In the 1840s and 50s, Douglas Jerrold, Dickens and Thackeray were the three best known literary men in England, and it was said at the time that it was ‘hardly possible to discuss the merits of any of them without referring to the other two. What happened to Jerrold?
He was born into a family of strolling players, and at the age of 11 served for a few months on a ship commanded by Jane Austen’s brother.

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