Frederic William Farrar

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Frederic William Farrar

British author

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

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Born:: Aug. 7, 1831, Bombay, India

Died:: March 22, 1903, Canterbury, Kent, Eng. (aged 71)

Notable Works:: “Eric; or, Little by Little”

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Frederic William Farrar (born Aug. 7, 1831, Bombay, India—died March 22, 1903, Canterbury, Kent, Eng.) was a popular English religious writer and author of a sentimental novel of school life, Eric; or, Little by Little (1858).

In 1856 Farrar became a fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, and later accepted an assistant mastership at Harrow School. Eric was followed by Julian Home (1859) and St. Winifred’s (1862). Farrar was also an expert philologist; his Essay on the Origin of Language (1860) earned him a fellowship of the Royal Society. His Life of Christ (1874) ran through 30 editions in as many years. In 1876 Farrar became canon of Westminster Abbey and in 1883 archdeacon. He was dean of Canterbury from 1895 until his death.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Encyclopaedia Britannica.