William Gorman Wills

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Ophelia and Laertes, Oil on canvas - Private Collection.

William Gorman Wills (January 28, 1828 – December 13, 1891), was a Dublin-born dramatist and painter.

[edit] Biography

The son of James Wills (1790 - 1868), author of Lives of Ilh'strious and a distinguished Irishmen, William was educated at Waterford Grammar School and Trinity College, Dublin.^[1]

After publishing his novel Old Times in an Irish magazine, he traveled to London, and for some time wrote for periodicals without much success. He found his true vein in drama, and produced over 30 plays, many of which, including Medea in Corinth, Eugene Aram, Jane Shore, Buckingham, and Olivia, had great success. Wills also wrote a poem, Melchior, in blank verse, as well as many songs. James Joyce alludes to him and to his play A Royal Divorce (concerning Napoleon's divorce from Josephine) many times in Finnegans Wake.

[edit] External Links

This article incorporates public domain text from: Cousin, John William (1910). A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature. London, J.M. Dent & sons; New York, E.P. Dutton.