Author: Bankes
Biography:
BANKES, [William John?] (1786-1855: ODNB)
HL attributes The Modern Hudibras to “ ___Bankes” without explanation. The most likely Bankes is William John, a close friend of Byron (q.v.) and a traveller whose drawings made in Egypt remain important for Egyptologists. He was born to Henry Bankes and his wife Frances Woodley on 11 Dec. 1786 at Kingston Lacy, Dorset, and educated at Westminster School (1795-1801) and Trinity College, Cambridge (BA 1808, MA 1811). John Murray published his Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Giovanni Finati in 1830. However no evidence supporting HL’s attribution of The Modern Hudibras to him or another Bankes has been located. No records for the publication of this book of verse have been found in the John Murray Archive. (ODNB 20 June 2023) SR