Publisher's Synopsis
WILLIAM HEYSHAM OVEREND (1851-1898) William Heysham Overend was a painter and illustrator, specialising in naval and other marine subjects. Despite his short career, he was prolific and successful. William Heysham Overend was born on 5 October 1851 in Coatham, near Middlesborough, now in the county of North Yorkshire. He was the third son of James Overend, a flax spinner, and Martha née Hodgson. When he was 10 years old, he and his family moved south to Hackney, London, where his father took up a position as a railway contractor. They later lived at Buccleuch Terrace, Clapton Common. Overend was educated as a dayboy at Charterhouse, in 1863, and then at Bruce Castle, a progressive school in Tottenham. Determined to become a painter, he studied for three years in the studio of the painter, Davis Cooper. Developing as a marine artist, he exhibited paintings mainly at the Royal Academy of Arts and the Royal Institute of Oil Painters (being elected a member of the latter in 1886). He also contributed to magazines, especially the Illustrated London News (1872-96), and illustrated books, most notably boys' stories, such as those by G A Henty. Having had various addresses through the 1870s, Overend is recorded in 1881 as living with his wife, Sofia, at a boarding house at 64 Guilford Street, Bloomsbury, and keeping a studio close by at 39a Queen Square. In 1882, Overend sailed to New York, in order to fulfil a commission to commemorate Admiral David Porter's naval conquest of New Orleans, during the American Civil War. The resulting painting proved a great success. He would also exhibit at the World's Columbian Exposition, held in Chicago in 1893. Overend died at home at 17 Southampton Street, Fitzroy Square, London, on 18 March 1898. George Alfred Henty (8 December 1832 - 16 November 1902) was a prolific English novelist and war correspondent.He is best known for his historical adventure stories that were popular in the late 19th century. His works include The Dragon & The Raven (1886), For The Temple (1888), Under Drake's Flag (1883) and In Freedom's Cause (1885).Biography--G.A.Henty was born in Trumpington, near Cambridge. He was a sickly child who had to spend long periods in bed. During his frequent illnesses he became an avid reader and developed a wide range of interests which he carried into adulthood. He attended Westminster School, London, and later Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, where he was a keen sportsman. He left the university early without completing his degree to volunteer for the Army Hospital Commissariat when the Crimean War began. He was sent to the Crimea and while there he witnessed the appalling conditions under which the British soldier had to fight. His letters home were filled with vivid descriptions of what he saw. His father was impressed by his letters and sent them to The Morning Advertiser newspaper which printed them. This initial writing success was a factor in Henty's later decision to accept the offer to become a special correspondent, the early name for journalists now better known as war correspondents.....
