Author: William Earley
Author: William Earley (1835–1911)
Biography: William Earley was born on 26 September 1835 in Wantage. From an early age he showed a passionate fondness for flowers and their cultivation and became a professional gardener himself. For a time, he was the head gardener at Valentines in Ilford, Essex. He became a prolific writer on horticulture including guides, manuals, and newspaper columns. He found time to write the single novel Rachel Reno (1892), a love story set in Wales. He died on 27 September 1911 in Croyden, the day after his seventy-sixth birthday.
References: British Census (1911); Lloyd's Weekly Newspaper (1 October 1911); pers inf (Francesca Murray)
Fiction Titles:
- Rachel Reno: A Romance of Wales. 1 vol. London: Digby, Long, 1892.