Author: James Bandinel
Author: James Bandinel (1814–1893)
Biography: Rev. James Bandinel was born in 1814 in London, the only son of James Bandinel, of the foreign office, and Marian Eliza Hunter. His paternal uncle was Rev. Dr. Bulkeley Bandinel (1781–1861), the Bodleian librarian. Bandinel's parents separated shortly after his birth. He attended Wadham College, Oxford, and earned a B.A. (1836) and an M.A. (1844). He married his first cousin in 1845, entered orders, and eventually became rector of Emley in Yorkshire (1862–1881). His published works include sermons, defenses of the Anglican church, an anti-Catholic poem, and two religious novels: Milton Davenant: A Tale of the Times We Live In (1852) and The Star of Lovell: A Tale of the Poor Clergy (1862). Both novels received poor reviews—of the former, the Athenaeum called it "filled with controversial matter and sketches of various religious systems" lacking in literary skill or humor. Another novel, The Rose Queen: A Tale of the Eighth Century, never republished, appeared in Ainsworth's Magazine in 1850–51. Poor health led Bandinel to give up his living and retire to Exeter where he died in 1893.
Author Tags:
References: Gentleman's Magazine (April 1845); Modern English Biography
Fiction Titles:
- Milton Davenant: A Tale of the Times We Live in. 3 vol. London: Simpkin, 1852.
- The Star of Lovell: A Tale of the Poor Clergy. 3 vol. London: Saunders and Otley, 1862.