%282084770716UI2%29=title&vl%282084770716UI2%29=any&vl%281UIStartWith2%29=contains&vl%28freeText2%29=&vl%28boolOperator2%29=AND&vl%282084770721UI3%29=all_items&vl%28drStartDay4%29=00&vl%28drStartMonth4%29=00&vl%28drStartYear4%29=Year&vl%28drEndDay4%29=00&vl%28drEndMonth4%29=00&vl%28drEndYear4%29=Year&scp.scps=scope%3A%28BLCONTENT%29&Submit=Search}} <!-- http://catalogue.bl.uk --> Accessed 18 May 2010.</ref>

In 1883 Payn succeeded [[Sir Leslie Stephen|Leslie Stephen]] as editor of the ''[[Cornhill Magazine]]'' and continued there until his health broke down in 1896.<ref>J. Stanley Weyman, [https://archive.org/stream/newcornhill28londuoft#page/50/mode/2up "James Payn, Editor,"] ''The Cornhill Magazine,'' Vol. XXVIII, January/June 1910.</ref> He was also literary adviser to Messrs Smith, Elder & Company. His publications included a ''Handbook to the English Lakes'' (1859), and various volumes of essays: ''Maxims by a Man of the World'' (1869), ''Some Private Views'' (1881), ''Some Literary Recollections'' (1884). His posthumous work ''The Backwater of Life'' (1899) revealed much of his personality through kindly, sensible reflections on familiar topics. He died in London on 25 March 1898.<ref>"James Payn," ''The Bookman'', June 1898.</ref> A biographical introduction to ''The Backwater of Life'' was provided by Sir Leslie Stephen.<ref>Leslie Stephen, [https://archive.org/stream/backwateroflifeo00payn#page/n13/mode/2up "James Payn,"] ''The Backwater of Life'', Smith, Elder & Co., 1899.</ref>{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}

==Works==
'''Articles'''
*[https://archive.org/stream/twentiethcentury05londuoft#page/1002/mode/2up "The Critic on the Hearth"], ''The Nineteenth Century,'' Vol. V, January/June 1879.
*[https://archive.org/stream/gentlemansmagaz11unkngoog#page/n382/mode/2up "An Indo-Anglian Poet"], ''The Gentleman's Magazine,'' Vol. CCXLVI, January/June 1880.
*[https://archive.org/stream/gentlemansmagaz11unkngoog#page/n618/mode/2up "Two Infant Phenomenons"], ''The Gentleman's Magazine,'' Vol. CCXLVI, January/June 1880.
*[https://archive.org/stream/twentiethcentur34unkngoog#page/n429/mode/2up "Sham Admiration in Literature"], ''The Nineteenth Century,'' Vol. VII, January/June 1880.
*[https://archive.org/stream/twentiethcentur34unkngoog#page/n867/mode/2up "The Pinch of Poverty"], ''The Nineteenth Century,'' Vol. VII, January/June 1880.
*[https://www.jstor.org/stable/25118484 "Success in Fiction"], ''The North American Review,'' Vol. 140, No. 342, May 1885.
*[https://archive.org/stream/twentiethcentur27unkngoog#page/n76/mode/2up "On Conversation"], ''The Nineteenth Century,'' Vol. XLII, July/December 1897.
*[https://archive.org/stream/twentiethcentur27unkngoog#page/n412/mode/2up "On Old Age"], ''The Nineteenth Century,'' Vol. XLII, July/December 1897.

'''Short stories'''
*[https://archive.org/stream/twentiethcentury05londuoft#page/812/mode/2up "The Midway Inn"], ''The Nineteenth Century,'' Vol. V, January/June 1879.
*[https://archive.org/stream/shortstoriesama05whitgoog#page/n91/mode/2up "Uncle Lock's Legacy"], ''Short Stories,'' Vol. XI, September/December 1892.
*[https://archive.org/stream/shortstoriesama05whitgoog#page/n227/mode/2up "A Successful Experiment"], ''Short Stories,'' Vol. XI, September/December 1892.
*[https://archive.org/stream/storiesfromblack00londrich#page/192/mode/2up "Rebecca's Remorse"]. In ''Short Stories from "Black and White"'', Chapman & Hall, 1893.
*[https://archive.org/stream/storiesbyenglish06newyiala#page/n17/mode/2up "A Faithful Retainer"]. In ''Stories by English Authors,'' Charles Scribner's Sons, 1901.

