Author: Wallbeck, William
Biography:
WALLBECK, William (fl 1785-88)
Wallbeck first appeared in print as the author of an abridgement and prose translation of a French biography of Cervantes (1785) and then, in short order, of the three works listed in this bibliography. All were noticed, not very favourably, by contemporary reviews, and since Wallbeck gave his opinion of reviewers at length in the preface to Fables, he was clearly sensitive to their influence. He seems not to have published again, at least not under his own name, which is curiously absent from the genealogical sites and newspapers. One exception—which reduces the possibility of nom-de-plume--is the record of his marriage to Ann Breed (b 1761) in her home town of Bedford in Bedfordshire on 2 Oct. 1785. No baptisms or other records of birth follow, and no record of death has been found for either husband or wife. One other clue to Wallbeck’s identity is his tribute in Fables to the man who was his master for ten years at Kingston Grammar School in Kingston-upon-Thames, Rev. Richard Woodeson (c. 1704-74), who retired from that position in 1772. The book is dedicated to his son of the same name, then the Vinerian Professor of Law at Oxford. (ancestry.com 12 Apr. 2024; findmypast.com 12 Apr. 2024; Alumni Oxonienses) HJ