William Ernest Henley (1849-1903) was an English poet, critic and editor. He was born at Gloucester and educated at the Crypt Grammar School. Henley was no classical scholar, but his knowledge and love of literature were vital. At the age of 12 Henley became a victim of tuberculosis of the bone. In spite of his affliction, in 1867 he successfully passed the Oxford local examination as a senior student. But a hospital was to be Henley's university. After his recovery Henley earned his living in publishing. In 1889 he became editor of the Scots Observer, an Edinburgh journal on the lines of the old Saturday Review but inspired in every paragraph by Henley's vigorous and combative personality. Amongst his other works are: A Book of Verses (1888), Lyra Heroica (1891), The Song of the Sword and Other Verses (1892), Views and Reviews: Essays in Appreciation (1892), Deacon Brodie (with R. L. Stevenson) (1892), Macaire (with R. L. Stevenson) (1892), Poems (1898), London Types (1898), Hawthorn and Lavender (1901), In Hospital (1903) and The Works of William Ernest Henley (1921).