James , George Payne Rainsford , 1799-1860 , novelist

George Payne Rainsford James, 1799-1860, belonged to a well-known medical family; his grandfather was the inventor of Dr James's Pills and Powders, and his father and elder uncle were both doctors. James was a prolific writer, turning out nearly a hundred novels, besides works of a more serious historical nature.

James inherited an entailed estate at Hampton Wick and Teddington when it was disclosed that his father's elder brother, Robert Harcourt James, had never married the lady always recognised as his wife and whose children were therefore not lawful heirs to the property. The estate was heavily mortgaged, and despite the success of his novels James appears to have been in serious financial difficulties.

His affairs cannot have been helped by the number of law-suits he engaged in with his various publishers. In 1850 his difficulties made him decide to emigrate to Canada, but his friends managed instead to obtain for him the post of British consul in Norfolk, Virginia. He was not happy there, and in 1853 his friends petitioned the Foreign Secretary for another post considered to be more deserving of his personal qualities and abilities (ACC/0976/222). In 1856 he was made consul-general in Venice, and he died there four years later.