Frank E SmedleyFrancis Edward Smedley was an English author who lived from October 4, 1818, to May 1, 1864. In writing, his name is commonly written as Frank E. Smedley. He was born with deformed feet, which made it hard for him to move around and kept him from goig to normal school. Instead, his uncle taught him in secret. Later, his niece, the poet Menella Bute Smedley, took care of his home and worked as his secretary. He died in London in 1864 and is buried in Buckinghamshire's Marlow Parish Churchyard. Scenes from the Life of a Private Pupil was Smedley's first book. He sent it privately to Sharpe's London Magazine between 1846 and 1848. People say that Smedley was the editor of that magazine. In 1849, he made plans for a book called "Seven Tales by Seven Authors" to be published. Edwina Burbury and George Payne Rainsford James were two of the writers. There were "financial difficulties" for Burbury, so the book's profits were sent to her, and she was given the copyright. The book came out again in 1860, and Smedley bought the copyright from Burbury so that this could happen. In the introduction to that version, he wrote about the book's history. Read More Read Less