'''Novels'''
* ''[[Lost Sir Massingberd]]'', 1864. 
* ''Married Beneath Him'', 1865. 
* ''Lights and Shadows of London Life'', 1867.
* ''Bentinck's Tutor, One of the Family'', 1868. 
* ''Blondel Parva'', 1868. 
* ''Not Wooed, But Won'', 1871. 
* ''Walter's Word'', 1875. 
* ''Fallen Fortunes'', 1876. 
* ''What He Cost Her'', 1877.
* ''By Proxy'', 1878.
* ''Less Black Than We're Painted'', 1878.
* ''The Canon's Ward'', 1884.
* ''The Luck of the Darrells'', 1885. 
* ''The Talk of the Town'', 1885. 
* ''The Heir of the Ages'', 1886. 
* ''The Burnt Million'', 1890. 
* ''A Stumble on the Threshold'', 1892. 
* ''The Disappearance of George Driffell'', 1896.<ref name=":0" />

'''Non-fiction'''
* ''Some Literary Recollections'', 1884.<ref name=":0">Riches, Christopher; Cox, Michael (2015). [https://www-oxfordreference-com.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/view/10.1093/acref/9780191782947.001.0001/acref-9780191782947-e-2229 "Payn, James"]. In ''A Dictionary of Writers and their Works''. 3rd ed. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 21 October 2022.</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}
'''Attribution:'''
*{{EB1911|wstitle = Payn, James|volume=21|page=1}}

==Further reading==
*{{Cite ODNB |first=Damian|last=Atkinson |title=Payn, James (1830–1898) |id=21640}}
*Block, Jr., ed. "Evolutionist Psychology and Aesthetics: The Cornhill Magazine, 1875–1880," ''Journal of the History of Ideas,'' Vol. 45, No. 3, 1984
*Myron Franklin Brightfield, ''Victorian England in its Novels, 1840–1870,'' University of California Library, 1968
*Howard Haycraft and Stanley Kunitz, ''British Authors of the Nineteenth Century,'' The H. W. Wilson Company, 1936
*Henry James, "The Late James Payn", ''The New England Quarterly,'' Vol. 67, No. 1, March 1994 {{JSTOR|366463}}
*Rudolph Chambers Lehmann, [https://archive.org/stream/memoriesofhalfce00lehmrich#page/n9/mode/2up ''Memories of Half a Century: A Record of Friendships,''] Smith, Elder & Co., 1908
*Lewis Melville, [https://archive.org/stream/victoriannovelis00melvuoft#page/280/mode/2up "James Payn."] In ''Victorian Novelists,'' Archibald Constable, 1906
*William H. Rideing, [https://archive.org/stream/boyhoodfamousau00ridegoog#page/n86/mode/2up "James Payn."] In ''The Boyhood of Famous Authors,'' Thomas Y. Crowell & Company, 1897
*William H. Rideing, "Reminiscences of an Editor," ''McClure's Magazine,'' February 1910 [Reproduced in [https://archive.org/stream/cu31924027480593#page/n261/mode/2up ''Many Celebrities and a Few Others,''] Eveleigh Nash, 1912]
*George W. E. Russell, [https://archive.org/stream/selectedessayson00russuoft#page/40/mode/2up "James Payn."] In ''Selected Essays on Literary Subjects,'' J. M. Dent & Sons, 1910
*R. C. Terry, [https://books.google.com/books?id=eyOvCwAAQBAJ ''Victorian Popular Fiction, 1860–1880,''] Humanities Press, 1983
*Frederick Wegener, "Henry James on James Payn: A Forgotten Critical Text," ''The New England Quarterly,'' Vol. 67, No. 1, March 1994 {{JSTOR|366462}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|James Payn}}
{{wikisource author}}
*{{Gutenberg author |id=Payn,+James |name=James Payn}}
*{{Internet Archive author |sname=James Payn}}
*{{Librivox author |id=899}}
*{{OL author|159263A}}
*[http://harpers.org/author/jamespayn/ Works by James Payn], at [[Harper's Magazine]]
*[http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Search/Home?lookfor=%22Payn,%20James,%201830-1898.%22&type=author&inst= Works by James Payn], at [[HathiTrust|Hathi Trust]]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Payn, James}}
[[Category:1830 births]]
[[Category:1898 deaths]]
[[Category:Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge]]
[[Category:Presidents of the Cambridge Union]]
[[Category:People educated at Eton College]]
[[Category:Graduates of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich]]
[[Category:Writers from London]]
[[Category:English male novelists]]
[[Category:19th-century English novelists]]
[[Category:Victorian novelists]]
[[Category:English magazine editors]]
[[Category:English male short story writers]]
[[Category:Writers from Berkshire]]
[[Category:English essayists]]
[[Category:English travel writers]]
[[Category:English literary critics]]
[[Category:19th-century English male writers]]
[[Category:Victorian short story writers]]
[[Category:Sensation novelists]]