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At the Circulating Library

A Database of Victorian Fiction, 1837–1901

A Database of Victorian Fiction, 1837–1901

Author: Hugo Ames

Author: Hugo Ames (1866–1943)

Alternate Name(s): Hugh Laurenson Ames (legal name)

Biography: Hugh Laurenson Ames was born in 1866, the son of Lionel Ames of The Hyde, Luton. He attended Charterhouse and Oriel College, Oxford. He served as the private secretary to Sir Julian Pauncefote of the British Legation in the United States. Afterwards, he took to journalism and edited two newspapers while simultaneously serving as a political agent. In 1896, he married Kate Palmer. A few years later, he eloped with novelist Flora Matilda Hayter and the couple went to the United States where they obtained a divorce and married. On their return to England, Ames's abandoned wife sued for divorce: the American divorce was not valid and both were tried and convicted of bigamy. After prison, Ames and Hayter married. He died in 1943 in London.

Author Tags:

References: Times (29 February 1912, 1 March 1912, 13 December 1943); Who's Who (1903)

Fiction Titles:

  1. The Tragedy of a Pedigree.  1 vol.  London: Greening and Co., 1900.