W Pett RidgeWilliam Pett Ridge was an English fiction writer who was born in Chartham, near Canterbury, Kent, on April 22, 1859, and died in London on October 2, 1930. He went to school in Marden, Kent, and at the Birkbeck Institute. He worked as a clerk for a wile at the Railway Clearing House. Around 1891, he started writing funny sketches for the St. James's Gazette and other publications. His first book, A Clever Wife (1895), was released, but it wasn't until his fifth book, Mord Em'ly (1898), that he had his first big hit. This book showed that he could write funny portraits of life in the lower classes. Pett Ridge was a kind person who gave a lot of his time and money to good causes. In 1907, he started the Babies Home at Hoxton. He was also a strong backer of many groups whose goal was to help children. Because of his desire to help others and the fact that he became the best writer about London life and people, he was seen as Dickens' natural successor. He was a judge in the fake trial of John Jasper for killing Edwin Drood on January 7, 1914, in King's Hall, Covent Garden. Read More Read Less