Alfred Henry Miles (26 February 1848 - 30 October 1929) was a prolific Victorian-age author, editor, anthologist, journalist, composer and lecturer who published hundreds of works on a wide range of topics, ranging from poetry (The Poets and the Poetry of the Century, 10 vols. (London: Hutchinson, 1891)), warfare (Wars of the Olden Times, Abraham to Cromwell) to household encyclopaedias with information for every conceivable contingency (The Household Oracle : A Popular Referee on Subjects of Household Enquiry), and even advice to the lovelorn (Wooing: Stories of the Course that Never Did Run Smooth by R. E. Francillon and others. Issued as a volume in The Idle Hour Series, London: Hutchinson, [1891]). He was Guardian of the Poor for six years and a member of the London Borough of Lewisham from 1904-06.
He was editor of The Fifty-Two Library, a series of children's adventure stories published by Hutchinson & Co., London in the nineteenth century. He compiled some fifty volumes that appeared at five shillings apiece.
Selected books
- The Fifty-Two Library [52v|1889โ1907]
- The Poets And Poetry Of The Century (ed) [10v|p|1891-97]
- The Universal Natural History, with Anecdotes Illustrating the Nature, Habits, Manners and Customs of Animals, Birds, Fishes, Reptiles, Insects, etc., etc. edited by Alfred H. Miles, New York : Dodd, Mead and Co., 1895 [1]
- Successful Recitations (ed) [1902]
- Log Leaves and Sailing Orders (ed) [c|1902]
- Edward Hayes Plumptre to Selwyn Image : The Sacred Poets Of The Nineteenth Century [b|1906]
- Drawing Room Entertainments [d|pub:1909]
- Ballads Of Brave Women [1909]
- A Book Of Brave Girls At Home And Abroad [n|1909]
- A Book Of Brave Boys All The World Over [n|1909]
- The First Favourite Reciter (ed) [1909]
- Original Poems, Ballads, And Tales In Verse [p|1910]
- The Sweep Of The Sword [1910]
- Twixt Life And Death On Sea And Shore [1910]
- Heroines Of The Home And The World Of Duty [1910]
- A Garland Of Verse For Young People [p|1911]
- The Diner's-Out Vade Mecum [n|1912]
- A Book Of Brave Boys [n|?/1915]
- Heroes Of History [1916]
Poetry
Miles' poetry is unashamedly chauvinistic and strongly reminiscent of Rudyard Kipling.
John Bull and His Island (first verse)
- There's a doughty little Island in the ocean,
- The dainty little darling of the free;
- That pulses with the patriots' emotion,
- And the palpitating music of the sea:
- She is first in her loyalty to duty;
- She is first in the annals of the brave;
- She is first in her chivalry and beauty,
- And first in the succour of the slave!
- Then here's to the pride of the ocean!
- Here's to the pearl of the sea!
- Here's to the land of the heart and the hand
- That fight for the right of the free!
- Here's to the spirit of duty,
- Bearing her banners along--
- Peacefully furled in the van of the world
- Or waving and braving the wrong.[2]
References
- โ Smithsonian Institution
- โ Miles, Alfred H., ed. (1901). Successful Recitations. London: S. H. Bousfield & Co.