At the Circulating Library

Author: George Christopher Davies

Author: George Christopher Davies (1849–1922)

Biography: George Christopher Davies was born in 1849 at Oswestry, Shropshire, the son of the solicitor David Christopher Davies. His father was a noted Shropshire geologist and passed his love of nature to his son. Davies moved to Norwich and served as the Clerk of the Peace, Clerk of the Norfork County Council, and conservator of fisheries for Norfolk and Suffolk. He "discovered" the Norfolk Broads as a recreation area and his books on the area made them known to the general public. His work as a local government official helped to preserve the Broads culminating in an act of Parliament (1888). In all, he wrote about fifteen books on fishing, sailing, and outdoor recreations. Davies wrote one novel, The Golden Shaft (1875), an autobiographical novel about a sportsman and novelist. His wife, Louisa Alice Davies, wrote a children's book (1888). He died in 1922.

References: Allibone; Jamie Campbell and Cliff Middleton, The Man Who Found the Broads: A Biography of George Christopher Davies (1999); Times (4 December 1922)

Fiction Titles:

1. The Golden Shaft.  3 vol.  London: Bentley, 1875.
2. Rambles and Adventures of Our School Field-Club.  1 vol.  London: Henry S. King, 1875.
3. The Swan and Her Crew: or, The Adventures of Three Young Naturalists and Sportsmen on the Broads and Rivers of Norfolk.  1 vol.  London: Frederick Warne, 1876.
4. Wildcat Tower: or, The Adventures of Four Boys in Pursuit of Sport and Natural History in the North Countrie.  1 vol.  London: Frederick Warne, 1877.