Author: Charles Messent
Author: Charles Messent (1857–1929)
Alternate Name(s): Max Baring (pseudonym)
Biography: Charles Messent was born on 6 August 1857 in Croydon, the son of shopkeeper Charles Ruffle Messent and his wife Sophia. In 1880, he married Louisa Alberta Smith and it appears the couple had no children. According to the censuses, he worked as the editor of a trade journal before opening a stationers in Croydon. In the 1890s, he turned to fiction under the pseudonym "Max Baring" and had some success. Messent never strayed far from his native Croydon and he died on 4 March 1929 in Thornton Heath, Surrey.
Author Tags:
References: British Census (1871, 1881, 1901, 1911); Literary Year-Book (1915); Probate
Fiction Titles:
- Whiffs from a Short Briar. 1 vol. London: Simpkin, 1896.
- The Troubles of a Shovel Hat, and Other Stories. 1 vol. London: Simpkin, 1901.