Pearson, Hesketh (1887–1964)

English writer. Doctor Darwin 1930 was the first of his biographies notable for their zest, humour, and power in delineating character and describing incident. These include works on Gilbert and Sullivan 1935, Arthur Conan Doyle 1943, Oscar Wilde 1946, Charles Dickens 1949, Benjamin Disraeli 1951, Walter Scott 1955, Dr Johnson and James Boswell 1958, and Charles II 1960.

Pearson was born in Hawford, Worcestershire, and educated at Bedford Grammar School. In 1911 he went on the stage, and took part in various productions by Herbert Beerbohm Tree, Granville Barker, and George Alexander. After service in World War I he returned to the stage before beginning his career as a writer of biographies, for which he became widely known in England and the USA.